Women's soccer still winless in season, ties NAU in home-opener

In its home-opener, the UNM women's soccer team couldn't notch a win against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Sunday at the UNM Soccer Complex.

But the Lobos didn't lose, either.

In a physically contested battle with as many spills and slide tackles as a football game, the Lobos and Lumberjacks finished the afternoon tied 1-1.

The Lobos' record stands at 0-1-1.

UNM forward Hannah Hand scored the team's lone goal, hammering home a deflected shot by teammate Alexis Ball in the 51st minute of the game.

Hand is seventh on UNM's all-time assist list with 10, trailing alumna Laurie Hegedorn by 13 assists. But Hand said she's made it a point this year to become more of a scorer.

"I've been working on driving it on goal more often," she said. "Also, just cutting inside the defender and going toward the goal."

UNM head coach Kit Vela said she's looking for Hand to develop into a more potent offensive threat.

"She's just playing the game with more confidence," Vela said.

Although Hand hasn't gotten away from her unselfish style of play, Vela has noticed her become a little more assertive in the box, she said.

"I told her, 'It's great that you're getting all these assists, but you're a forward; you need to score goals, too," she said.

Despite the Lobos shooting 17 times in the first half, five on goal, Vela said the team needs to capitalize on those opportunities.

"The only thing we need to work on is putting the ball in the back of the net," she said. "We can't outshoot a team 35-to-7 and tie 1-1."

Although they didn't find the nylon, Vela said the Lobos dictated the pace of the game.

"They were chasing all day," she said. "All they did was look to knock the ball out and try to get on the other end."

UNM will look to tally its first win Friday when the Lobos play Baylor.

"We'll keep doing the right things," Vela said. "We're fit. We have a lot of depth. Like I said, though, how far we go forward is going to depend on putting the ball in the back of the net."

UNM vs. Baylor

August 29, 2008 at 7 p.m.

UNM Soccer Complex