The UNM men’s soccer team fell 2-0 to the Conference USA preseason favorites, the Charlotte 49ers on Tuesday night.
New Mexico head coach Jeremy Fishbein said he thought he had an idea of what to expect coming into the game, but unfortunately the Lobos were not able to keep up with Charlotte.
The 49ers (8-4-2, 5-0-1 C-USA) were coming in having allowed just nine goals in 13 matches. Their defense was strong, having limited their previous opponents to just 41 shots on goal.
They brought those same defensive skills to Tuesday’s match. The 49ers only allowed two shots during the first half. Charlotte’s offense was able to record 10 shots.
“We got outcompeted that first half, to be honest,” Fishbein said. “They played very direct. They were predictable and we had to match it. That’s what we talked about. He had to match them from a competitive standpoint, and we got outcompeted.”
The first goal of the night came in the 21st minute when Charlotte’s junior midfielder Brandt Bronico scored with the help of his teammates, defender Malcolm Stewart and forward Kyle Parker. This was Bronico’s sixth goal of the season.
Fishbein described this as “a beautiful goal on a half chance.”
“We had a couple similar opportunities, but we didn’t put it on frame,” he said.
Kyle Parker went on to increase his team’s lead to 2-0 in the 39th minute thanks to a corner kick. A header by midfielder Max Rodriguez found Parker, who sent a shot from 6 yards away, Parker’s ninth goal of the season.
Charlotte’s goalkeeper, Austin Pack, didn’t have to make a single save during this half.
The Lobos put a little more pressure on the 49ers during the second half, but their efforts were still not enough to put them on the scoreboard.
Just three minutes in, Lobo midfielder/defender Josh Goss took the ball into the 18 and sent a powerful shot that was saved by Pack.
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In the 77th minute, Lobo midfielder Chris Wehan found some space and was able to send a cross toward defender Nicholas Rochowski. But the ball was just out of Rochowski’s reach and ended up traveling to the other side of the box.
By the end of the match, the Lobos were outshot 18-7 and didn’t record a single corner kick, whereas Charlotte had seven.
Lobo keeper Jason Beaulieu made nine saves, a career high. Pack was only forced to make three thanks to the rest of the 49ers tenacious defense.
“We created some half-chances and had some good sequences but just didn't have the same kind of composure and competitiveness and confidence about us," Fishbein said.
Fishein also added that the Lobos (7-5-3, 1-4-1 C-USA) can learn a lot from this loss, and that for the next few games, they will need to find more confidence and embrace the physical aspect of the game.
"[Charlotte] brought a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence into the game, and they beat us," Fishbein said. "It's a pretty disappointing result."
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
