Lobos Knocked Out by Charlotte, 1-0
NORFOLK, VA. — The fifth-seeded University of New Mexico men’s soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of fourth-seeded Charlotte in the Conference USA Quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon. The Lobos dialed up the attack in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a late 49er penalty kick in the 81st minute.
The Lobos (8-6-4, 3-3-2 C-USA) will await final determination on NCAA Tournament at-large bids, if they do not receive one, the loss marks the end of the UNM season. Charlotte (7-4-6, 2-1-5 C-USA) will advance to the semifinals on Friday where it will take on top-seed and undefeated No. 8 FIU.
“I have a lot of emotions for our seniors, I wished a lot more for them and it was pretty tough go but the result was fairly indicative of our season,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “We didn’t play all that well. We created better chances but didn’t find the net. In terms of the season, there were a lot of positives but we didn’t execute at the end in terms of scoring goals, despite the chances.”
Wednesday’s match started out promising with the Lobos posting the first shot and corner kick of the game within the first 2:30. At the 10-minute mark, the Lobos had the first legitimate chance of the match when junior Antoine Vial crossed to the top of the box to find senior Sam Gleadle. Gleadle fired from there, but it was saved by Charlotte keeper Elliot Panicco.
The Lobos posted three corners in just the first 15 minutes of the match and defensively, senior Jason Beaulieu collected five saves in the first half including a header with 10 minutes left. Charlotte began to pick up its offense at the end of the first frame, posting back-to-back solid scoring chances, but Beaulieu and the Lobo defense kept it scoreless headed into the break. The Lobo defense was missing a key component Wednesday in 2017 C-USA Defensive MVP Aaron Herrera.
In the first half, Charlotte outshot New Mexico 8-3 and Beaulieu led Panicco in saves 5-2.
In the second half, it was the Lobos that came out of the locker room with renewed energy an an attack mentality. UNM fired 10 shots in the second half alone compared to seven for the 49ers.
Just two minutes into the second half, Gleadle had a close chance and a near miss, followed by another five minutes later. Gleadle received a pass at the top of the box, worked to gain control and then turned to shoot in what could have been the Lobos’ go-ahead opportunity. On the turn, however, Gleadle was dragged down by a Charlotte defender and his left-footed shot went high.
In the 74th minute, the Lobos had another chance when redshirt-sophomore Tom Smart fired high, but a last-second punch from Panicco put the ball over the crossbar, keeping the teams scoreless with time running out.
A slide tackle right in front of the goal awarded Charlotte a penalty kick and eventual gamewinner at the 80:05 mark. Beaulieu guessed correctly and dove left, but C-USA First Team defender Callum Montgomery’s shot inched just between Beaulieu’s glove and the right post for the 1-0 advantage.
Overall the Lobos were outshot 15-13, 7-6 on goal, but held a commanding advantage in corner kicks, 7-1. Leading UNM’s offense was Gleadle who posted six shots, three on goal.