UNM's men's soccer team won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation soccer championships Sunday afternoon courtesy of a golden goal by freshman Ben Ashwill.
The 2-1 overtime victory over San Jose State University gives the Lobos a berth in the NCAA College Cup tournament.
Becoming MPSF champions was no easy task for the Lobos. Opponents in every match were looking to unseat UNM, which came into the tournament as the top seed.
The Lobos' first opponent, the fivfth-seeed University of Denver, defeated Sacramento State University 2-1 in the first round to advance to meet the Lobos in the semifinal round of the tournament Friday night.
UNM scored three early goals, then held on for a 3-2 victory over the Hornets. Team captain Javier Carrasco, freshman forward Erik Bagwell and Jeff Rowland each scored a goal. Ashwill and Ben Wooten earned an assist each on the evening, while Lance Watson had two.
"We have to come out every game and play well. We showed that tonight," Carrasco said. "We came out and scored three goals. We held. It was a good win. We move on to the finals and hopefully we carry the same momentum into that match on Sunday."
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The Lobos headed to the MPSF Championship game Sunday afternoon against San Jose State University, which needed two overtimes and a penalty kick shoot out to dispatch third-seeded UNLV Friday afternoon.
While UNM came into the tournament as the favorite, the Spartans had given the Lobos some regular season troubles in their match in San Jose, which the Lobos won 1-0 in overtime.
"It really depends which UNM team shows up," head coach Jeremy Fishbien said. "We have everything to play for, we're playing at home. I feel confident that we're going to be a different Lobo team. We need to be, because San Jose State is a quality team."
The Lobos did exactly what they needed to and were rewarded with a championship.
The first half started with both teams threatening and creating opportunities but playing out the majority of the first half scoreless.
Finally with just three minutes left in the half, freshman sensation and tournament MVP Ashwill scored off a Ricky Francis assist. It would not be the last time that Ashwill would hook up with Francis.
The Lobos held the Spartans for the final three minutes of the half to go into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
The Lobos' lead would not last long however as SJSU scored the equalizer shortly after the start of the second half. Spartan Richard Halvorsen headed in a corner kick by Fausto Villegas in the 79th minute.
Several times UNM had to rely on the clutch goal keeping of Andrew Weber to keep San Jose State at bay. Every time Weber was called upon by his team, he responded by making some spectacular saves.
The Lobos and the Spartans would play out the rest of the second half scoreless and went into the locker room at the end of regulation facing a sudden death overtime.
In overtime, it did not take long for the Lobos to find what they were looking for. Just seven minutes after the start of overtime, Francis assisted Ashwill for the second time on the day.
"Ricky Francis played a great ball right into my chest, I took it down and put it in the back of the net. Great play," Ashwill said of the goal.
With Ashwill's golden goal, the Lobos earned a MPSF Championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament.
"We're just so happy right now. All of these guys have worked so hard," Carrasco said. "It is not just one man on this team. It's the whole team, 27 guys."
UNM (17-3-0) will find out its NCAA opponent when the NCAA College Cup tournament draw is announced Monday at 4:30 p.m. The draw will be televised live on cable channel ESPNNEWS.
