On senior night for the UNM men’s soccer team, the seniors were the players who led the team to victory.
The two seniors on the team, midfielders Lance Rozeboom and Michael Green, each scored a penalty kick in their final regular-season home game on Saturday, in a 3-0 win against UNLV.
“It was pretty special scoring,” Rozeboom said. “Green and I have put our heart and soul into this program for the past four years and it was a very emotional note for us, but I am glad we ended it on a good note.”
Rozeboom and Green have been key players at UNM for the past four years, with 74 and 76 appearances, respectively, in their Lobo careers.
They have paired together at center midfield this season, and the pairing has led the team to its first-ever undefeated season.
In years past, Green and Rozeboom were an attacking threat, but this year they have been dropped into the midfield.
The change of position shows: Rozeboom scored only three goals this year, all from penalty kicks, and Green scored just two.
Green had nine goals to his name before the start of the season, including five from his sophomore season. He said he did not mind being out of the spotlight so long as the team remained in the lead.
“It’s a good feeling knowing that if one player isn’t scoring a goal, it’s going to come from somewhere else,” he said. “I’m not worried about me personally scoring, but the team scoring, that’s the best.”
With only two seniors on the team, Green said the lack of senior leadership on the team wasn’t hard to deal with.
“We found a good balance,” he said. “Lance has been a vocal leader and I have been more of the action leader. It’s a good balance; he yells at the team about something and I will talk to someone personally about it. It has not been a burden on either of us.”
Freshman defender Nick Miele said the two seniors are an integral part to why the team finished undefeated this year.
“Their leadership has been incredible throughout the year,” he said. “They have been able to keep the team on track and they have been able to get the distractions in check and get the team to succeed.”
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Both players came into the UNM program as highly touted freshmen, slated to add to the Lobos’ depth.
Rozeboom won seven state titles in Iowa and was the captain of his Iowa Olympic Development Program team.
Green came in as one of the best attackers in the country, after being a 2007 high school All-American, and was one of the top 20 high school recruits.
Junior midfielder Lawrence Robledo said even with their low score totals this year, the two seniors have been the leaders on the field and have showed everyone else what needs to be done to win.
“We have plenty of guys that can score, but the seniors have been the leaders this entire season,” he said. “It’s amazing to have those guys out there.”
