by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
The UNM men's soccer team evened its record to 2-2-0 after a 1-0 win against Cincinnati on Sunday.
Still, Lobo head coach Jeremy Fishbein couldn't be more upset with how his team played at the UNM Soccer Complex.
"It was awful," he said. "It was a horrendous game - a piece of (expletive)."
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Even though UNM did just enough to pull out the victory, Fishbein was frustrated with some of his players after the game.
He said the fact that the Lobos evened their record didn't mean much, and they need to improve in future games.
UNM defender Mike Porter, who helped key Sunday's shutout, said the Lobos have some improvements to make. But he is confident in
the team.
"Everyone seems optimistic," he said. "I think we know that we've been just a little unlucky lately. Everyone's putting it in and working hard, and the wins are going to come. We just got to keep it up."
Fishbein said the offense needs to execute better with the talent it has.
"You want to finish opportunities and just make smarter decisions," he said. "I didn't feel we made good decisions today. We got good players, so I just expect a lot more from them."
Fortunately, the defense played well enough Sunday for one goal to be enough.
In the 30th minute, Lobo senior Diego Barrera scored against Cincinnati goalkeeper Miguel Rosales on a Stephen Brown assist.
Barrera's goal was the only scoring the UNM offense was able to muster during the weekend, including a 1-0 home-opening loss to Loyola Maramount on Friday.
In that game, the Lobos were in control - outshooting Loyola Maramount 21-10 - but came away with a tough loss.
Barerra said Sunday's goal was a relief after the way UNM was shut down in Friday's game.
"It felt great," he said. "It was a big weight off my shoulders after Friday. I had a couple opportunities. I wasn't going to let myself and the team down again."
While the Lobo offense was able to generate an attack on Friday, it only got off nine shots Sunday.
Of those, there were a couple shots that looked promising but ended up sailing high.
Fishbein said he was much happier with how the Lobos played Friday, and the team needs to be on top of its game if it is going to have a successful season.
"We played really well on Friday and didn't get a result, which is hard to explain that one," he said. "Our guys knew we weren't playing as good of a team today, and they thought it was going to come easy, and nothing comes easy."
UNM goalkeeper Mike Graczyk had a historic game in Sunday's 1-0 win against Cincinnati.
With the shutout, Graczyk tied former UNM goalkeeper Andrew Weber for first place on the all-time shutout list, with 25.
"It's a great honor, and it's definitely something to be proud of," Graczyk said. "The guy in front of me, Andrew Weber, is a great guy and a great keeper. The defense played great today, and I definitely give the credit to them."
Graczyk, a senior, will have a chance to break the record at home this weekend as the Lobos host Washington on Friday and UC-Santa Barbara on Sunday.
Men's soccer vs. Washington
Friday, 7 p.m.
UNM Soccer Complex
