It was only last week when University of New Mexico sophomore forward Jill Olguin found the back of the net in overtime to see off UTEP. But against the University of Washington, it was the Lobos that found themselves on the receiving end of the golden goal overtime rule.
The Huskies (4-2) put substantial pressure on the Lobos (3-3) throughout the contest, registering 19 shots with six of them on target.
UNM sophomore goalkeeper Emily Johnson made a season-high five saves, keeping the Lobos in the game until the early stages of overtime. Johnson made several outstanding saves, including one off of a dangerous free kick in the 12th minute that, if not for Johnson, would have snuck its way into the corner of the goal.
The Lobos only recorded six shots all game, a season low.
The Lobos had three shots in both halves and failed to have a shot in overtime. This was the first time this season that the Lobos had been out shot by their opponents. Senior forward Claire Lynch was behind both of UNM’s shots on target.
Washington freshman midfielder Ameera Hussen substituted on at the 72nd minute and nearly broke the deadlock in the 85th minute. Hussen managed to get past several players and dribble into the Lobo penalty area before firing a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar. Hussen’s 22-minute contribution increased Washington’s energy offensively.
"(Hussen) was a huge part of our success,” Washington head coach Lesle Gallimore said in a release. “She’s got a great soccer-thinking mind; she was calm and composed out there.”
The Lobos were able to repel the aggressive attacking play from the Huskies for the full 90 minutes, but five minutes into overtime, Washington finally broke through.
UNM cleared a Washington corner in the 95th minute, but the ball fell at the feet of Husky senior defender Dominique Bond-Flasza who delivered the ball back into the box, finding senior forward Kimberly Keever who headed the ball past goalkeeper Johnson.
“I’m really proud of our team this whole weekend,” UNM head coach Heather Dyche said in a release. “We represented our University and New Mexico really well, I felt, all weekend. To get a huge win against Portland and to take a really talented Washington team to overtime is outstanding.”
The Lobos will be back at home for the next four games and will play against the University of Houston on Friday, Sep. 15 at 7:30 p.m. and then against Northern Arizona University on Sunday at 1 p.m. All games will take place at the UNM Soccer Complex.
The home games against the University of Houston and NAU will be the final pair of games before the start of the Mountain West Conference.
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Matthieu Cartron is a freelance sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women’s soccer and men’s tennis. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cartron_matt.
