It didn't come as a surprise.
After defeating No. 2-ranked Akron 1-0 on Friday at the UNM Soccer Complex, UNM's James Urbany bragged to GoLobos.com.
"We're one of the best teams in the nation," he said. "We studied hard for this game. We knew each one of their players. We knew their names; where they are from. Don't get me wrong. It's a great feeling to beat them, because they are a national contender. But it also was something we expected."
But what happened Sunday might have Urbany wishing he hadn't spoke so soon.
Fresh off an exhilarating win over Akron, UNM followed up by losing 2-1 to Cal Poly.
"We just came out flat," midfielder Justin Davis said. "They just took advantage of us."
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Davis had the game-winning goal against Akron. He had his opportunities Sunday, too.
Early in the first half, with all the tumbles and bad blood on the field, it almost seemed the Lobos were playing hated rivals NMSU.
Davis said it was chippy throughout.
"They were just talking (expletive)," Davis said.
Still, Davis tried to concentrate on putting the Lobos up.
He had his best opportunity early in the first half. Davis took a pass from teammate Stephen Brown and zoomed toward Cal Poly's goal only to be tripped up.
"I think that guy got a little bit of the ball, but I mean, it was a good ball by Stephen," Davis said. "I don't know if it was a foul or not."
Lobo head coach Jeremy Fishbein didn't question the officiating either.
"The referees were the same in both directions," he said. "We have no excuses. That was a team that, if they were going to score goals, they were going to do it offdead balls or off mistakes."
But the expressions on Fishbein's and the Lobos' faces were all the same - looks of disbelief.
"It's a pretty tough loss," Fishbein said. "It's always going to be hard after playing such a big, emotional game to play well the next day. I mean, you saw it with Akron today."
Akron, too, came out a bit lackadaisical and ended up tying Missouri State 0-0 despite dominating every statistical category.
On paper, UNM did the same Sunday, shooting the ball 16 times. Ultimately, UNM didn't capitalize on those opportunities.
Cal Poly did just that, setting the tone in the 34th minute when Patrick Sigler took an assist from Kyle Montgomery and headed home the go-ahead goal.
Sigler, who had both Cal Poly's goals, notched another goal in the 61st minute, making it 2-0.
With the 90-minute stoppage approaching, UNM's Stephen Brown got a hold of a cross from Mike Porter and finally got the Lobos on the board at 2-1.
But it was a case of too little, too late.
"It's a letdown by everybody on this team," Davis said. "Maybe it was the time of the game, but really there are no excuses. We have to come out next weekend and play like we did on Friday."
