The UNM men’s soccer team’s season ended in heartbreak on Thursday.
An overtime goal in the 98th minute by Portland midfielder Collen Warner sent the Lobos and an enormous crowd home disappointed, and Portland moved on to the next
round 2-1.
“This hurts,” said head coach Jeremy Fishbein, whose team finished 12-7-1 overall. “We all expected to be on a plane on Saturday to North Carolina.”
The Lobos got off to a promising start, with a flurry of shots in the opening minutes, and it did not take long for them to find the net.
In the 35th minute, sophomore Michael Green found himself in space on the left wing where he sent a precision pass to sophomore Lance Rozeboom, who slotted it home from six yards out.
It sent the crowd of over 2,000 people into a frenzy.
“We were doing everything right in that first half,” said senior Simon Ejdemyr. “We were really defending and attacking well.”
The Lobos outshot the Pilots 12-2 in the first half and took a deserved lead into halftime.
“We were really creating a lot of chances in the first half,” said senior Justin Davis. “We should have finished them.”
But the Pilots came out ready to turn the game around.
With six minutes left in the game, Portland found itself in possession of the ball after connecting some good passes, and Warner finished it off with a great shot from 25 yards out.
“He was a special player,” Fishbein said. “He found himself in space and put it away.”
During overtime, the Pilots had to play a man down, when, in the 93rd minute, Portland’s goalkeeper Austin Guerrero elbowed a Lobo player and was assigned a red card.
The Lobos, playing with an extra man, couldn’t convert despite having an advantage, and Warner finished UNM off.
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“We were all just going to play for penalty kicks,” Warner said. “I was surprised we won it. I still can’t believe it.”
After the goal was punched home, many Lobos fell to the field, shocked and in disbelief.
“They came at us in the second half, and we were unable to finish our chance,” Ejdemyr said.
The Lobos outshot the Pilots 21-10, forced Guerrero to six saves, and back-up goalie Justin Baarts to one save. Lobo goalie Justin Fite only had two.
“This is what happens when you don’t take your chances and finish teams off,” Fishbein said. “A second goal by us would have put this game away. I am really hurt right now for those five seniors. This is not the way we envisioned our season ending.”
