In a game punctuated by thundering African drums and the cheers of 2,451 people, the 19th ranked UNM men's soccer team gutted out a 104 minute bout with third-ranked Notre Dame but came up short, losing 2-1 in double overtime.
It was UNM's lone exhibition game of the fall and its first game since advancing to the NCAA tournament where the Lobos lost to UCLA 1-0 in the opening round.
UNM took the lead in the 31st minute of the game when midfielder Justin Davis drilled the ball into the back of the net after the ball bounced around and ricocheted off a Notre Dame defender.
"There was a scramble in the box," Davis said. "(UNM midfielder) Mike Green was going for it. The ball was deflected and popped right to me, and I just put it home."
The Lobos maintained their lead throughout the first half, despite relentless, blistering attacks from the Fighting Irish.
One of the Irish's best opportunities of the night came when midfielder Matt Armstrong's shot was narrowly saved by UNM goalie Eric Staver.
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While the Lobos held the Irish for most of the night, a momentary lapse in defense proved costly as Notre Dame forward Bright Dike received a cross from Jeb Brovsky in front of the goal and beat backup goalie Justin Fite in the 66th minute to tie the game at 1-1.
The game went into overtime with both teams denying the other's offensive assaults.
The teams came up dry in the first period, but in the second, Notre Dame midfielder Jeb Brovsky made a diving header off a cross from fellow midfielder Josh Thiermann. Fite made an attempt to stop it, but the ball squeaked past him into the goal.
UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein said no team likes to see a mark in the loss column, but he said his team played exceptionally well, given it was the first time it had taken the field since last season.
"I thought we looked real good at times," he said. "You know, you have some picture of how you want to play, and it's rarely going to come true in your first exhibition match. At times, I thought we were great. We didn't adjust when we weren't clicking. We didn't come out here to lose, so that's always disappointing. I could sit here and tell you the outcome is not important today, but we're competitors, and we have to get better if we are going to be the team we are capable of (being)."
One Lobo to keep an eye on is forward Chris Wright.
After scoring 12 goals and notching four assists last season, which garnered the senior Preseason All-America honors, Wright said he doesn't feel any added element of pressure coming into the 2008-09 campaign.
"I don't really look at it as pressure as much as a challenge to live up to the recognition that you've been given," he said. "A great deal of that recognition I've received is because of my teammates. So it's a reflection on this entire team, not just myself."
