Staff Report
The UNM women's soccer team traveled to Irvine, Calif., this weekend for the Nike Classic Tournament, but returned winless.
The Lobos tied with UC-Irvine 0-0 in double overtime Friday night and fell to Cal State-Fulleron Sunday afternoon 2-0.
UNM head coach Kit Vela called both opponents outstanding teams.
Although UC-Irvine outshot the Lobos by eight, junior goalkeeper Kristen Winters left the Anteaters scoreless after 14 attempts. Winters, the top goalkeeper in the Mountain West Conference last season with 10 shutouts, made six saves on Friday night.
UNM got only one shot on goal - one of senior defender Clare Pollock's three shots, which was blocked by UC's freshman goalkeeper Marissa Welliver.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Vela started three freshman on Friday night: Ashley Lowery and Brittany Emerson at midfield, and Kristine Sweat at forward. Sweat attempted one shot in the 110-minute game.
Sunday's game was just as challenging for the Lobos.
Vela said in a news release that UNM held the Titans to 1-0 for the majority of the game, but they were never able to mark the scoreboard.
"We just didn't have enough left in the end," she said.
The first goal came for Cal State-Fulleron in the 9:05th minute when Kandace Wilson scored off an assist from Erin Shelton. The second was a shot by Allison Bowman in the 79th minute.
Winters made five saves for the Lobos Sunday on seven shots on goal by the Titans, while UNM had only two shots on goal.
The Lobos drop to a record of 0-2-1.
"We played two top tier teams in the country this weekend," Vela said.
She also attributes the loss to inexperience.
"We had four or five freshmen on the field at all times," Vela said. "Plus, we had a few women suffering from injuries from Friday's brutal game. But we played hard and are getting better."
The Lobos will face the University of Northern Colorado at the Bears' home-opener Friday at 6 p.m.
