Despite being eliminated from the Mountain West Conference tournament, the Lobos demonstrated character and spirit in their final game of the season, winning in overtime 2-1 to beat San Diego State.
For the Lobos, it was the final career game for seniors Brooke Webster, Ruth Bruciaga, Annie Wheeler, Olivia Ferrier, Katie Hinman, Victoria Archuleta and Maddie Irwin.
The game was no longer about qualification. Rather, it was an opportunity for the team and seniors to sign off in an honorable fashion. Not surprisingly, the seniors ran the show.
The Lobos struck first in the 37th minute through senior midfielder Maddie Irwin, who, after receiving a throw-in from junior midfielder Savannah Viola, ripped a long-range shot from distance to find the lower right corner of the net. It increased Irwin’s goal count to six for the season, making her No. 2 in scoring for UNM in 2016.
The Lobos’ lead was short-lived. In the 48th minute, San Diego drew a foul outside of the Lobos penalty area. Senior midfielder Victoria Barba took the free kick, launching the ball over the wall and past UNM junior goalkeeper Taylor Hammack. Barba, who is originally from Albuquerque and played her high school soccer at Sandia High School, now has five goals on the season.
San Diego applied a considerable amount of pressure on the Lobo defense throughout the game, hitting the crossbar on three different occasions. San Diego almost won the game in overtime when senior midfielder Gemma Craine hit the crossbar from inside the penalty area. Both sides registered 12 shots, with San Diego managing nine on target, compared to five on target from the Lobos.
In the 97th minute, San Diego freshman goalkeeper Gabby English fouled a UNM player inside the penalty area, and a penalty kick was awarded by the referee. Senior midfielder Brooke Webster, who had not yet scored a single UNM goal in her entire career, calmly converted the penalty to win the game for the Lobos.
The UNM bench, as well as the players on the field, rushed Webster to celebrate the victory; the show of camaraderie and team catharsis seemed to be a fitting way to end the long season.
The loss dropped San Diego State to third in the Mountain West standings. It will play in the Mountain West Conference tournament, but UNM’s win prevented the Aztec Warriors from finishing in the top two spots in conference, which would have earned the team a bye into the semifinals of the tournament.
“We’re disappointed in the result,” San Diego head coach Mike Friesen said. “I don’t think we played our best, but we still created a ton of chances that I thought we should have put away.”
SDSU will play the sixth seed, Boise State, on Tuesday. UNM’s season has ended, but the team should be satisfied with completing the season by winning a dramatic game against a strong opposition.
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 @cartron_matt.
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