New Mexico Women’s Soccer went on the road this past weekend to start Mountain West play with two matches, one against Utah State and the other against Boise State. Although these matches were played differently, the results were the same, as the Lobos came home with two victories. This was an important start for the Lobos for many reasons. It not only showed that playing against a great schedule readied the team for conference play, it gave them a huge advantage in the conference by winning two road matches on the first weekend of the season.
Utah State Recap: The Lobos controlled this match from the first whistle and put pressure on the Aggies backline for most of the game. The Lobos outshot the Aggies 10 to 0 in the first half, but they were unable to find the net, making it look like the Aggies may be able to pull out a tie. However, in the 77th minute, the Lobos were able to break the tie when Ruth Bruciaga scored her first goal of the season. The Lobos were able keep Utah State from scoring after that, holding on for the 1-0 win. By starting the conference season with a great win against a good Utah State side, this match will be looked back on as a turning point for the season if the Lobos do well in conference play.
Boise State Recap: After dominating the play against Utah State Friday night, Sunday was not played on the Lobos terms. Unlike Friday, though, the Lobos made the most of their chances. The Lobos struck early, finding the back of the net in the 3rd minute when Dylann O’Conner beat the keeper with a shot from right outside the 18 yard box for her first goal of the season. The Lobos lead wouldn’t stand for the duration of the first half, as Boise’s Dani Brown scored her first goal of the season in the 24th minute of the match. Right after the second half started, the Lobos were able to find their second early half goal of the match when Madisyn Olguin was able to tally her second goal of the season in the 49th minute off of assists by O’Conner and Korynn Blanksma. The Broncos applied pressure on the Lobos for most of the game and had the shot advantage 16 to 6, but only 5 of those 16 shots were on goal. The Lobos were able to hold on to the 2-1 lead to win their second match of the weekend.
Up Next: After starting MW play on the road, the Lobos return to Albuquerque to start their home conference slate with two matches against the two Nevada Universities. On Friday night, the Lobos will host Nevada at 7pm, followed by a match against UNLV on Sunday night at 1pm. The Lobos need your support, so head on out to the UNM Soccer Complex and watch some great soccer!