by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
The UNM men's soccer team's offense has been creating scoring opportunities all season.
When it puts those chances away, the Lobos are a hard team to beat.
The No. 9 Lobos ended the weekend with a 1-1 draw at Sacramento State on Friday before downing San Jose State 3-1 on Sunday in San Jose, Calif.
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UNM goalkeeper Mike Graczyk said he was happy with the team's play despite Friday's draw.
"Our offense played great today," Graczyk said. "We played good Friday, too. We just couldn't finish."
After the double-overtime tie with San Jose State, the Lobos rebounded for a come-from-behind victory Sunday. In the win, UNM managed eight shots on goal and improved to 11-3-3 overall and 6-1-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
UNM is in second place in the conference behind No. 21 Denver, which is 11-3-2 on the season and 7-0-1 in MPSF play.
San Jose State scored early to grab a 1-0 lead. However, the Lobos tied the game off a Spartan own goal.
Lobos Joey Vitagliano and Jack Smithson each scored a goal to help put the game away.
Graczyk said it was important to get the win Sunday and gain back momentum.
"Today's game was huge," he said. "It was good to get that win in a hostile environment. Now we just need to win these
next games."
In Friday's game, Brandon Barklage put the Lobos ahead 1-0 with a penalty kick in the 36th minute.
However, Sacramento State was able to answer back and keep UNM off the board the rest of
the game.
With the draw, the Lobos' record in overtime games this season stands at 3-0-3.
Although Graczyk would like the team to finish games earlier, it's important to be undefeated in those close games, he said.
"That's one thing we pride
ourselves in - playing great in close games and winning in overtime," he said. "Hopefully, it doesn't come to that. We'd rather put teams away earlier, but I'm really confident with our team's ability to win games like that."
The defense has continued to play well, giving up more than one goal in a game just once this season.
A couple defenders were injured over the weekend, but the Lobos moved players around and the backups played well, Graczyk said.
"I think it's definitely a tribute to the versatility we have on our team," Graczyk said. "We had a couple guys playing back who hadn't played there before. It's a tribute to the depth we have
this year."
