The UNM men’s soccer team got its first Conference USA win of the season on Friday night in a 4-1 victory over Florida International University.
Head coach Jeremy Fishbein said the 1-0 loss to Kentucky on Sunday helped motivate his team to play their best against FIU (3-5-1, 1-2 C-USA).
“It was a great performance tonight,” Fishbein said. “That’s what we were looking for, it was a great reaction coming off a loss and we challenged the guys. We said they had to come out there with a little bit of fire to them, a little bit pissed off. They met the expectations.”
The first goal of the match came from midfielder Chris Wehan, last year’s leading scorer with 10 goals.
In the 17th minute, Wehan dribbled past FIU defense and made goalkeeper Arthur Clapot come out from the left inside of the box, Wehan sent a shot over Clapot and straight to the center of the net.
Wehan struck again in the 42nd minute. Defender Tom Smart chipped the ball over to Wehan who then sent the ball high over the keeper.
Until Friday night, Wehan’s only goal this season had been on Sept. 4 against Cal Poly. But Fishbein said he knew Wehan hadn’t lost his magic touch.
“You knew it was going to happen. He is a great player. That was big time, to see him finish those,” Fishbein said. “I think you kind of saw a sigh of relief when he scored that second one. He’s like, ‘I still got it.’ I think that’s really going to energize him.”
Wehan said he’s been working hard to improve his finishes and that it was good to see all his hard work pay off.
“I knew my time was going to come, I just stayed patient,” he said.
The first half ended with New Mexico leading 2-0, and slightly edging FIU 6-5 in shots. FIU lead 2-0 in corner kicks.
The first second half goal came in the 56th minute from this year’s lead scorer, senior forward Niko Hansen. Hansen, unassisted, buried the ball deep into the right side of the net after shooting from the far left wing, which would become goal his seventh goal of the season.
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The last goal for the Lobos came in the 75th minute from junior forward Luke Lawrence, with an assist from junior forward Sam Gleadle. This was Lawrence’s first goal of the season. From the right inside of the box, Gleadle sent the ball to Lawrence who was front and center, ready to shoot the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net.
“I'm especially happy for Luke too, finally getting to score since he was so close in the last few games," Wehan said.
The match was almost going in the books as the fifth shutout of the season for the Lobos, but FIU’s midfielder Joris Ahlinvi was able to get the ball past redshirt freshman goalkeeper Ford Parker, who substituted for starting goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu in the 80th minute.
The night ended with New Mexico leading 16-13 in shots and 5-4 in corner kicks.
“We got everything out of that game that we wanted to,” Fishbein said. “A lot of guys got minutes, we rested some players up. Having three games in eight days, that was important, that we didn’t expend too much energy tonight.”
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She mainly covers men’s soccer and basketball. She can be reached at sports @dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
