The UNM women's soccer team was tested on Senior Night, when the Lobos battled SDSU to a 1-1 tie in double overtime.
"They showed a lot of character in overtime," head coach Kit Vela said. "We never quit and we never gave up. We were the aggressors. We kept pushing, pushing, pushing; we just couldn't get anything for the effort."
In the 21st minute, SDSU's Cat Walker - the third-leading scorer in the Mountain West Conference - blasted an uncontested shot into the net. But for the rest of the game, the Lobos minimized mistakes as the senior class stepped up and led the charge, keeping SDSU off balance.
Senior captain Shannon Adragna said she was pleased with the energy the team displayed.
"We came out hard, and it was a testament of how much we cared about each other and how much we wanted to win," she said.
In the second half, the Lobos got off seven shots, cashing in during the 56th minute.
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UNM's Alexis Ball took her defender off-line but could not find any of her teammates by the post, so she decided to rip the ball, curling one in from the far left wing past the Aztecs' goalkeeper.
"The senior class works their butt off, and you know that they care so much about the game and about everybody else on the team," Ball said. "Especially tonight, I really wanted to bring in the win for the seniors, because they work so hard and they deserve it."
Although the Lobos had a combined eight shot attempts in two overtime periods, they couldn't score.
A win would have guaranteed UNM a spot in the conference tournament, but with the tie, the Lobos need a win over UNLV and a little good fortune.
The Lobos, who are fifth in the conference at 2-3-1, are deadlocked with Wyoming and SDSU in a three-team battle for the remaining two spots in the MWC Tournament. Best case scenario for the Lobos: Wyoming drops its next two games against Utah and BYU. If so, the Lobos and Aztecs would sneak into the six-team field.
With UNM's future still undecided, the seniors will make a concerted effort to extend the Lobos' season.
"The bottom line for next weekend is that we have to come out with a lot of energy," Adragna said. "We are a good technical team, but we can't get by on technicality alone."
Although UNM's hopes for playing in the post-season are still in limbo, this is the first class in Vela's tenure to have four consecutive winning seasons.
"This has been one of the best classes I've coached," Vela said. "They are highly competitive kids and great leaders. They've done a good job in the last two years of stepping in. They've showed a lot of character."
UNM will rely on those seniors' leadership at least one more time this season.
"We are beating UNLV," Ball said. "We are making it to the tournament. Not only are we going to make it to the tournament; we are going to do well."
