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Wild finish has Lobos heading to MW semifinals

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The University of New Mexico women’s soccer team just won’t quit. There’s no other way to put it after the Lobos’ theatrics on a wild Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
 
A Jessie Hix game-tying goal in the 87th minute despite the Lobos being down a player, a season-saving stop by keeper Emily Johnson on the fifth-and-final Fresno State penalty kick to continue the shootout and a converted penalty by Jessica Nelson that hit the crossbar bounced to the ground (behind the goal line) and back and forth two more times in what turned out to be the game-winning shot as the Lobos advanced to the Mountain West Tournament semifinals with a 5-4 win in penalty kicks over the Bulldogs (2-2 tie in regulation).
 
“This has been this team all year long,” UNM coach Heather Dyche said. “To go down to 10 and lose our leading goal scorer and to fight back that way, I’m just so proud of them. Then we go into PKs and (Johnson), our sophomore goalkeeper, makes that save and those girls just walked up and put them away. My heart stops a lot during these games but I’m just really proud to be a part of this team.”
 
The Lobos (12-7-1) advance to the conference semifinals where they will face No. 1 San Jose State 8 p.m. Thursday in Las Vegas.
 
UNM looked like it may be in trouble when Claire Lynch – the Lobos’ leading goal scorer this season and third on the UNM all-time list – picked up her second yellow card of the game (which turns to a red) in the 74th minute and the Lobos down 2-1 to the Bulldogs (10-6-4).
 
However, with less than four minutes left in the game – a ball in the corner on the Lobos’ end was fished out by Jenna Killman who found fellow freshman Alexa Kirton in the penalty box. Kirton was surrounded and found an approaching Hix five yards outside the penalty box. The sophomore, who was named to the All-Mountain West first team earlier this week, put a touch on it and then floated it over the Fresno State keeper’s hands to tie the game at 2-2 in the 87th minute.
 

 
“It was just a great ball from Alexa,” Hix said. “We’ve worked really hard this season and we weren’t going to go out on that one. … I think (Claire getting the red card) actually raised our level. Claire’s one of our best players so we had to step up and fight.”
 
The Lobos still had to fight off 23 more minutes of being a player down – but managed to do so, while getting an opportunity or two themselves, to move the game into penalty kicks.
 
Hix and Jennifer Munoz converted the Lobos’ first two attempts as did Fresno State. The Lobos missed their third attempt (hitting the crossbar – a crossbar that would be friendlier down the line) while the Bulldogs made their next one to take a 3-2 advantage. Jill Olguin and Amelia Bierle each converted for the Lobos as did the Bulldogs to set up a game-winning attempt for Fresno State on its fifth and final attempt.
 
The Bulldog player kicked the ball to her left, but Johnson anticipated it perfectly and knocked it away to save the Lobos’ season and keep penalty kicks going.
 

 
Jessica Nelson stepped up for UNM and hit a shot high right down the middle that clipped the bottom of the crossbar, went straight down into the ground just on the other side of the goal line, went back up and hit the crossbar, went back down to the ground, back to the cross bar and back down before the Bulldog keeper grabbed it – but it was too late as the goal counted.
 

                                                                                                                                         
The crossbar again was kind to the Lobos as needing a goal to tie it, Fresno State’s next shot hit the cross bar and bounced high to clinch the match for UNM, 5-4 in penalty kicks.
 

This was the Lobos’ first tie of the season and breaks a three-game losing streak in penalty kicks for UNM as it season ended in a shootout in 2015, 2013 and 2008 (had only won once in PKs in program history in the postseason – beating San Diego State in the 2006 Mountain West Tournament).
 
UNM took the early lead on the Bulldogs in the 16th minute as Bierle found Munoz just above the penalty area and the junior one-touched it to Zendejas down the right side who beat the Fresno State keeper for her third goal of the season. The senior has scored in three games in a row for UNM – the first three goals of her career.
 

 
But the Bulldogs bounced back and scored two goals in a five-minute span (34th and 39th minute) to take a 2-1 lead into the break and into the final four minutes of the contest.
 
UNM took 15 shots compared to nine for Fresno State with Lynch and Zendejas leading the way with three shots apiece. Johnson finished the game with two saves.
 
Again, the Lobos will take on San Jose State 8 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament.
 

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