The Lobos women’s soccer team (1-1-0) won their first game of the season on Sunday morning, as they defeated Grand Canyon University (0-2-0) by a score of 1-0.
New Mexico completely outplayed the Lopes, out shooting them 20-5 on their way to victory. The lone goal of the game was scored by Senior Claire Lynch, who moved into sole possession of fourth place on the program's all-time goals list.
“It was a great overall effort by our team today," UNM coach Heather Dyche said in a release. "Not only keeping them to five shots, but for us to shoot 20 times says we are creating a lot of chances. There weren't many times we took 20 shots in a game last season. We have some weapons this season—we just got to convert more of those."
The Lobos goal saw an assist from one of the new players on the team, freshman Leilani Baker, a native of Rio Rancho, crossed the ball into Lynch, who was able to put the ball in the back of the net, the 18th time she’s done so in her UNM career.
"What's cool about that is not only is it two locals combining for the goal—but it was two players who physically many wouldn't give a chance to, and it was a senior from a freshman," Dyche said in a release. "Claire is near the top in our record books and is a kind of mentor to Leilani - who can get there one day. It's a cool thing to watch."
Sophomore goalie Emily Johnson recorded her first career shutout, as she stopped both of the shots that GCU put on target.
Jessie Hix and Jennifer Munoz led the attack for the Lobos with four shots a piece, while Lynch added three shots of her own. Overall, 10 different players recorded at least one shot attempt for the Lobos.
The team, which features a good mix of freshman and veterans, is still a work in progress, but Dyche seemed happy with the performance that they put forth.
"You look out there while we're playing and you think, 'We haven't worked on this or that yet.'" the head coach said. "Of course we wanted to be 2-0 after the weekend, but we know now the areas we need to work on moving forward—and that's what is important."
The Lobos will travel to Las Cruces to play against New Mexico State in the latest installment of the Rio Grande Rivalry on Thursday at 5 p.m.
The Aggies are 1-0-1 on the season, as they wound up with a draw against NIU 0-0 on Sunday. The Lobos won last year’s installment of the game 2-0 in Albuquerque.
Cameron Goeldner is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He contributes to baseball, football, basketball and track and field reporting. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @goeldfinger.
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