The 15th-ranked Lobos (7-2-1, 1-1-0) got on the scoreboard just 43 seconds into the match, and finished the night with a goal at only 41 seconds remaining.
Sophomore forward Niko Hansen put the Lobos in the early lead after receiving a long through ball from redshirt sophomore defender Chris Gurule. This was the second straight match in which UNM has gotten off to a quick start, with the Lobos’ Wednesday-night lead coming only 16 seconds into the game.
“We wanted to come out firing and put some pressure on them,” Gurule said. “I was trying to put (the ball) into a good area. I knew Niko would be in a good spot. I was trying to relieve a little bit of pressure. It was a fortunate ball, and Niko did great work to put it in the back of the net.”
After Hansen’s goal, the Lobos kept looking for another, but struggled to find it.
In the 43rd minute FIU’s Nelson Milsaint received a red card, leaving the Golden Panthers one man down.
This, however, did not make things easier for the Lobos.
“I thought tactically they played it right,” UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “They were a man down. They defended, they played in their half and made it difficult for us.”
The FIU defense took several scoring chances away from UNM, but the Lobos still outshot the Panthers 18-2. The Lobos also led in corner kicks 6-0.
FIU goalie David Mitchell was forced to make six saves, whereas Lobo goalie Jason Beaulieu only had to make one.
Junior forward Kevin Correa got the Lobos their much-desired second goal in the 89th minute when he took a header from Gurule, proceeded to run through the FIU defense and took a shot that met the back of the net.
“It was just one of those moments,” Correa said. “I saw the space, and instead of taking it to the corner like I should have, I attacked.”
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It was Correa’s second goal of the week after not having registered any over UNM’s first eight matches.
“The past week has been much better,” he said. “I’m finally getting used to the way we play.”
This victory against FIU (3-5-1, 0-2-0 CUSA) was the Lobos’ first Conference USA win of the season, having lost their first conference match against Charlotte 2-0 on Sept. 26.
“We knew, coming out of Charlotte, that wasn’t us. We knew we would have a good turnaround,” Gurule said. “It’s great that guys are scoring; hopefully it will continue until the end of the season.”
Fishbein said he was pleased with his team’s overall performance, but added they still need to work a little more on the attacking third to put away teams when they get the chance.
“At some point in the season we have to take our chances,” Fishbein said. “We have to score goals, because we have some good teams ahead of us.”
The Lobos will go on the road to face Florida Atlantic on Wednesday.
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
