One goal was all the Lobos needed to climb two spots in the Conference USA standings on Wednesday night.
Redshirt freshman Devin Boyce scored the second-half goal that gave New Mexico a 1-0 victory over the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers. The victory provided the Lobos with the three points they needed to move from seventh to fifth place.
New Mexico — now with seven points on the season — holds an 8-6-1 overall record, including a 2-3-1 conference mark.
The Blazers dropped to 6-7-3 overall and 2-4-1 in conference and now sit one spot below the Lobos in the standings, despite having the same amount of points.
"It was a big-time win tonight and I couldn't be prouder," said UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein in a statement after the game. "That was a big-time goal by Devin Boyce and we just defended, played with heart and made good decisions.”
The Blazers outshot the Lobos 9-5 during the first half of the evening, but New Mexico was more accurate. UAB goalkeeper Joe Kuzminsky was forced to make four saves, two more than UNM’s Jason Beaulieu.
UAB’s freshman forward Tarnue Tyler had the first attempt of the night, six minutes into the match. His shot was not a dangerous one as it was sent too wide.
Five minutes later, senior midfielder Josh Goss took the Lobos' first shot. The ball was on target, but saved by Kuzminsky.
The Blazers had an opportunity in the 25th minute when freshman forward Massimo Ferrin took a shot from outside the box, forcing Beaulieu to make a save. A rebound gave redshirt freshman Philip Makinde an opportunity to take another shot for UAB, but the Lobos defense blocked it.
The beginning of the second period saw a few chances from each side. New Mexico began the 52nd minute with a shot by Aaron Herrera and, a minute later, the Lobos had back-to-back corner kicks.
UAB made a dangerous run in the 67th minute when Tyler managed to slide the ball past the Lobo defense, which is when Beaulieu used his quick feet to make the save.
Boyce’s winning goal came off counter attack in the 75th minute. Midfielder Matt Dorsey picked up the ball and sent it straight to Boyce, who sent it deep into the bottom-left corner of the net from about 30 yards out to hit his second goal of the season.
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He almost scored again three minutes later near the top of the 18, but Kuzminsky made the save this time. The rebound gave the Lobos another chance when Sam Gleadle picked it up, but his attempt was cleared by a Blazer defender.
UAB almost found the equalizer in the 80th minute with a header by William White. Beaulieu allowed his team to keep the 1-0 lead when he sent the ball over the crossbar.
With a total of five saves, Beaulieu recorded his fifth shutout of the season.
“It was just a really important performance and result for us,” Fishbein said in the statement. “Now we can enjoy this, recover and get ready for the next one."
The Lobos will be back in Albuquerque this weekend to host the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday at 6 p.m.
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.
