Lobos Fall in Opening Round of C-USA Tourney
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team saw its 2018 season come to a close on Wednesday evening as No. 2-seed Old Dominion scored four second-half goals to eventually come away with a 4-0 victory over the Lobos.
“I am gutted for the boys,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “Three seniors played their hearts out all season and deserved better. As for the entire team, it was painful watching them navigate such a challenging situation. I am proud that we held our heads high and played with dignity and self-respect. Better times ahead!”
The Lobos (4-12-1) were valiant in their effort on the pitch on Wednesday holding one of the top teams offensive teams in the league and in the country scoreless throughout the first half. In that opening half, the Lobos held off a strong offensive surge by ODU as the Monarchs (11-4-2) fired off 12 shots, five on goal, but UNM goalkeeper Ford Parker was able to save all to keep it a scoreless tie at the half.
The Monarchs, however, would find the back of the net for the first time in the 55th minute of the match. A minute later, ODU scored again to take a commanding 2-0 lead. In the 75th and 88th minutes, the Monarchs added insurance goals to tally their four scores in the game.
That four-goal second half was a continued unrelenting effort from the first half as the Monarchs took 16 more shots in the second half.
The Lobos totaled six shots in the game with two coming on goal.
The contest caps a season that saw several Lobos pick up honors both on the field and in the classroom. For the 15th time in the last 16 years returners from last year’s team were honored with the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award. Additionally, senior Simon Spangenberg was a Top-30 candidate for the Senior CLASS Award for men’s soccer and also made a return appearance on the C-USA All-Academic Team.
On the field, UNM tallied five All-Conference USA performers with Tom Smart leading the way as a first team honoree. Nick Taylor was a second team selection, while Billy Jones and Omar Grey were named to the third team. Grey was also named to the All-Freshman Team as well as fellow rookie Erik Virgen.