HONOLULU, Oah’u— A match with MW seeding implications amounted to 90 minutes of intense back-and-forth soccer with UNM drawing 2-2 with Hawai’i.
The Lobos took the lead with an early goal by Presley Devey, which held through the 71-minute mark of the match with UH tying the match. The tie lasted 49 seconds before the Lobos reclaimed the lead on an Alysa Whelchel goal with Hawai'i scoring the final goal at 78:06.
Hawai’i outshot UNM 19-15 in the match with each team finishing with eight shots on goal.
Fiona Jenkins took the first shot of the match 2:31 in, forcing a save by the UH goalkeeper, with Hawai’i taking its first shot at 6:03, which was Alyson Campbell’s first save and led to UNM’s first goal.
Off of the Campbell save, the Lobos were quick to attack on the other end with Devey sliding it low left for the goal 6:32 in. It marked Devey’s eighth goal of the season, fifth in conference, and the fastest goal by a Lobo this season.
Devey kept attacking, however, her next two shots were blocked, with Celina Frentz’s first shot of the match top right saved.
Hawai’i took consecutive shots in the 24th minute with the first one blocked followed by a shot off target for the goal kick.
The Lobo defense stepped up in the 33rd minute as a UH shot on goal with Campbell pulled out of goal was headed away by Gabby Beaudry and cleared to keep UNM in front, and a shot in the 37th minute was blocked.
Both teams had a combined five shots blocked in the first half with UNM having three (Devey two and Savanah Sanchez one with 10 seconds left in the first half) and Hawai’i two.
Sherry Diep’s point-blank shot to the bottom of the net in the 40th minute was stopped by the goalie’s right cleat on a sliding save with Campbell making a final save at 43:59 before the half came to a close with UNM leading 1-0.
Hawai’i led in overall shots at 10-7 in the first half with each team taking four shots on goal.
Campbell brought in Hawai’i’s first shot of the second half off of a corner kick with Campbell making another save on a point blank shot in the 50th minute.
UNM’s first look in the second half came on a header by Devey on a cross by Diep at the 52:11 mark was deflected by the UH keeper, Nicole Anderson’s shot in the 54th minute was wide left and Devey created a shot in the 57th minute that went wide right.
The Lobos created another good chance in the 64th minute on a feed into the box by Frenz to Diep, with her shot blocked by the sliding UH goalkeeper. Sanchez was the first to the ball off the rebound but was unable to get off a shot.
UNM kept putting the ball on frame with Beaudry’s shot off of a free kick following a foul on Devey just past midfield in the 67th minute brought in by the Hawai’i goalkeeper.
Hawai’i tied the match at 71:00 off of a corner kick, which was upheld after a referee review.
The Lobos were quick to answer with Beaudry kicking it ahead with Sanchez on the other end and tapping it to Whelchel, who gathered it and fired a strike top right and into the net. It marked Whelchel’s third goal of the season and the second assist for Sanchez.
Hawaii tied it again 78:06 with a goal to the top left, and again, the Lobos went back on the attack with a shot by Mia Barela hitting the low left post at 79:41 on the clock.
Anderson took the final shot of the match for the Lobos in the 86th minute that sailed high and Hawai’i took a final shot with 20 seconds remaining that went wide left.
With the draw, the Lobos (8-4-4, 5-2-2 MW) picked up a point for 17 points and sole possession of fourth in the conference standings. Heading into the final match of the Mountain West schedule, Colorado College leads with 22 points and clinched at least a share of the regular season title, Hawai’i is second with 19 points, Air Force is third with 18 points and UNM has a one-point lead over Wyoming. Hawai’i closes at Wyoming and UNM hosts Air Force with the Lobos kicking off at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.