The UNM women's soccer squad showed it's a team that just won't quit, coming back from two goals down against Hawaii on Tuesday to force its second draw of the season.
The Lobos scored two goals late in the second half to tie the game at 3-3. Neither team could capitalize in two overtimes.
Hawaii started off strong, scoring on a rebound from UNM goalkeeper Shannon Adragna's block to get the early lead. After UNM's Samantha Bevis scored a goal to tie the game, Hawaii regained the lead on a transition play that gave it a one-goal lead going into halftime.
"We made a couple of mistakes (defensively), and it was unfortunate," head coach Kit Vela said. "They capitalized on it, and that's what good teams do."
In the second half, Hawaii seemed to have put the game away when Taryn Fukuroku's shot blew past Adragna, making it 3-1 Hawaii in the 65th minute.
The Lobos' offense kept pushing throughout the game but couldn't capitalize until freshman midfielder Amanda Collins floated a ball over Hawaii's goalkeeper, reducing the lead to 3-2 in the 77th minute.
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And the Lobos didn't stop attacking. With two minutes left, UNM caught a break as the ball deflected off a Hawaii player and into the goal to tie the game at three apiece.
"It goes to show that no game is ever guaranteed a win," Bevis said. "We were down, but we kept persisting, and we kept going until the very last. It was unfortunate not to come out with the win, but it's good that we kept fighting throughout the game."
Offensively, the Lobos controlled the ball most of the game, but 11 off-side penalties hurt the Lobos, and two resulted in goals being called back.
"I think we won the game, to be honest," Vela said. "But there were those two goals that were called back."
The Lobos didn't lose their composure even when Vela substituted seven players during the game. Five freshmen were on the field when the Lobos tied the game and sent it to overtime.
"It just shows that we are a deep team this year, and we have players coming on the field doing a really good job," Vela said.
The Lobos have a 2-1-2 record as they prepare for Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Fairleigh Dickinson in the Nike Invitational this weekend at the UNM Soccer Complex.
"This game gave our team a lot of confidence," Vela said. "And now they know that they are a good team, and they need to keep playing hard throughout the season."
