The Lobos played a good match against South Carolina, but were unable to find the net on their dangerous chances. That ultimately gave South Carolina a chance to stay in the match and they found the game-winning goal late in the second half, likely ending the Lobos’ season in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament. The season didn’t go as many Lobo fans had hoped, but there is hope for the future and the youth on this year’s team will get better with more experience. The South Carolina game summed up the Lobos’ season very well, as they were unable to score in the first half, unable to find ways to score from more than one person, and unable to prevent giving up late goals off of broken plays. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Men’s Soccer program, so this feels more like a temporary misstep than the start of a downward trend. This is still a very good college soccer team and program.
Match Recap:
New Mexico and South Carolina played a very even match, much like their first meeting that ended in a 2-1 OT South Carolina win in Columbia. In both matches, New Mexico limited South Carolina to basically no offensive attack for large stretches, but had a few breakdowns that South Carolina would make the most of. Neither team really had a great scoring chance in the first half and while the play was focused mainly in the Lobo attacking half, the Lobos weren’t able to put much pressure on the South Carolina backline and goalkeeper. Their first half performance continued a trend that we’ve seen from them all year, as they only scored in two first halves this season. But, with the match heading to halftime 0-0, it looked like the Lobos, being a strong second-half team, would have the upper hand in this match.
For the first 25 minutes of the second half, it appeared that the Lobos were going to win the match in regulation or the match would be going into OT. That changed in the 75th minute when the Lobos were fouled right outside the 18 yard box, giving the Lobos a great chance. Francesco Casucci lined up to take it, but his attempt went just over the cross bar, keeping the score even at 0-0 with 15 minutes left in regulation. Unfortunately, a broken play just a minute later led to a breakaway goal for South Carolina. The Lobos really didn’t have a great chance after the South Carolina goal, causing their season to come to a slow end.
Stats:
Shots: 12-9, advantage New Mexico
Shots on Goal: 5-4, advantage New Mexico
Dangerous Chances: 4-2, advantage New Mexico
Saves: 5-3, advantage South Carolina
Corner Kicks: 4-3, advantage New Mexico
Goals: 77:10 Bjorn Gudjonnson (2) assisted by Trygve Ellingstad
Cards: 77:06 Aaron Harrera (yellow)
Season Endings:
Unless the Lobos get a surprise at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, yesterday marked the end of Lobo soccer until next year. So with that, I want to thank everyone that read the match previews and recaps this season. It has been a great pleasure writing about both the Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams this season and I am excited for what the future holds for both programs. I can’t wait for next fall when the seasons kick off again on what can be very special seasons for both teams.