Lobos Draw at Denver, 2-2
DENVER, Colo. — In its second exhibition game of the season, The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team played to a 2-2 draw with Denver on Wednesday night on the road. The Lobos were down 2-1 at the half before freshman Miguel Maynez Jr. notched the equalizer in the 72nd minute to force the tie.
“I think there are a lot of positives to take away from tonight’s game, but we committed three bad mistakes, including a red card,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “We shouldn’t have committed a foul in a bad area – but that’s the beauty of exhibitions. We’re going to learn from it and get better.
“I am happy with the team unity, their drive and their excitement and it’s a wonderful group, so we’re looking forward to the next one.”
It was the Lobos that jumped out first on the evening when sophomore Nick Taylor found the back of the net just 19:32 into the match. Taylor’s goal was assisted by sophomore Matt Puig, marking his third assist in just a pair of exhibition contests.
Eleven minutes later, Denver registered its first goal of the night, off the foot of Andre Shinyashiki, to tie it up 1-1 before the Pioneers took the lead just eight minutes later when Moshe Perez found the back on a free kick from 29 yards at the 38:05 mark, 2-1.
The Lobos were down until the 72:08 mark when freshman Maynez scored unassisted to tie it, 2-2.
Due to the exhibition nature of the matchup, when 90 minute regulation ended, the teams elected not to play an overtime, resulting in the regulation draw.
Redshirt-junior Ford Parker saw 60:45 in net for the Lobos and allowed both goals before freshman Alex Fetterly entered in relief for the remaining 29:14.
The Lobos return to action on Saturday, August 18 at 12 p.m. at Air Force for their final exhibition matchup, followed by their official home opener on Friday, August 24 at 7 p.m. against Seattle at the UNM Soccer Complex.
*Note – For UNM exhibition games, full statistics will not be published. Fans looking to follow the action can do so in person, or follow GoLobos.com for score updates and scoring summaries.
Scoring Summary:
1. 19:32 NM TAYLOR, Nick (G); PUIG, Matt (A)
2. 30:26 DEN SHINYASHIKI, Andre (G); PEREZ, Moshe (A)
3. 38:05 DEN PEREZ, Moshe (G)
4. 72:08 NM MAYNEZ JR., Miguel (G)