by Riley Bauling
Daily Lobo
A trip to the Final Four wasn't something any senior on the UNM men's soccer team was thinking about four years ago.
Three years ago? No way - that season ended with a losing record and no bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Two years? Jeff Rowland said the team's goal was just trying to get to the tournament.
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Last year? Nope, not even then, said senior Brandon Moss.
Boy, have things changed. Before this season started, Rowland said the team's goal was to get to the Final Four.
That's where it belonged, he said.
When the NCAA Tournament selection committee gave the Lobos a No. 2 seed this year, Rowland said that trip to the Final Four became more of a reality than ever before.
"If this is where it's going to end, it's not going to be good," he said. "When we got into the tournament with a No. 2 seed, our goal was to make it to the Final Four. I hope it's not going to end here, because we have bigger things ahead of us."
Now that the Lobos' Holy Grail is within reach, they're not getting overly giddy.
No kid-in-a-candy-store feeling for these Lobos.
"We know what to expect," Rowland said. "We've played in a lot of big games in front of big crowds. I don't think any one of us are nervous about underperforming."
It's hard to be nervous when almost 5,000 people are supporting you. And it doesn't hurt when those fans line the field, standing on a track five feet away from it.
As of 5:30 p.m. Thursday, 4,222 tickets had been sold of a possible 5,600.
"That's added a totally different dimension to things, having them on the track," Moss said. "You can't hear much from the crowd in the stands, but the ball will go out of bounds and you can hear people screaming, names being called. It's kind of a rush for them to be that close to you."
Moss credits the fans for the Lobos' comeback win against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the second round of the tournament.
UNM came back from a two-goal deficit in the first six minutes to win in a shootout. The win sent the 4,552 fans into a furor as most of them stormed the field and lifted Lobos' goalkeeper Mike Graczyk onto their shoulders.
The Lobos' third round game went much the same way. A 1-0 overtime win, a slew of the record-breaking 4,849 fans galloping around the field. Several of those fans were even clad in costume, including a cow with udders, a banana and a hot dog complete with mustard and ketchup.
Moss said people might have had their doubts about the Lobos' win against Northridge. After all, they did get outshot 15-11 for only the fifth time this season.
But when it comes down to it, a win is still a win.
"People can say it was a lucky win," he said, "but you create your own luck. The defense is what's going to get us through. It just takes one moment of brilliance to win it for you."
That one moment of brilliance has the Lobos on the verge of snatching a berth in the Final Four for the first time in program history if they beat No. 7 seed University of California-Berkeley on Friday.
And there's no reason for the wave to come crashing to the beach anytime soon, Moss said.
"Now that it's a reality, I suppose the way to do it would be to win this Elite Eight game and get to the College Cup," Moss said.
