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He wasn’t speechless after Friday night’s nonconference finale against Davis, but New Mexico men’s soccer coach Jeremy Fishbein found the Lobos’ third straight home loss difficult to explain.
UNM, which begins its first Conference USA contest Monday at Marshall, surrendered a goal late in the second half in 2-1 loss to UC Davis. Aggies forward Matt Wiesenfarth posted his first goal this year at the 73:25 mark, drawing UNM goalkeeper Michael Lisch out of position and scoring from the far post.
Prior to Friday night’s setback, UNM endured home losses to then-No. 11 Cal State Northridge Sept. 15 and Drake Sept. 20. The Lobos bounced back from the two-game skid by winning at UC Santa Barbara Monday, but the latest defeat drops their overall record to 4-3-1.
“I don’t know what to say because it’s not effort. It’s not the quality of our guys,” Fishbein said. “It’s not the style of play. It’s just missing a little bit. It’s beyond me.”
As it has in several games this year, UNM battled for a majority of the contest in its attacking end. The Lobos attempted 18 shots with eight on goal, and they held an 11-2 advantage on corner kicks. Davis took four shots, three on goal.
A Lisch foul 22 minutes into the game resulted in a successful penalty kick made by Davis midfielder Ryan Gross. The two collided as Lisch tried to grab a hold of the ball, but the official whistled the Lobo goalkeeper when Gross fell to the grass.
UNM trailed until the 62-minute mark when forward Ben McKendry’s shot from five yards out found the net. Defender Oniel Fisher had the assist on the play.
Lobo goalkeeper Michael Lisch did not make a save, though the team did have one stop on a defensive play from defender Kyle Venter. Aggie goalkeeper Omar Zeenni halted seven UNM shots on goal, including two from McKendry, forward James Rogers and midfielder Michael Calderon.
Women end winless streak
MIdfielder Lindsey Guice scored in the first five and a half minutes of overtime, leading the UNM women to a 2-1 victory over San Jose State in Friday’s Mountain West Conference opener.
The Lobos (3-7-1) snapped a five game winless streak that included four straight losses and a tie.
Guice found the net for the first time this season. Midfielder Ruth Bruciaga collected a deflected shot and sent to Guice, who shot from the right side of the net.
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UNM overcame an early first half lead following a goal by SJSU’s Sarah Fraser at the 11:31 mark. UNM’s Annie Wheeler tied the match with an unassisted goal at the 58:56 mark.
“We knew San Jose State was a good team, a big team, and we played well, but it was frustrating,” UNM women’s coach Kit Vela said. “But we stayed with it, and we scored two good goals. It was a great way for us to start conference play.”
Both goalkeepers, UNM’s Cassie Ulrich and SJSU’s Zoe Makrigiannis, had four saves.
