by Derek Davis
Daily Lobo
The UNM men's soccer team defeated the University of California-Irvine Friday night and played to a 2-2 draw in Sunday's match against Southwest Missouri State at the Crescent Financial Solutions Invitational at the UNM Soccer Complex.
The Lobos had control of Sunday's match for most of the game but gave up two goals in the final five minutes as the Bears forced overtime. "The goals were a buildup of about the last 20 minutes and we did not handle it well," UNM assistant coach Carl Junot said.
Sophomore defender Brandon Moss echoed similar sentiments.
"We let down in the second half," he said. "We needed to tighten our defense."
The Lobos scored in the second minute of the game off a free kick from junior Jeff Krause. Krause crossed the ball between two defenders and senior midfielder Stian Eriksen volleyed a one-touch shot passed the goalkeeper.
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The Lobos added to their lead in the 24th minute off a header from sophomore Jeff Rowland. The goal marked the second goal off a set play for the men's squad.
"We work on set plays three times a week for 15 to 20 minutes," sophomore defender Erik Bagwell said.
The Lobos took a 2-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
However, the Bears scored two goals late in the game inside the 18-yard box.
"Defense played solid." Bagwell said. "Both goals were a lack of clearing the ball."
Moss shared in his teammate's frustration.
"These are games we should be winning," he said. "We felt we were the stronger team. We have not maintained our focus in the second half. We can't do this in conference play."
Friday night the Lobos defeated UC-Irvine 3-2 in front of the second largest crowd ever -- 3,113 fans at the UNM Soccer Complex.
The Lobos scored three goals in the first half, which proved to be enough.
Ashwill found the net first in the 12th minute off a quality cross from Matt Wootton to stake an early 1-0 lead.
Rowland gave the Lobos a 2-0 lead in the 23rd minute off a header from a free kick. In the 27th minute Lobo goalkeeper Andrew Weber erupted with a punt that sailed the length of the field. A UC-Irvine defender misplayed the punt and redirected Weber's punt into the Anteater's net, which marked the first-ever goal scored by a UNM goalkeeper.
Yet the inability of the Lobos to slam the door shut crept up in the second half as UC-Irvine scored two goals.
UNM's Moss, Ashwill, Rowland and midfielder Ricky Francis were named to the Crescent Financial Solutions all-tournament team. Rowland was also named Offensive Most Valuable Player with two of the five goals for UNM in two games.
