New Mexico falls 2-1 to UCSB after giving up two goals early the second half. Isabel Gonzalez/ The Lobo Lair
Isabel Gonzalez
@cisabelg
Some nights players get to spend some time talking to fans at the end of a game. But after Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to UC Santa Barbara, head coach Jeremy Fishbein made it clear he wanted his team to head to the locker room as soon as possible.
“That was the first one this season that I walk away really disappointed,” he said.
New Mexico had gone 2-3 against opponents who have been ranked at least once this season. Hosting UCSB (4-2), although not a bad team, seemed like the perfect opportunity to get out of a losing record. Instead, the Lobos gave up two goals early in the second half, giving up the lead they had earned during the first 45-minute period.
Freshman Omar Grey sent a shot to the bottom left corner of the net with an assist by Tom Smart during the 39th minute. This became Grey’s fourth goal of the season. The Lobos finished the half with a one-goal advantage, as well as leading 6-4 in shots and 2-0 in corner kicks.
The Gauchos came out during the second half changing things up a little bit by putting four players in the back. However, Fishbein said this was not something major and that his team’s loss was something the Lobos had complete control over.
The first goal for the visiting team came less than three minutes into the second period when Faouzi Taieb took advantage of a corner kick by Thibault Candia. Five minutes later, the Lobos were on attacking mode but things switched up fast as Candia came up big with another assist, this time with Rodney Michael finishing the play.
“We said ‘the only way they’re going to score is in transition or on set pieces.'” Fishbein explained. “That’s what we said at halftime and that’s how they scored both goals. Those are things we had control over. So we gifted them the game.”
Box Score
FINAL: New Mexico 1, UCSB 2 pic.twitter.com/HZzzPqUGXX
— The Lair New Mexico (@thelairnm) September 12, 2018
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