Late goals lift UNM in CUSA matchup

New Mexico breaks tie in final 3 minutes vs. FAU

When it comes to Conference USA play, the New Mexico men’s soccer team usually ends up in tight-knit clashes.

Saturday’s game against one-win Florida Atlantic wasn’t supposed to be one of those occasions.

But the Owls grimly held on, escaping several close calls in the first half before conceding a goal, then tying it early in the second half. Despite a lackluster second half, the Lobos finally prevailed 3-1 when Aaron Herrera converted a penalty kick with 3 minutes remaining in the game and Devin Boyce added another in the final minute.

“This was an important one,” UNM coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “We knew this was kind of a trap game. FAU is a decent team. The way they play, they’re going to get some chances. If they connect, they’re going to go big and play off seconds. We probably gave them a few too many chances.”

Just in the first half, New Mexico (7-31, 2-1-1) hit the post and FAU defender Carlos Sanchis made two saves with his body at the goal line to thwart two other goal-scoring opportunities.

“Our energy, our ball speed, just creating a lot of chances,” Fishbein said in describing the first-half success. “We were really good on the ball and our pressure was exceptional. We didn’t let them get their heads up We didn’t let them get any rhythm. We didn’t let them play. That’s kind of how we wanted to play for 90 minutes. We did it for 45. Unfortunately we weren’t rewarded with a few more goals that I think were deserving.”

The one breakthrough came in the 37th minute when defender Matthew Constant scored his first career goal, redirecting a free kick from Boyce.

“We’ve been working on set pieces a lot lately, trying to capitalize on them,” Constant said. “It was a great service by Devin. I’m pretty sure it would have gone in without me touching it anyway but I got a good glance on it. It’s pretty great to get my first goal for the Lobos.”

He credited preparation for the strong early play.

“I think we were playing off each other well,” Constant said. “We were switching in off the point of attack, which is something we saw in the scout. The scout was done really well. We learned what their weakness was and we were able to exploit it really well.”

The second half was more of a struggle, especially after the Owls (1-8-0, 1-40) tied it in the 59th minute.

“We had a little hiccup for the one goal we allowed,” Constant said. “We seemed to lack a little energy but we really came together as group to pull together two more goals after that and really capitalize. We shouldn’t really have let our guard down and unfortunately we did for right about half or little more than half of that second half. We were fortunate. Quality came on out on top and we were able to come out on top.”