Success comes in threes for the UNM men's soccer team.
With a 3-0 win against the Sacramento State Hornets on Sunday, the Lobos started the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference season with three straight 3-0 wins.
The win also improves the Lobos' overall record to 9-0, the best start in the program's history.
Head coach Jeremy Fishbein said he was pleased with his team's offensive proficiency, but added there is still room for improvement.
"We should have had more than three goals in the last couple games," he said. "We still need some other guys to be able to finish."
The Lobos received most of their offensive production from senior Jeff Krause. His two goals in the game were his first two of the season.
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"I just found myself in the right place in the right time," Krause said.
The Hornets felt the sting from the Lobos five minutes into the game when junior Ricky Francis slipped the ball behind sliding Sacramento State defender Marcos Mercado. Krause took the ball in stride and buried it in the back of the net as another defender came hurtling toward him too late, eventually crashing into his teammate, leaving both writhing in pain on the field.
After several more attempts on goal, the Lobos were able to get on the board again at the 20:17 mark when a lofted pass by senior Hans Bevers floated to junior Jeff Rowland's head.
Rowland was left all alone and simply headed the ball right past the feet of Hornet goalkeeper Matt McDougall. The goal was the 11th of the season for Rowland, tying him for the national lead in goals scored. Bevers recorded his MPSF-leading sixth assist on the goal.
After the rest of the first half remained scoreless, the Lobos came out in the second half ready to keep their focus, Fishbein said.
"Our challenge was to come out and play some good soccer," he said. "We just needed to be solid. We need to not have any mental lapses throughout the game."
Four minutes into the second half, freshman Blake Danaher's shot ricocheted off McDougall and conveniently found its place at Krause's feet. Krause promptly blasted the ball into the back of the empty net.
The past three wins have been a sigh of relief, Fishbein said.
"We got two big games ahead of us," he said. "It's good to get those games behind us."
Those two games might be the Lobos' toughest competition in conference play. On Thursday, the Lobos face the second-place team in the MPSF, the Air Force Falcons, in Colorado Springs. The Lobos then travel to play Denver University on Sunday.
UNM still holds the No. 5 ranking in the nation.
"We just need to stay sharp," Krause said. "I think we have a good attitude coming into every game. We get as fired up for games against bad-record teams as we do for ones against good-record teams."
