New Mexico wanted a shutout after its first exhibition game, in which the Lobos allowed a goal 22 seconds before the final whistle was blown.
The Lobos got their shutout on Wednesday night against the Grand Canyon University Antelopes, winning 3-0 in their last home preseason match.
The Antelopes outshot the Lobos 6-5 in the first half and 6-2 in the second half. But this wasn’t UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein’s biggest concern.
“Shots is a funny statistic; they weren’t dangerous shots,” Fishbein said. “But outside of that, we caused our own problems. They didn’t really break us down. We created quite a few good chances.”
UNM's first goal came when a foul by GCU presented the Lobos with a free kick just 7 minutes into the match. Redshirt junior midfielder Chris Wehan took the shot just outside the box and hit the upper left of the net.
Although happy with the goal, Fishbein said he wasn’t exactly thrilled with his team’s performance at the beginning of the match.
“I don’t think we played that well on the first half," he said. “I thought we were just a little bit casual. I don’t know how to put my finger on it.”
At one point during the first half GCU had five consecutive corner kicks, but the Lobo defense was able to keep the ball out.
“We kept trying to play and play and over play. “ Fishbein said. “It just wasn’t clicking. We didn’t really read the rhythm of the game; we let them be more dangerous than we needed to.”
Close to the end of the first half, GCU got its own chance at a free kick, but the shot was sent too high.
Although the Antelopes showed more hunger in the second half, the Lobos were better at finishing their plays.
“I thought our response was really good in the second half,” Fishbein said. “We scored some nice goals, had a little bit more energy and played in the other team's half.”
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Junior midfielder Josh Goss increased the Lobos’ lead to 2-0 in the 63rd minute thanks to an assist by Wehan.
Redshirt freshman defender Gabriel Camera put another one in with less than a minute remaining in regulation time. This was Camera’s first goal as a Lobo.
"It felt amazing," Camera said. "I saw the ball coming at me, I focused only on the ball, kept my eye on it and swung through it. The goalie didn't see it and it went in the goal."
Fishbein said he would “take the game for what it was” and was ready to move forward. He said the Lobos will play their last exhibition game as they would a normal game.
The Lobos will travel to Denver this weekend to conclude preseason action.
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on twitter @cisabelg.
