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To the naked eye, it looked like the UNM men’s soccer team dismantled Northern Illinois in a 3-0 victory on Sunday.
But head coach Jeremy Fishbein was not at all satisfied with the performance of the No. 5 team in the nation.
“We didn’t play very well. We switched the lineup a bit and it’s not as a cohesive of a group, and guys saw more minutes than they’re used to,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for them, and I think as a team we got a little complacent. We felt the game was too easy, and we didn’t have enough respect for our opponents at all times. I’m happy with the result, but I’m not happy with how we played. I expect more out of our team.”
The Lobos (7-1-0) made eight substitutions in the contest and lost some of their continuity because of the swaps.
Fishbein said he doesn’t know what combination of coaching techniques he should make use of to rile up the Lobos.
“It’s hard … some coaches would’ve probably kept the starting team on and not switch it up. I feel we have a lot of depth and we owe it to the guys who work hard every day, and that’s the reward: getting game minutes,” he said. “As much as you want to light into them, I don’t think that’s the answer today. But we definitely have to be better and convey that message to the moving forward.”
Senior forward Devon Sandoval scored the first goal of the game in the 19th minute, thanks to senior forward Blake Smith’s picture-perfect cross assist. Sandoval added his second goal of the game when redshirt sophomore forward Carson Baldinger chipped the ball over Huskies goalie Jordan Godsey to Sandoval for a cinch goal in the 29th minute, bringing the Lobos to 2-0.
Sandoval, who now has seven goals on the year, said the team has to be consistent with its play from start to finish.
“We still have a lot to improve on and we still can get better. We should’ve scored two or three more goals,” he said. “We have to take advantage of our opportunities.”
The Lobos weren’t finished, as in the 67th minute Smith slipped past the Northern Illinois defense and drilled the ball at Godsey, who blocked it straight back to Smith. Smith shot it right into the far post and celebrated with three backflips in a row.
Fishbein said the win is gratifying, but the team must stay focused as the conference season approaches.
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“It was an interesting game; on one hand you have to be pleased with a 3-0 victory, but the flip side is you work so hard, and it was an opportunity for guys to get some minutes,” he said. “It was a tough game to come in and do things, what we wanted to do as a team. We’re going to focus on the positives, and we achieved a lot of our goals going into it, but I would’ve loved to have seen a perfect game for 90 minutes.”
Statistically, the Lobos dominated the Huskies (1-4-2) with nine corner kicks to three and 18 shots to nine.
