Lobos season comes to a close in MW semifinals
BOISE, Idaho — The University of New Mexico women’s soccer team had their season come to a close on Thursday afternoon in the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament after losing to top-seeded Boise State 6-0. Boise State’s Raimee Sherle scored a hat trick in the match, only the third to be scored in tournament history.
The No. 4-seed Lobos (11-8-1, 6-5-1) worked relentlessly to upset the No. 1 seed Broncos (17-4-0, 9-3-0) on their home field and advance to their third-straight MW Championship game, but it ultimately was not to be. Despite that, the Lobos maintained composure through the entirety of the match and posted 14 shots in total. The Lobos also posted six saves, not including the stops the Lobo defense made before the ball approached to the net.
An example of the tenacity displayed throughout the match was in the ninth minute when Sherle, the All-Time Mountain West leader in goals and points, drove the ball straight to the net. Redshirt-sophomore Malia Vanisi came off the net in attempt to stop the play, however the ball was rebounded back to Sherle. Regardless, three Lobos including sophomore Jaelyn Hendren were there to protect and clear the net from Sherle’s shot attempt.
Offensively, the Lobos had some good looks in the first half, but it was Boise State who was first on the board. The initial goal came in the 24th minute when Sherle received the ball at the top of the box on the left side and started to move towards her right. With Lobo defenders nearby, Sherle then cut the ball back to the left, composing her shot, and finding the back of the net.
Boise State then spent the next two minutes racking up a 3-0 lead with goals in the 25th and 26th minutes. The second goal for the Broncos was again from Sherle and the third came from Aubree Chatterton who received the ball off a diving save from Vanisi in attempt to block a shot from Kristina Serres.
Boise closed out the half with a goal in the 44th minute off of a quick shot from Gabby Gillespie. The shot, although well-defended, found its way past Vanisi, giving the Broncos a 4-0 lead before the half.
Boise maintained the momentum in the second half as Sherle completed her hat trick in the 55th minute. Gillespe posted her second goal in the 85th minute, which was just over Vanisi’s reach, giving the Broncos their 6-0 lead.
The loss concludes the 2019 season for the Lobos, however, the season showed promise for the team moving forward as they lose only two players to graduation. In total, the Lobos posted seven shutouts on the season, one of which over then-No. 22 ranked Texas Tech on August 25. Sophomore Jadyn Edwards posted her first hat trick on November 1st over San Diego State, which sparked the 6-0 shutout. Although the Lobos lose two aforementioned seniors in Jessie Hix and Jill Olguin, they return three of their top four goal-scorers in Leilani Baker, Edwards and Alesia Garcia.