ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Nicole Anderson drew a foul in the box in the 87th minute of Saturday night’s match against Air Force, drawing a penalty that was upheld following video review, with Presley Devey converting with a goal that tied the match at one for the final score.
Unfortunately, the Lobos needed a win and three points to clinch a spot in the Mountain West tournament, with the Falcons taking the final spot in the four-team bracket.
In her final match as a Lobo, Devey scored her ninth goal of the season, tying Anderson for the team high.
UNM had the edge in shots at 19-12 and shots on goal at 10-4, but it was Air Force that scored the first goal at the 52:33 mark off of a corner kick.
The Lobos came inches from taking an early lead as Celina Frenz’s shot 1:15 from outside the 18-yard box hit the crossbar and Devey’s first shot a minute later was saved by the Air Force goalkeeper.
UNM maintained pressure in the offensive end of the field as shots by Alysa Whelchel in the 27th minute and 33rd minute and a shot by Sherry Diep in the 29th minute were all saved with a shot by Anderson in the 30th minute blocked.
Whelchel’s shot in the 33rd minute resulted in a Lobo corner kick, with the ball landing at the feet of Kennedy Brown, who shot it high and less than a minute later, Devey’s look at the goal went wide left.
The Lobos took two shots in the final five minutes with Savanah Sanchez’s shot blocked and Anderson’s shot with 54 seconds left going wide left as the half came to a scoreless close.
UNM outshot Air Force 11-5 in the first 45 minutes with a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal with Alyson Campbell making a save at the 31:27 mark.
The Falcons took the first two shots of the second half with UNM having two offside calls on them in the first five minutes, with Air Force’s second shot resulting in Campbell deflecting the ball out of play for the corner kick. The Falcons crashed the net off of the corner kick with the ball finding the low right corner of the net for a goal.
New Mexico attempted to quickly respond with Whelchel’s header going wide left in the 54th minute and Anderson’s initial shot in the 56th minute blocked and then her second shot 14 seconds later saved. Allie Anderson had a chance in the 68th minute after Brown found A. Anderson out wide and her initial feed into the box trying to find her twin was stopped by an Air Force defender and the ball going back to her and her shot going wide left.
A shot by Diep trying to go low was saved in the 80th minute, as was a shot by Devey off of a free kick in the 85th minute that was right at the Falcon keeper.
Following a UNM goal kick. Whelchel found Barela, who tapped it behind her to N. Anderson who went along the far sideline and towards the box where she was taken down from behind.
After the officials reviewed it and the penalty was upheld, Devey went low right past the keeper for the goal. The Lobo forward finished the season 4-4 in penalty kicks.
The Lobos had one final chance off of a throw in with 40 seconds to play and Gabby Beaudry sending it up the field that went the length of the field with N. Anderson and Claire Roybal in pursuit, but the Air Force keeper was able to collect it off the bounce.
UNM concludes its season 8-4-5, 5-2-3 in the Mountain West, with the Lobos undefeated in their last six matches and closing with two draws.