NM State Aggies vs UNM Lobos Soccer 9-20-19

This match started badly as I was listening to Aggie Volleyball losing a five-set match at the same time.  Fudge.  At least the weather wasn’t too bad.  It was warm and sunny, but there were occasional breezes blowing.  There was a good crowd developing at the Soccer Complex grandstands.  A good contingent of New Mexico Lobo fans came, but for the first time this season, the Aggie fans definitely outnumbered the opposing fans.  (Previously, it had been even at best.) 

The Lobos team showed quite a bit of personality during the introductions.  There were plenty of kids at this match, so there would be ballkids shagging balls.  The Sports Marketing staff breathed a sigh of relief.  Speaking of that, Emerson and the Softball PA guy (I need to get his name) tossed t-shirts into the crowd before the start of the match.

 

First Half

And we started with some comedy relief.  The two teams had to exchange ends before starting play.  Apparently there was a brain lapse by everyone on the field, except the refs.  So here’s the recap, Dmitri Fong made a bunch of saves, but the Lobos got one in and won.  The End.  Soccer is so easy to write about.

One day, I’m gonna do it.  That’ll be an entire recap and I’ll post it.  That will likely be my last recap too.  Seriously, there will be recurring theme about Dmitri’s amazing goaltending that will probably become tedious. 

I’ll go ahead and mention to start that I met a nice fellow, David, and his dad, who sat by me.  David asked me a couple of questions about the team and the opponent.  He saw me writing and was worried he was interrupting me working.  He also asked if I was a student.  God bless you, sir.  I asked about his and his dad’s sharp-looking Trump hats.  He didn’t go to the rally in Rio Rancho last week, but was a supporter.  We had a short political discussion, but thankfully kept to talking about the game.  (There’s no need to make everything political.) 

Right off the bat, 44’ left in the half, the Lobos made their first attack and shot it over the net.  This unfortunately describes a lot of the first half.  43’ Dmitri made her first save catching a shot.  The fan call of the day was, “Turn!” rather than, “Shoot it!”  41’ another high Lobo shot in front of the Aggie goal.  (While this was fairly dramatic to watch in-person, this is already getting onerous to write about.) 

The Lobo goalie, Malia Vanisi, who is going to be underworked in this game, was very vocal.  Obviously, she needed to shout to be heard by her team at the other end of the field.  Dmitri wasn’t as vocal as usual.  She needed to save her breath, because she was getting a workout.  39’ Dmitri deflected a shot wide.  38’ a Lobo corner didn’t produce a shot.  However, Aggie Hannah Leitner got the ball and ran it all the way back down the field by herself.  She had two defenders on her, but took a wide shot on goal.  It was a brave effort.  It resulted in an Aggie corner, but no other shots.

37’ another Lobo attack.  You could tell Dmitri was starting to get angry.  35’ Dmitri smothered the ball on an attack.  33’ an Aggie player was injured across the field.  I couldn’t identify her, but she stayed in.  32’ the Aggies made an attack.  Malia had to fall on the ball.  30’ another Lobo corner, but the attack died in front of the net.  29’ Dmitri was caught in a one-on-one with an attacker, but stopped the shot.  28’ Dmitri came out to forcefully stop an attacker.  The Lobos and their fans wanted a foul in the box. 

27’ Jody Hernandez was starting today for the Aggies.  Her and a Lobo player violently tangled at midfield.  The Lobo fans wanted a yellow card for Jody, but only got a free kick, which went way out.  25’ Dmitri stopped a roller.  20’ an Aggie went down in the box.  I wasn’t able to identify her.  19’ Dmitri caught a corner kick.  18’ Dmitri fell on a roller.  Eli Gonzalez made an immediate counterattack and took a shot.  David made the observation that the Aggies were, “Getting killed in the midfield.”  Maybe somebody who knows something about soccer should be writing this.

14’ Dmitri stopped a soft liner and a follow-up roller.  11’ Xitlaly Hernandez made a steal at midfield.  She must heard David.  Xitlaly passed it to Eli, who made a rush at the net.  The attack resulted in a corner, but it fizzled.  Xitlaly got a foul for knocking down a taller player in the exchange.  10’ Dmitri made another stop.  9’ I’d noticed Lobo sub Kate Browning out on field.  She’s a pretty blonde (kind of reminds me of a co-worker), but looked way too thin to be out playing.  Kate proved me wrong by taking the ball into the Aggie box and completely faking out a defender.  She took an shot that missed.

5’ Katie Martinez, one of the taller Aggies, ran over a Lobo at the top of the Aggie box.  There was a header shot off the free kick that missed.  A troop of little girls came in.  One of them had an Aggie logo face-painted on her cheek.  There’s a real fan.  1’ a long Lobo pass into the Aggie box resulted in a header that went high.  That was the last attack for the half.  Dmitri took a long sigh of relief.  Nil-nil at the half.  So far, the Lobos had 5 corners and 6 shots on goal.  All the Aggies had was a single corner.             

Halftime

The halftime show was a contest between two guys running downfield with a ball and shooting it into the net.  Ron arrived just before the half ended.  This wasn’t totally unexpected; he said he might come by.  I told him he didn’t miss anything.  In terms of the scoreboard that was correct.  In terms of watching Dmitri being magnificent, he’d missed a lot, but would have plenty of opportunity to see more of her in action. 

I introduced Ron to David, while I went to the bathroom and for some water.  When I came back, Ron was telling David that AD Moccia had recently asked the legislature for lights at the soccer field.  David said that when the team was first established, they played in Aggie Memorial, the football field.  When they moved to this soccer field, the facilities had no grandstand and no seats at all.

 

Second Half

44’ right off, Emma Smith had to break up an attack in the box.  Out at midfield, Jess McDow, another tall girl on the team, high-kicked over a Lobo player’s head.  43’ Dmitri tipped one out after a Lobo corner that momentarily left the Aggie net wide open.  This led to another corner that ended in a bouncer going over the Aggie net.  41’ Dmitri stopped roller.  Away from the net, Kelly Burton smacked a Lobo player down hard enough to hear it across the field.  39’ Dmitri caught a high bouncer.  (I should set up a macro just to spell out her name.  It’d be quicker.)

38’ the Aggies got a corner.  There was a big kick in the Lobo box and a foul was called on the Aggies.  The game seemed to be getting rougher and it was.  36’ Xitlaly went down after taking a knee from a Lobo player.  Play stopped as the trainers and Coach Baarts came out for her.  She had to be helped off.  David’s dad (I missed his name) said that she was the Aggies’ best player.  (I’m sure he meant “best player not playing goalie.”)  Once again, the least qualified person is writing this soccer recap. 

33’ Hannah made a breakaway attempt.  32’ but it went right back to Aggie end.  Dmitri deflected a good shot into the scoreboard behind the north goal.  31’ off a Lobo corner, Dmitri made a high catch.  29’ the Aggies got a shot off and I missed the player number.  28’ Hannah made a hard tackle of an attacker.  Dmitri took out another at point blank range.  27’ another Lobo corner.  That shot went wide. 

25’ here were the pivotal moments of the match.  The Aggies finally made an attack with multiple players.  They seemed unprepared for it, as Hannah and Shea O’Connor nearly took each other out going for the ball, but the ball did get passed to Alexa Barerra by the net.  She just missed as Lobo goalie Malia fell on the ball.  Malia got the ball right back out.  Ron pointed out that the scoreboard clock was stopped.  I don’t know why they would have stopped the clock.  I don’t know if the Aggies got confused or not, but the Lobos charged downfield and the defenders were in disarray.  Dmitri got caught with two attackers rushing the net.  Maysa Walters put the ball in.  1-0 Lobos.

23’ the Lobo attacks continued with a header over the Aggie net.  22’ Hannah made another charge.  He got off a pass to Shea, who kicked it over the Lobo net.  16’ a Lobo shot high and hit the scoreboard post.  14’ Dmitri stopped a roller.  13’ Alexa took a free kick outside the Lobo box and just missed the top shelf.  12’ Katie banged heads with a Lobo and was leveled.  It was ruled Lobo ball, which angered the crowd.  8’ a Lobo high kick sailed over the Aggie net. 

From there, the Lobos made some stalling efforts to end the game.  (Given the Aggie offense, I’m not sure what they were afraid of.)  I could hear a little girl crying behind me.  Her dad carried her out briefly, but brought her back before the end.  She was wearing the most incredible pout as she stomped in beside him.  Soon enough, she was crying again.  I felt like joining her.  1-0 Lobos was your crushing final.    

Is it wrong to admit that I was at least glad the match didn’t go to double overtime again?  It’s questionable to call a loss encouraging, but judging by my own feelings and the mood of the crowd there for autographs, this was.  While last year this team needed offense and defense, at least now, they just need more offense.  It’s a work in progress.  But for one lapse, they really seemed to come together in this game.  I could see them stealing a few games in conference play and being tough to beat in any case.

Autographs

I wasn’t sure about getting autographs, but I wanted to personally give Dmitri and the team some praise.  There were a lot of kids in line as usual.  That’s okay, but it’s just been embarrassing at times being the only adult in line getting autographs with a bunch of 9-year old girls.  This time though, there were a bunch of adults too.  I didn’t feel weird at all for a change.  There were even some younger guys with their girlfriends.  I guess who’s in the line depends on who’s in the crowd when you’re doing autograph days.   

It was a pretty good line, even though I’d gone back to my car to drop off my seat first.  The fans seemed in pretty good spirits.  They were all encouraging to the girls.  A couple of the fans brought in other things to sign.  One had an Aggie commemorative mug that he got autographs on. 

First up when I got to the tables was a pretty blonde not in uniform.  I’d noticed her on field in the warm-ups with her long flowing hair.  She’s not listed on the current roster, but I think it was Kaitlyn May.  Our hero, Dmitri Fong was right next to her.  She was exhausted and probably somewhat exasperated about the loss, but she was charming and pleasant to everyone in line.  She reached out with a bandaged hand as I told her she’d done a great job.  “The Lobos will be coming by to get your autograph later,” I said.  That got a genuine laugh out of her.  I’m glad I came now.    

During the match, I was trying to identify all the players by name and I looked over the program again while in line.  I was able to congratulate at least some of the girls by name when I had the chance.  Boy, did Hannah Leitner look gassed.  She’d done a lot of hard running in the second half.  Shea O’Connor was near the end of the tables.  I thanked her for coming here to play.  She seemed kind of touched.  Eli Gonzalez was the last player.  I’d seen her a bunch on the near sideline.  She’s cute.  (I didn’t say that to her.) 

I looked back down the line and asked the girls about #25, since I wasn’t sure about pronouncing her name, Xitlaly Hernandez.  I concerned about her.  They said she was back at the bench getting treatment.  That’s not a good sign.  The girls apologized that Xitlaly wasn’t there for autographs, which was polite, but kind of silly given her injury.

After leaving, I learned an important lesson: not all Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwiches are the same.  For dinner, I dithered about whether I should just go home or if I should go out and get what I wanted, either Raising Canes or What-a-burger.  I did the wrong thing and compromised.  I had a Subway coupon and it was on the way home.  They even had a CBR sandwich that I’d never tried before.  This was a great idea . . . until I ate it. 

I have maintained that the best sub sandwich in town is the Chicken Bacon Ranch at Dominos of all places (8-23-19).  (The Special at the Metro Deli is #2.)  The melted cheese, toasted bun, and the savory, robust flavor make it irresistible.  The one at Subway, basically had none of these qualities.  What it did have was the typical Subway stale bread (hard to believe, but this chain became popular because of their very fresh bread) and suspect bacon.  Worse, it had no taste to it.  I suppose I could have added some more toppings, but I thought the ranch sauce, cheese, and chicken would be enough. 

I meant to save half of it for the next day, but half left me hungry, and I questioned the quality of the meat and it remaining fresh in the fridge overnight.  So, all I got was indigestion.  At least the relative tastelessness kept my stomach from burning.  On top of that, I got a Frozen Tornado at PQ Treats.  Even that was kind of ruined by the sandwich, but it helped with my bellyache.  (Those things are actually the best stomachache cure I’ve found.  The sweet taste is a bonus.)

This happened because I broke my own rule at Subway.  Just order the Cold Cut.  It’s nothing special, but, with the right toppings, it’s fine.  If you’re feeling suicidal after an Aggie loss, get the Meatball.  It tastes pretty good before it kills you.  Their meatball used to be so good.  Of course, my past adulation for Subway’s offerings refers back to the 90’s.  They haven’t been good for a long time.  The service tonight was, at least, exceedingly pleasant.

There was nothing on TV tonight.  I didn’t even turn it on.  I instead listened to another disappointing Aggie Volleyball loss on the radio.  I didn’t have the heart (or stomach) to write up anything.  What was this post about again?  Oh yeah, soccer.  We’ll get back to it on Sunday, and I promise, I’ll get something better to eat.