It wasn't exactly the Lambeau Leap, but UNM forward Chris Wright did his own variation of the jump - the "Lobo Leap" - throwing himself into a small group of guys to the left of the Louisville goal after putting the Lobos up 1-0 in the 65th minute against the Cardinals Sunday at the UNM Soccer Complex.
But the support of the "Barmy Army," as they like to call themselves, wasn't able to help the Lobos coast to victory - they lost 2-1.
Shortly after Wright banged home the go-ahead goal, Louisville's Bryan Kanu took an assist from Ryan McDonald and headed home the equalizer, making it 1-1 in the 69th minute.
Usually after a loss, head coach Jeremy Fishbein is steamed, but he said he didn't have much to fault his team for this game.
"We played well at times," he said. "We kind of jerked it in and out. There was a five-minute spell after they scored their first goal that we went down, but, for the most part, we played pretty well."
Wright said Fishbein was surprisingly calm in the huddle after the game.
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"He knows when to get into us and when to be a little more thoughtful," he said. "The thing was, we did play well for a large part of the game and played intelligently. That's why this is such a hard way to lose, because you feel like you did a lot of things right."
Despite giving up two goals, Lobo goalkeeper Eric Staver played solid, making six saves.
One of most impressive saves came late in the first half when Louisville forward Colin Rolfe fired a laser toward the left side of the goal. Staver stretched out and got a hand on the ball, quickly smothering it to ensure nobody banged home the rebound.
However, in the 101st minute of the second overtime, Staver gave chase to a ball in the left corner of the field. Louisville midfielder J.T. Murray noticed Staver out of the box and quickly lobbed a shot that found the side of the net.
"It was some indecision," Fishbein said. "By the time he went out, it was a little bit late."
Fishbein said Staver initially made the right decision.
"I think if he went out initially hard he would have won the ball," he said. "That being said, the guy hit a cross and kind of missed the cross, but it took a spin into the goal."
With the loss, the Lobos stand at 2-1-1 on the season.
Next week, the Lobos will face two ranked teams: No. 5 Akron and No. 24 Cal Poly.
Fishbein said playing against Michigan State and Louisville, who both competed in last year's NCAA tournament, was a good early test for the Lobos.
"We always want to play the best teams we can," he said. "We knew it wasn't going to be an easy game, and we're not really happy with how it finished, but it's a credit to them. (Louisville) was a team that stuck to their guns. They didn't let themselves get exposed."
