After suffering arguably their worst defeat of the season to Fresno State, the Lobos desperately needed a good result in Reno, Nevada on Friday night.
That is exactly what they got.
The Lobos put on a commanding show, and were largely untroubled defensively by Nevada in a 2-0 win. However, the Lobos were unable to break down the Wolfpack’s well organized and resilient defense until the 40th minute, when junior defender Alexa Cabrales’ long throw-in was knocked in by freshman midfielder Jessie Hix, who now has two goals on the season.
Midway into the second half, senior Nevada defender Katherine Davidson brought down UNM freshman Jill Olguin in the penalty area, conceding a penalty kick. Senior midfielder Claire Lynch converted the penalty, burying the ball into the top right corner of the goal, giving Nevada senior goalkeeper Kelsey Quintos no chance.
Lynch’s seventh goal of the year was the 16th of her career, one away from fourth in program history behind scorer Lana Melendres’ record of 17 career goals.
A total of 26 fouls were committed during the game, split evenly by both sides. Despite the relatively large number of fouls, Nevada’s freshman forward Angel Meriwether was the only player to pick up a yellow card.
The loss for Nevada (4-8-0) marks its fourth defeat in a row in conference play, bringing the team’s conference record to 1-4. The Wolfpack will have to reverse their poor run of results if they wish to still have a chance at finishing in the top six of the Mountain West conference, and a chance to play in the conference tournament.
UNM registered 20 shots on the night, 12 on target. The Wolfpack had a total of 12 shots, forcing UNM junior Tayler Hammack to make five saves. Hammack now has four shutouts for the season.
“We are working really hard at being resilient and finding ways to win games,” said head coach Heather Dyche in a release.
With the win, UNM (6-5-2, 2-3-0 MW) is right in the thick of things, tied for seventh in MW play.
The Lobos will play yet another away game on Sunday at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. UNLV (10-3-1, 3-1-1 MW) has only lost three games this season, and the squad is currently in a three-way tie for second in the conference. Both teams will be entering their fifth game of conference play.
First touch is on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. MT in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Matthieu Cartron is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women’s soccer. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLoboSports.
