Men's Soccer: Lobos stay on the road for another spring match

The UNM men’s soccer team is hitting the road for the second time this spring, this time to take on the Grand Canyon University Lopes.

GCU finished the 2016 fall season with a 7-9-3 overall record, whereas the Lobos finished 12-7-3 after advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament, their 12th NCAA appearance in program history.

The Lobos are scheduled to play five games this spring, all but one of which will take place on the road. They suffered a 2-1 overtime loss during their opening match to Southern Methodist at the FC Dallas Complex last weekend.

The lone goal for the New Mexico came from freshman midfielder Noah Bushey fifteen minutes into the second period.

Grand Canyon had scheduled six games in Phoenix this season, but their first one against NK Istra 1961, a team from Croatia, was canceled.

The Lopes first spring game ended up being their March 4 matchup against Phoenix Rising FC, which resulted in a 2-2 tie.

The two goals for GCU came from junior midfielder Wedner Delmonte and freshman midfielder Daniel Moreno. After the team wraps up with the Lobos, the Lopes will once again take on Phoenix Rising FC.

UNM faced off against Grand Canyon recently as the Lopes traveled to Albuquerque last September as part of the Grange and Ashwill Memorial Tournament. It was the home team who finished the night on top, as the Lobos earned a 1-0 victory.

The game started an hour later than scheduled due to a weather delay, but it didn't stop either team from going all out.

Both teams saw plenty of chances in the first half but it ended up scoreless. The Lobos’ eventual game-winner came in the 55th minute from forward Niko Hansen, who has already left New Mexico to pursue a professional soccer career.

The schools will share the pitch again on Saturday in Phoenix, Arizona at 7 p.m.

Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She mainly covers men’s soccer and basketball. She can be reached at sports
@dailylobo.com or on Twitter
@cisabelg.