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For the first time ever, a Lobo women’s soccer game ended in a tie with no overtime when officials canceled the game due to lightning.
Game officials announced a 30-minute lightning delay after regulation finished at a 1-1 deadlock. After more downpour and vicious winds, the officials finally canceled the game after the delay was extended to 90 minutes.
Junior defender Liz Nare said the Lobos need to work harder to put away opponents.
“It was a little disappointing, but it happens. We just need to learn from it and finish the game in regulation,” Nare said.
Head coach Kit Vela said a tie is better than a loss.
“It’s the first game of the season. There is very little emotion to the end result. You just try to take every game as a buildup to the rest of the season,” Vela said. “1-1, 1-0, overtime, no overtime, it wouldn’t have mattered. We are taking every minute we play as a learning lesson to where we want to go, which is the conference.”
After a rugged first half, UNM entered a 1-0 hole in the 69th minute when TCU’s Kelly Johnson provided a header that led to a goal. Not soon after, the Lobos’ intensity picked up offensively.
In the 78th minute, Rachel Montoya launched a free kick from the top of the box to Nare, who was able to head in a goal to shatter the deficit.
“It meant so much to me because it was my first goal,” Nare said. “As a center-back, I don’t get a chance to get up there that much.”
Vela said Nare’s spark displayed the grit and determination of this year’s squad.
“She showed her junior-year maturity. She was always happy just defending and keeping the ball out of the back of the net,” Vela said. “But tonight, she was like ‘Heck no. We’re down a goal? I’m going to find a way to help.’ That’s just great leadership right there.”
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The Horned Frogs’ strategy caught the Lobos off guard and served as a learning experience because the Lobos played no exhibition games prior to the matchup.
“They played a low-pressured game, which we haven’t seen in a long time. They were trying to take our tempo away from us,” Vela said. “We are trying to find ourselves offensively. It was a great character check for us to get scored on.”
Nare said the team hopes this is one of the only mishaps it will face during the season.
“It was our first game, so I just want our team to improve game by game. Hopefully we can peak by the time conference rolls around, so we can win our third championship and move on to the NCAA tournament,” Nare said.
