One win, one loss for the NMT Miners in Durango

Right: NMT Miner Collin Horvat defends against an ASU Sundevil. The Miners lost the second game of the day in El Paso by a score of 4-1.

by Coach Paul Fuierer

Oct. 4, 2004 -- The sun broke through in Durango on Saturday, Oct. 2, when the NMT Miner men's soccer team got their second victory of the season, defeating Western State College of Colorado, 3-1. Sophomore midfielder Matt Reichbach put the Miners on the board with the first goal at 19 minutes. WSCC answered 4 minutes later with a goal that quickly quieted the Miner squad.

But Reichbach and his speed would create problems for WSCC throughout the match. The speedy Miner midfielder followed up with an assist on striker Yusef Oni’s goal at 34 minutes. Shortly after the goal, Oni was kicked in an already bruised ankle, and came out of the game.

During the second half, Reichbach drew a foul in the penalty box, and gave midfielder Collin Horvat the easy penalty kick for the last goal of the day. Sophomore Jon Smith was also awarded an assist in the day’s effort. The Miners out-shot WSCC 19-12.

The joy of the Saturday win was replaced with shame on Sunday, Oct. 3, when Ft. Lewis College sent the Miners packing with a 6-0 loss. The Fort Lewis club showed a strong squad, which recently lost to their nationally ranked NCAA D-2 team by just one goal.

Despite the lack of several starting players, the Miner Men played fairly evenly with Ft. Lewis for much of the first half. But as they tired, the Miners’ shortfall in substitutions bore fruit for Ft. Lewis.

Defensively, the Techies made many mistakes, upon which their opponents capitalized. Big and fast Ft. Lewis forwards were able to win head balls easily in the critical area, resulting in several goals. With Oni on the sideline from Saturday’s game, the Miners lacked striking power and came up empty.

In the second half, tempers started to flare, culminating in the ejection of both club presidents, the Miners’ Paul Dailey and Socorro’s own Justin Passelaqua on the Ft. Lewis squad. Ft. Lewis ended up out-shooting NMT 19-13, with 11 on goal. Tech goalkeeper Tyson Gobble recorded several exciting saves. Midfielder Horvat put forth tireless effort throughout the game.

One week earlier, play in El Paso resulted in a 9-1 loss to the University of Texas. Krafty and speedy one-touch play by the UTEP forwards stunned the Miners and yielded a barrage of shots on back-up goalie Josh Lynch. A defensive reorganization led to a much more competitive game against Arizona Statelater that afternoon.

The Techies took the early lead with a goal by Galen Hartenberger. The Sundevils tied it up before halftime. A red-card ejection due to holding by the Miners’ new freshman sweeper, Russel Maier, meant they had to play a man down for almost the entire 2nd half. The game ended with a 4-1 victory for ASU.

The Miners’ overall record now stands at 2 wins, 6 losses (1 win, 5 losses for conference play). All Techies are invited to support the Miners this Saturday at 4 p.m. when they host the University of Arizona Wildcats, currently the NIRSA Desert conference leader. The game will be played at the NMT Athletic Field.

-NMT-