New Mexico’s sound defense provided plenty of problems for Idaho State’s offense en route to a 4-1 victory on Thursday afternoon at the UNM Soccer Complex.
Following a troubling 4-0 loss against Colorado on August 30, UNM bounced back to blow out the Bengals, playing mainly on ISU’s side of the field.
“I actually thought most of our offense came from our defense,” head coach Heather Dyche said. “I thought we tracked really high on the field well, and then when we won it we were intelligent with it.”
Despite 10 offside penalties, the Lobos managed to keep the pressure on Idaho State for the majority of the game.
UNM’s first half went according to plan. In the first nine minutes of the game, the ball seemingly didn’t leave Idaho State’s side of the field. Junior midfielder Maddie Irwin sent a ripper into the back of the net in the seventh minute to set the tone for the rest of the game.
“Heather told me she wants me to sort of dominate games,” Irwin said. “I saw an opening and took it.”
Irwin took two shots, both on goal, during her 65 minutes of play. She said the Lobos were able to feed off her first score of the season for the remainder of the contest.
“We were tired of not getting chances and not putting balls away,” Irwin said. “Once we got one, it was like the flood gates were open and everyone wanted their own shot.”
UNM (2-3) shared scoring opportunities with four different scorers on each of the goals. After a deep ball found senior forward Korynn Blanksma down the sideline, she crossed the ball right in front of redshirt sophomore forward Quincy Slora, who tapped the ball beyond Idaho's keeper Sheridan Hapsic for the goal, her first of the season.
The goal didn’t come until the final minute of the first half, which has been a focus area for Dyche and her squad.
“Heather has really emphasized the fact of the 'big ten:' ...10 minutes at the start of the half, and the 10 minutes at the end of the half,” Slora said. “She also emphasizes taking advantage of the minutes you’re given.”
Slora’s score off the bench came within 21 minutes of action on two total shots.
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UNM hit two more goals in the second half. Sophomore midfielder Claire Lynch received her second goal of the season in the 67th minute after sending a screamer into the net from just outside the keeper’s box. Senior midfielder/forward Lindsey Guice hit her first goal on the year in the 78th minute with a dish from freshman midfielder/forward Jennifer Muñoz.
New Mexico ended up with 33 shots on the day, 14 of which were on goal. ISU (1-4) only managed six shots on goal, without getting a ball past redshirt senior Cassie Ulrich, UNM’s starting keeper.
With the game out of the Bengals' reach, UNM pulled its starting keeper and sent in redshirt sophomore Laura DeMers. In the 85th minute of the game, ISU’s Meaghan Bare was able to sneak a ball past DeMers off of a deep ball that snuck by New Mexico’s defense.
“I think they responded in a really good way after our loss on Sunday,” Dyche said. “It was good to see them come out and put some away.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at assistantsports@dailylobo.com or on twitter @Liam_CE.
