It took 109 minutes and 32 seconds, but the grinding paid off.
The Lobos took a 1-0 victory over California State University, Bakersfield Roadrunners on Friday, the first night of the Grange and Ashwill Memorial Tournament. The win came with 28 seconds remaining in the second period of overtime.
The result ensures the streak of no goals allowed in regulation time by the UNM defense continues.
From the Lobo net, starting goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu sent the ball straight to forward Niko Hansen. Seconds later, Hansen’s shot was converted into the lone goal of the match.
“Big time winner by Niko with 28 seconds on the clock,” said UNM Head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “Sometimes you need that. You are not going to win all the games pretty and you’re not going to cruise. Sometimes it takes a little bit extra and a special moment by a tremendous attacking player.”
“That is a huge win,” he said. “That is a confidence builder.”
The first ball that went in the back of the net on Friday night came from the Roadrunners, just four minutes into the match. However, referees deemed it null as it came from an offside play.
Just three minutes later, Josh Goss took the first shot for the Lobos from the right side of the box, which ended up going too wide. The midfielder had a couple more chances throughout the match but was not able to convert.
“It’s frustrating in the moment but it’s one of those things where you have to have a little bit of amnesia and move on from that and get ready for the next opportunities,” Goss said. “We’ve been working on it this week…. I think next game we are going to get a bunch more chances and that’s all I’m looking forward to.”
In the 10th minute, CSU Bakersfield’s forward Hugo Vinales took a dangerous shot from the top of the box, but Beaulieu had no trouble making the save.
Vinales had another good opportunity in the 29th minute but Beaulieu wouldn’t let that one sneak through either.
The first half of regulation time ended with New Mexico leading 6-2 in shots.
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The Lobos were inches away from getting their first goal in the 68st minute when defender Tom Smart took a shot that went slightly too high. Like Goss, Smart also had a few other opportunities throughout the game.
Fishbein said although he can’t predict who will score next, he does believe the Lobos will be creating a lot more opportunities on Sunday when the team plays Grand Canyon University.
The Lobos recorded a total of 17 shots throughout Friday’s match, including overtime, but only four of those were considered on goal. The Roadrunners recorded seven shots total, three on target.
Although he didn’t think the Lobos reached their full potential, Fishbein said he was happy with the results.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the team. That’s the mark of a winning team,” he said. “We weren’t at our best. We had our moments, we created our chances. We kept fighting and we kept driving. We kind of got a hold of the game. We never put our heads down.”
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.
