Baker scores golden goal and clinches semifinal appearance for the Lobos
BOISE, Idaho — In the 99th minute of the Mountain West Championship Tournament Quarterfinals, The University of New Mexico women’s soccer team scored the golden goal and defeated San Jose State 1-0 on Tuesday afternoon. The clutch goal came from junior Leilani Baker who ended the game with four shots, two on goal, and one game-winning goal.
The Lobos (11-7-1, 7-4-1) and Spartans (7-9-4, 5-5-2) met up last year in the conference championship game where SJSU defeated the Lobos 1-0, advancing to the 2018 NCAA Tournament. This matchup is common in the Mountain West Tournament as the teams have met in four tournament matches since 2015.
▶️ WATCH: Highlights from @UNMLoboWSoccer‘s OT victory ⤵️#GoLobos | #MWWSOC pic.twitter.com/vCx6wNgOIm
— Mountain West (@MW_OlySports) November 6, 2019
Both teams were neck-and-neck through the entirety of the match, remaining scoreless through regular time, which in turn forced an overtime period. The Lobos were determined to score the golden goal from the jump and in just the first minute of overtime, Baker had the chance to end the game when she collected the ball off of a SJSU mishandle in the box and hammered the ball, hitting the crossbar just before reaching the back of the net.
In the 99th minute, Baker remained resilient on a ball that was headed towards SJSU’s goal. In attempt to clear the ball, SJSU’s goalkeeper Ariana Romero took a swing, which Baker intercepted. With the rebound and an unattended net, Baker slid the ball into the right side of the net, scoring the golden goal and ending the match.
Although the game was tight in its entirety, the Lobos did apply more pressure on the net ending with 19 shots, 10 of those being on goal compared to 14 shots, six on goal for the Spartans.
The Lobo defense stayed strong through 99 minutes as they worked cohesively to keep the ball out of the net. San Jose State was awarded a total of five corner kick opportunities, one of which took place in the 44th minute. SJSU’s Kristen Amarikwa received the corner in the box and headed it straight towards the goal. Sophomore-redshirt Malia Vanisi was there to save the shot and ensured a shutout over the Spartans.
Just before this match, No. 3 Colorado State and No. 6 Fresno State opened the Tournament with a Fresno State upset decided by penalty kicks. Both this match and the Lobo win serve as the first time since 2008 that both Mountain West quarterfinal matches went into overtime.
The Lobos now face No. 1-seed Boise State on Thursday, Nov 7 at 2:00 p.m. MT in the semifinal match of the Mountain West Tournament.