No. 24 Lobos, UCLA play to a 1-1 tie
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An electric, first-half goal from midfield by Aaron Herrera didn’t hold up for the 24th-ranked University of New Mexico men’s soccer team as UCLA scored early in the second half and neither team could put one in the rest of the way as the Lobos and Bruins played to a 1-1 draw Wednesday night at UNM Soccer Complex.
The Lobos (8-3-2 overall) had their chances in the second half and in overtime – and had a man advantage over the final 27 minutes after a Bruin red card – but couldn’t break through the UCLA (6-5-1) defense.
“It was a disappointing result,” UNM coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “You don’t get too many opportunities to get those games at home. Going into the game we felt we were going to be better than them, but we couldn’t give them openings and we were a little sloppy and gave them that set piece (that they scored on). We created a lot of chances, defended well and had the better of the game.
“It’s disappointing, but that’s good. That’s the mark of a good team when you’re disappointed to get a tie with UCLA.”
UNM got on the board first in the 15th minute when a UCLA defender lost control of the ball and the Lobos’ Alex Vedamanikam was there to pick it up near midfield. Vedamanikam sent it to Herrera at midfield and the Lobos’ leading scorer noticed the Bruin keeper wandered off his line, put one touch on it then sent it soaring from midfield over the keeper’s head and into the net for a 1-0 UNM advantage.
“I know that keeper, he actually plays on a younger national team,” Herrera said. “I know he likes to play off the line and sort of be a sweeper keeper back there. I picked up my head a couple times and saw he was off so I had some space and I took my touch.”
REPLAY | Great read by Herrera to see the keeper out on this goal to give Lobos a 1-0 lead on UCLA. #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/KYw5us6qKW
— Lobo Men’s Soccer (@UNMLoboMSoccer) October 19, 2017
The goal was Herrera’s team-best fifth to go along with his team-high five assists (he’s tied in that category with Devin Boyce). For Vedamanikam, it was the freshman’s second assist.
The UNM junior almost made it 2-0 as Herrera on a free kick just outside the penalty area in the 33rd minute hooked one toward the top-left corner of the box, but the UCLA keeper was there to deny it with a diving save and keep the score at 1-0.
The score remained that way into the second half when the Lobos were whistled for a foul in the 52nd minute near the sideline on its own end. UCLA’s Brian Iloski took the free kick and put it in front of the box where Matthew Powell was there to head it into the corner and tie the game.
The Lobos looked like they might answer shortly after as Boyce headed a ball played into the penalty area just wide in the 55th minute. Six minutes later Vedamanikam took a cross from Herrera and headed it just inches outside of the goal and into the side of the netting as the score remained 1-1.
From there, neither team took advantage of their chances as the Lobo and Bruin defenses locked up any attacks for much of the final 45 minutes.
For UNM, it’s their second tie of the season as they played South Carolina to a draw 2-2 on the road Sept. 22. It was UCLA’s first tie of the year.
The Lobos outshot UCLA 16-14, though UCLA had six shots on goal compared to five for UNM. Herrera paced the Lobos with six shots while Boyce had four shots (three on goal).
Jason Beaulieu, who made a fantastic diving save just three minutes into the game to deny an early UCLA goal, finished with five saves.
3′ | SAVE! Jason Beaulieu makes a diving save early on to keep the game scoreless vs. UCLA in Albuquerque. #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/wPhP3PEazG
— Lobo Men’s Soccer (@UNMLoboMSoccer) October 19, 2017
The Lobos return to action Saturday as they travel to take on first-place Florida International in a key Conference USA tilt. UNM has 10 points (3-1-1) in conference while FIU sits with 13 (4-0-1).