近距离内射合集

A bit of a bumpy period was to be expected as the New Mexico soccer team moves to an ultra-aggressive alignment designed to apply pressure from end to end.

But when opponents slip through that pressure, or benefit from errors in the midfield, then the system can break down.

Such was the case Sunday for the Lobos, who gave up two goals that could have been contained, as well as a successful penalty conversion following a corner kick to drop a 3-1 decision to Gonzaga.

鈥漈ransitional goals are mistakes on our end, right?鈥� UNM coach Karley Nelson said. 鈥淭hey're mistakes on our end where we try to force a silly ball and we get beat in transition.鈥�

The Lobos (1-1) are using a hybrid formation in which their fourth defender pushes well into the attack.

And that worked to perfection in the 60th minute when defender Fiona Jenkins, who proved last year that she could be a playmaking force with eight assists, showed she also can be a finisher.

Jenkins鈥� goal knotted it at 1-all on a play started with a long throw forward Savanah Sanchez tracked down near the goal line. She slotted a pass back into the penalty area, where Jenkins was storming in to put it away on her first touch.

鈥淚 never really had the opportunity to be in the box before,鈥� said Jenkins, a fourth-year player for UNM. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really fun to be in on the attack in this formation and I鈥檓 grateful for the opportunity.鈥�

When the ball goes to the opponents, however, the high pressure is designed to allow that forward defender to safely slide back deeper into goal protection. But Gonzaga (2-2) was twice able to make the Lobos pay in the second half.

鈥淲ith the style we play, we commit numbers forward in the attack, and we have to be a little bit more disciplined defensively, especially in transition moments,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淲e have to be better at getting pressure to deny the ball, the initial ball being played. And then we have to make sure we're taking care of the space in behind.鈥�

The first of those goals came in the 50th minute after a turnover led to a quick breakout that Samantha Snorsky tucked past diving UNM goalkeeper Alyson Campbell.

After Jenkins tied it 10 minutes later, Gonzaga went back ahead after Campbell knocked down forward Brooke Metcalfe in the aftermath of a corner kick and Amelia Severn polished off the penalty shot in the 70th minute.

Snorsky struck again in the 81st minute, snagging an errant pass, juking past a Lobos defender and streaking for the goal, where she rolled it into the far corner.

鈥淢oving into this new formation, we have to be together on the same page,鈥� Campbell said. 鈥淲e have to communicate and play together. We didn鈥檛 get beat so much as we beat ourselves.鈥�

This was the second game in the Nelson era, which began with a 2-0 win over Northern Arizona on Thursday.

鈥淚 keep saying this, but to get my first win as a head coach with this group of players is really special,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淭hey are a group who 鈥� (have) been incredibly committed to where we're headed, to the way we want to play, to who we are as a program, to what we represent, to our core values and they just continue to surprise me at every turn.鈥�

And right now, there鈥檚 still some learning and growing to do.

鈥淣onconference play, we're not meant to be at our best right now,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥溾�� We're playing a little bit differently than we have in the past. We need these games. We need to play. We need to make the mistakes so that the goal is that we learn from the non-conference games.鈥�