Everybody wanted to be like Mike on Friday.
With 24 seconds left in the first overtime, defender Michael Reed dribbled past three defenders on the left wing and found midfielder Michael Green in the box for the go-ahead goal, giving the Lobos a 2-1 victory over UNLV at the UNM Soccer Complex.
“I got the ball, and I just went at them,” Reed said. “I played Green, and things ended up working out in our favor. It was some luck and some skill, but it worked out.”
Midfielder Patrick Pacheco scored his first goal of the season after an eventful first 15 minutes.
Pacheco picked the ball up on the right wing, beat his defender and slid the ball under the keeper to the far post.
Reed was tackled in front of the UNLV bench in the 67th minute, leading to a scuffle. Three yellow cards were issued, but the confrontation brought UNLV to life, and five minutes later the Rebels scored the equalizer.
UNLV’s Stephen Sifuentes picked the ball up near midfield and danced around UNM defenders to hit a beautiful shot into the upper corner from 30 yards.
“That kid hit a world-class goal,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “There was nothing we could do about that one.”
Or about the chances UNM missed out on.
Forward Josh Caffey hit a 20-yard shot but missed, and midfielder Lance Rozeboom hit the post with less than two minutes remaining. But in overtime, Green made sure none of it mattered.
“Sometimes when teams go to overtime, they get a little unfocused and rattled, but I think that we stayed calm and stayed focused, and it was a good win for us.” Green said.
The overtime win was the first for UNM in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.
Fishbein said the Lobos have put themselves on solid foundation by winning their conference opener.
“You need a player like Green to win you some games, and, overall, it was a good result,” he said.
