The Lobos blanked the Old Dominion Monarchs 2-0 on Friday’s Senior Night, making it four straight matches for UNM without a loss, and the team’s third straight win.
The result also allowed the team to remain undefeated at home for the first time since 2011, posting an 8-0-1 home record over nine games.
“It started off defensively, that was our goal — a shutout,” said UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “I thought we played really well at key moments of the game, then created a lot of offense — two nice goals and some other quality chances.”
The Lobos lost their first two games this season due to mistakes in the penalty area, but after this match, penalty kicks no longer hold a negative connotation for New Mexico.
The scoring opened up in the 58th minute after ODU committed a foul inside the 18th yard box. New Mexico was awarded a penalty kick and midfielder Chris Wehan was assigned the task of taking the lone PK for the Lobos this fall.
“It felt weird because that was our first penalty kick of the season,” he said. “It felt good, it was a good play, a good combination from (senior forward) Niko (Hansen). Got taken down in the box and I was fortunate I was able to put it away.”
The senior sent a low shot straight past the left side of ODU’s goalkeeper, Alex Tiesnenhausen.
Although Wehan’s goal would’ve been enough for the Lobos to walk away with a win, junior forward Luke Lawrence scored an insurance goal in the 82nd minute.
Midfielder Patrick Khouri sent the ball to defender Aaron Herrera, whose cross found Lawrence in the perfect spot.
The Lobos dominated throughout the entire match. In the first 45 minutes, their attacking third recorded six shots, while the defense stopped the Monarchs from recording even a single shot.
In the second half, the ODU offense had more of a presence, managing to record five shots. However, the Lobos had no trouble doubling that amount.
“I would say that we overcame an opponent that played a different style,” Wehan said. “Really sat deep. They got a lot of guys behind the ball when we were in possession. In the first half, they made it tough to break them down just because they were so content. It was almost as if they were content to tie the game.”
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By the end of the night, the Lobos (10-6-1, 4-3-1 C-USA) held an 11-2 advantage in shots on goal. They recorded eight corner kicks, while ODU (5-8-2, 2-5-1 in C-USA) had two.
Tiesnenhausen finished the night with nine saves. UNM’s starting goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu was only forced to make two, both in the second period. This became the seventh shutout of the season for UNM.
Fishbein said the result was a good way to make the night special for the five seniors: Nick Rochowski, Josh Goss, Hansen, Wehan and Chris Gurule.
However, he is not sending them off just yet.
“The seniors performed very well, I was happy for them,” he said. “But really, we are looking for the next one.”
The Lobos will travel to West Virginia to begin the first round of the 2016 C-USA Championship on Wednesday night.
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.
