It took 89 minutes to tie the game — and nine more to win it.
But the UNM men’s soccer team remains undefeated in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play, moving to 2-0 after a thrilling 2-1 overtime win Sunday over conference foe Cal State Bakersfield.
No. 14 UNM found itself down early after the Roadrunners converted a penalty-kick opportunity in the 32nd minute, compliments of midfielder Alberto Navarro’s goal, which gave Cal State a 1-0 lead.
With the outcome looking grim, midfielder Stephen Brown scored the game-tying goal with 38 seconds left. That momentum carried the Lobos through overtime, and forward Justin Davis was able to put away the game winner in a one-on-one situation with Cal State’s goalkeeper, Eric Shannon.
Head coach Jeremy Fishbein said close wins will prepare UNM for a rigorous conference schedule.
“Our guys were confident. We hit the post a couple of times, created chances, and our guys believed in themselves,” said Fishbein. “You don’t like to put yourselves in these situations, but these wins go a long way.”
Davis said Sunday’s victory was a quality win for the Lobos.
“We knew we had to fight a little bit in the second half,” Davis said. “We came out and just really attacked the goal and created a lot of chances. It took us long enough to put one in, but we finally did, and we just carried that into the overtime.”
Sunday’s win, which rounds out a flawless weekend for the Lobos, will serve as a guidepost for the rest of UNM’s conference season, said defender Simon Ejdemyr.
Ejdemyr, who has anchored the back line and chipped in with three goals, said having three conference home games made this weekend’s games even more crucial. But the difficulty of the Lobos’ nonconference schedule, which has come in handy so far, prepared UNM for an intense conference race.
During the nonconference portion of the season, the Lobos played six teams ranked in the top 25. The Lobos have looked impressive overall, with road wins over nonconference opponents Notre Dame and California — both ranked in the top 10 this season. UNM nudged by the Fighting Irish 2-1 in overtime before handing the Golden Bears a 2-1 loss.
“We have played one of the hardest nonconference schedules of any team in the nation this season,” said midfielder Stephen Brown.
The most important results are in-conference, however.
Last season, UNM lost three road conference games to San Jose State, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and eventual-champion Denver. And, after winning four consecutive conference titles, the Lobos finished second behind Denver.
In recent years, the Lobos have played every team twice — once at home and once on the road. This season, teams only face each other once, so each contest is even more important, said midfielder and forward Michael Green.
“We really need to play more consistent at home and away in order for us to win back the title,” he said.
From here, the Lobos play four straight road games, traveling to Colorado for a matchup with Air Force and a pivotal game against Denver. The Lobos continue their grueling road schedule against Sacramento State and San Jose the following weekend.
And after a heartbreaking nonconference overtime loss to UC-Irvine on Oct. 7, Fishbein’s attitude towards conference play has changed.
“We were all looking past conference to the NCAA tournament,” he said. “It would have made it easier to make the NCAA tournament with seven wins against some quality teams, but now we know we must win conference to make it to the postseason.”
Loretta Cardenas contributed to this report.
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*Soccer vs. Air Force
Friday
USAF Academy in Colorado
7 p.m.*
