The left side of the UNM Track and Soccer Complex doesn't bear any resemblance to a snowy slope.
But that's not stopping sophomore alpine skier Lars Loeseth from pulling double duty for the Lobo men's soccer team.
Loeseth played left midfielder for the UNM men's soccer team, scoring two goals in the Lobos' 4-0 exhibition win over Fort Lewis and 2-2 tie with Air Force on Saturday.
Loeseth is the sixth player the Lobos will add for the fall season. UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein said Loeseth has at least two years of eligibility remaining.
Junior Jeff Rowland - who added a goal and two assists in the win against Fort Lewis - said the Norwegian will fill in perfectly for departed senior and Belgian native Hans Bevers. Bevers spent most of last season leading the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in assists from UNM's left midfielder position.
"I think Lars is going to be a huge asset to our team," Rowland said. "I'm sure he's going to cause a lot of problems on the left. He's kind of like Hans. He's a good replacement."
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Loeseth scored the second of the two goals against Air Force and the first goal against Fort Lewis.
Although both of the games carried about as much weight as a practice, the win against Fort Lewis had an added incentive. Fishbein got his start in the coaching ranks at the Division II school in 1992. He stayed there until 1998 before taking over at the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
"We played our top lineup and played to win," Fishbein said in reference to the game against Fort Lewis. "We got the results against what I thought was a better team."
Fishbein said the win against the Skyhawks kept the afternoon from staying sour because they were tougher opponents than the Falcons.
Against Air Force, UNM held a 2-0 lead before relinquishing it and ending with a 2-2 tie.
Sophomore Andrew Boyens added a goal off of a penalty kick to go along with Loeseth's goal.
Fishbein said the first game's results turned ugly in part because he was trying to mix things up with all his players and in part because the Lobos have walked all over the Falcons in the past.
UNM hasn't lost to Air Force since Oct. 24, 2003. The Lobos beat the Falcons 2-0 and 3-0 last season.
The Skyhawks prevented an onslaught from occurring for about a half-hour before Loeseth received a ball off a corner kick from junior Lance Watson in the 34th minute. He wheeled around and fired a ball that continued to rise until it lodged itself in the upper left corner of the net past Skyhawk goalkeeper Nick Clark.
Rowland added his goal seven minutes later when junior Ben Ashwill tightroped the touchline and sent a ball into the middle that Rowland collected. He swiveled around and beat Clark to put the Lobos up 2-0 at halftime.
Captain Brandon Moss scored off a through ball from Rowland in the 50th minute. Rowland's second assist was a pass to freshman Blake Danaher who beat defender Bryan Eisenbraun to the ball before sliding it past Clark in the 80th minute.
The Lobos have one more doubleheader before their season starts next fall. They play the Colorado Rapids and the University of Denver on April 27 in Denver.
