New Mexico was more than disappointed after a 2-2 draw against San Diego on Friday night at the UNM Soccer Complex.
This was the Lobos’ second game of the season and after having lost the first one 1-0 to UCLA, they wanted to get a win.
UNM began the first half strong. Just five minutes into the match, the Lobos were awarded a corner kick. Midfielder Josh Goss took the shot and defender Aaron Herrera headed it, sending the ball slightly too wide.
Ten minutes later, a cross by midfielder Lucas Seligman was deflected to Wehan 15 yards away. The shot ended up being too high.
Two minutes later, another opportunity came with a shot by midfielder/forward Niko Hansen.
The Lobos were dominating and leading in shots, but the Toreros took advantage of a corner kick in the 32nd minute and Parker Price gave his team a 1-0 lead.
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Lobo goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu said he was not happy, especially since last week’s UCLA goal came off of a corner kick.
“We had difficulty with that in the preseason. This is an issue we need to address really quickly,” he said.
The first half ended with the Lobos leading 9-4 in shots, but trailing 1-0 in goals.
“We gave up a goal, but there was no panic,” Wehan said.
The second half shot totals were closer between the competitors. San Diego recorded nine and the Lobos eight.
Wehan put his team on the scoreboard in the 65th minute when he took a free kick from 19 yards out.
But he wasn’t satisfied with just the one goal. Four minutes later he scored another one from about 20 yards away.
“I knew there was more to come for the group,” Wehan said. “We couldn’t settle for a 1-1 draw.”
With a 2-1 lead, the Lobos could almost taste victory, but it got away in the 82nd minute.
Keegan Smith, assisted by Connor O’Neill, took a header that turned the match into a draw.
The game went into overtime but the 2-2 score remained.
After losing their first match this season, the Lobos were looking for a win, so a tie did not sit well with them.
“UCLA was a pretty even game. I think it was more even than this game, that we should have obviously won,” Beaulieu said, “I was pretty pissed at myself that I allowed two goals without making any saves.”
UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein said he was disappointed with the draw, but he still wanted to give credit to his team.
"The guys showed a lot of courage and a lot of fight. We're a young team still, and I was proud of that,” he said. “But I'm unhappy. I wanted to win, but you have to look at the positives. We had some good performances and got two nice goals out of Wehan."
The Lobos next are now focusing all their attention on UC Santa Barbara, their next opponent.
"We have to recharge," Fishbein said. "We have a big one on Sunday against a great team, so we'll see what we've got."
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on twitter @Cisabelg.
