A Niko Hansen hat trick made the Lobos’ California dream come to life.
New Mexico (5-2) was rewarded with its first road win of the season — and its fifth straight victory overall — in a 3-1 victory over the UC Irvine Anteaters (1-6) on Saturday night.
Hansen’s three goals were the senior forward’s first career hat trick, and also the program’s first hat trick since October 2012, when former player Devon Sandoval — current striker for Real Salt Lake — recorded three goals against UNLV.
“This was a great result with a 3-1 win on the road,” said UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein in a statement. “We came out firing and I’m happy with the performance. We had some guys play real well including Niko with the hat trick and an excellent performance tonight by Simon (Spangenberg). The guys were good tonight, took their chances and had great energy. It was a great result.”
Hansen wasted no time on Saturday, dribbling his way past three UC Irvine defenders and scoring his first goal of the match less than three minutes in.
In the ninth minute, junior forward Luke Lawrence took a header that, although on target, was saved by UC Irvine’s goalkeeper Elliot Farmer.
Midfielder Chris Wehan had back-to-back attempts in the 22nd minute, but both were blocked by the Anteater defense.
The Anteaters’ biggest chance in the first half came in the 34th minute when Ivan Canales went through the UNM defense and forced Lobos keeper Jason Beaulieu to come out and pick up the ball to make the save.
Hansen’s early goal was the only one seen in the first half. New Mexico finished the period leading 8-5 in shots and 4-1 in corner kicks.
Hansen once again got to work early in the second half. In the 50th minute, Farmer came out to clear a ball, which Hansen managed to block and then send straight into the open net. That score would account for his fourth game winner this season.
He completed the hat trick in the 56th minute when junior forward Sam Gleadle’s pass deflected right to him. Hansen finished the job by sliding the ball under UCI’s keeper.
The Anteaters responded a minute later when they got a corner kick opportunity. Sophomore midfielder Luis Leon’s kick got to defender Matthew Tilley, who headed it over Beaulieu and deep into the net.
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Tilley’s goal broke the Lobos’ shutout streak. But the win still marked the fifth straight victory for UNM, which matches the squad’s longest streak since 2015.
By the end of the match, the Lobos outshot the Anteaters 13-10. UCI took a 7-5 lead in corner kicks.
The Lobos, begin Conference USA play next week when they travel to Lexington, Kentucky to take on the Kentucky Wildcats.
The match is scheduled for Sunday at 5 p.m. MT.
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She mainly covers men’s soccer and basketball. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
