Last week, UNM sophomore midfielder Ruth Bruciaga netted three goals against in-state rival New Mexico State. These were Bruciaga’s first goals of the season, and the Lobos captured a 4-1 win.
Bruciaga said hat tricks are common at club and high school levels. At a collegiate level, however, she said they are much more difficult and they mean a lot more.
Bruciaga’s hat trick was the first three-goal performance since Lindsey Guice’s showing against Colorado State last season when the Lobos won 3-0. It was also the second hat trick since Jennifer Williams netted three goals against UNLV in 2010.
With this performance, Bruciaga was named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week. One day after that award, College Sports Madness named her Mountain West Women Soccer Player of the Week.
“It was definitely a confidence booster,” she said. “I have no words for it, it’s just an awesome experience. I can only say I have to keep going up from there.”
Head coach Kit Vela said she expects a lot out of Bruciaga for the rest of the season.
“She’s dangerous whether she scores goals or allows others to get into the play,” Vela said. “She’s a very dynamic offensive player, but now she’s giving us some of the defensive side.”
Bruciaga is a local product, coming from Volcano Vista High School where she lettered all four years of her high school career and scored 37 total goals. She was named Volcano Vista’s MVP, District Player of the Year and First Team All-State in 2010 and 2012.
Soccer genes are present in the Bruciaga family. Her brother, Mauricio Bruciaga played at Cibola High School and is a senior at Lyon College.
The Lobos (3-3-1, 1-0-1 Mountain West) opened conference play last weekend against Fresno State (1-10-0, 0-2-0 Mountain West) when they rallied from a 1-0 deficit at halftime to win 2-1. UNM then traveled to San Jose State (3-4-3, 0-1-1 Mountain West) where they walked away with a 1-1 tie.
The Lobos have two home matches this weekend against Air Force on Friday night and Colorado College on Sunday afternoon.
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Vela said she is happy where her team is at in this point of the season and can’t look past Air Force on Friday.
“They’re good, we knew they would be good,” she said. “They’re always aggressive, always physical, and so we’ve got to be able to match that and still play our game.”
Air Force (5-4-0, 2-0-0 Mountain West) is one of three teams tied for first in the Mountain West Conference right now. The Lobos are currently tied for second in the conference with Colorado College.
Kyle Tomasi is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @KyTo22.
