Sometimes a loss might not be all that bad.
The 13th-seeded UNM men's soccer team had every right to feel down on its luck following a 6-5 shootout loss to the 4th-seeded Virginia Cavaliers in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
It's a funny thing, though. The Lobos say that loss could be exactly what they need.
"Losses last season helped us out this season," junior captain Brandon Moss said. "Losing this game is going to help us out next season. It was a learning experience for all of us."
Junior defender Matt Wootton echoed Moss's sentiment.
"We'll be a lot more confident now next season," he said. "We know that we are one of the top programs in this country now."
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The loss still gave the Lobos reason to believe they can compete with any team in the country, head coach Jeremy Fishbein said.
"We take out of the game that our goal is to compete for the national championship every year," he said. "We know now that we are able to do that, and we should do it consistently."
The Cavaliers came out with guns blazing, scoring in the 15th minute when a shot rebounded to Jeremy Barlow. Barlow pounced on the opportunity and put it away for his seventh goal of the season.
UNM was not without its chances as well.
Ricky Francis sent a crossed ball off a direct kick junior Jeff Rowland managed to get his head on. The forward headed the ball toward goal, sending it a little too high as it skimmed the top of the crossbar in the second minute.
Senior Patrick Grange, fresh off a two-goal performance against Portland in the Lobos' second-round game, had a wide-open goal to blast the ball into in the eighth minute after it ricocheted off Cavalier goalkeeper Ryan Burke.
Burke made like Frogger and instantly sprang in front of the goal to block Grange's shot.
Grange tasted redemption 20 minutes later, though.
He was on the receiving end of a free kick taken by Hans Bevers after a Cavalier foul. After the ball nestled at his feet, Grange sent it hurtling past Burke to tie the game at 1-1.
The rest of the game remained scoreless and headed into a shootout after two overtimes.
Junior Lance Watson scored first for the Lobos after Weber clamped down on Matt Oliver's attempt.
Rowland took the next shot and was stymied, while John Hartman scored for the Cavaliers.
Both of the teams exchanged goals for the next four rounds, until Weber saved Ian Holder's shot. Freshman Blake Danaher had a chance to seal the victory but was stifled by Burke.
After Nico Colaluca converted his penalty kick, Lobo junior Ben Ashwill's attempt was stopped by Burke, and the game and UNM's season were over.
Fishbein said the Lobos have no regrets about their performance and are looking forward to what the future may hold.
"We played pretty well," Fishbein said. "I mean, we battled pretty hard. We're a pretty solid team, and we feel we have the personnel to be really successful next year."
