Albuquerque, N.M. The University of New Mexico women's soccer team allowed a late goal, in the 76th minute, to give Air Force a 1-0 win. This was the Falcons first conference victory, improving them to 6-11-0, 1-4 in the MWC. UNM falls to 9-7-1, 2-2-1 in the MWC. The game also marked the last time seniors Casie Deegan (Lakewood, Colo.), Michelle Longmire (Los Alamos, N.M.), Linda Melendres (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Michelle Nowfel (Littleton, Colo.) would don the cherry and silver at home.

Much of the first half was spent battling it out in the midfield for possession. Air Force attempted to attack down the middle of the field, while UNM opted to piece together passes and use the flanks to attack. Shots for both sides remained almost equal throughout the first 45 minutes of play, with AFA inching UNM by one with nine.

With only minutes left in the match, the Falcons caught the Lobos off-guard when Elaine Tatarek received a through ball from Mary Cholko 20 yards out from the UNM net. Although she was surrounded by New Mexico defenders almost immediately, Tatarek was able to slip a shot by a charging Kristen Winters (Lakewood, Colo.).

UNM was not ready to give up, though. The Lobos unceasingly attacked the Falcons, looking for any holes in the tightly run defense that they could sneak through. Michelle Longmire gave Air Force trouble in the remaining minutes with her quick, aggressive style, but her efforts were not enough to give the Lobos the equalizing goal they needed. The senior finished the night with five shots, four of which were on net.

New Mexico outshot the Falcons 15-11 and dominated in the corner kick category with eight, while only giving up three to Air Force.

Kristen Winters was called on to make four saves, two of which were off shots from Air Force’s leading scorer, Cookie Day. On the other end of the field, AFA’s J.J. Wolf made eight stops, four in each half.

The Lobos play in Laramie, Wyoming on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 1 p.m. against the Cowgirls. This will be their final conference match before the MWC Championships in Provo, Utah Nov. 6-9.

Lobos Women's Soccer

Printer-friendly format	Email this article