Often a team will look to its veterans for postseason success. Sunday night, it was the playoff rookies who stole the show.
After finishing regulation knotted at 1-1, New Mexico’s Devon Sandoval headed the ball toward goal and freshman Carson Baldinger finished the job in the 99th minute to give the undefeated Lobos a 2-1 victory.
Duke attacked the New Mexico defense from the start. A mere 40 seconds into the game, Nick Palodichuk attempted a shot that went just wide. The strike was the first of many for the Blue Devils, who outshot New Mexico 7-2 in the first 23 minutes of the game. The initial surge included two more shots from Palodichuk, as well as attempts from Andrew Wenger, Sebastien Ibeagha, Nat Eggleston and Andrew Morales.
The offensive firepower died down for the remainder of the half, which consisted of less shots and a great number of fouls. In the first half alone, 11 fouls were called, including seven on the Blue Devils.
Palodichuk started the second half similar to the first, missing a shot over the goal in the 52nd minute. 50 seconds later, however, the freshman found the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season and gave the Blue Devils a 1-0 advantage.
Following the goal, Duke dropped back into a defensive formation to prevent an equalizer. Penalties, however, again became the story for Duke. Jonathan Aguirre kicked the ball away after he was called for a foul in the 56th minute, drawing a yellow card. The penalty changed the complexion of the game, as all the momentum shifted towards the Lobos.
New Mexico dominated possession for the next 20 minutes and received an extra boost when Chris Tweed-Kent received a red card on a reckless challenge in the air in the 76th minute. Seven minutes later, Blake Smith tied the game on a strike into the left side of the netting past Duke goalkeeper James Belshaw, who had five saves on the night.
The Lobos dominated the overtime period against the undermanned Blue Devils, finally scoring just under nine minutes into extra time.
—from staff reports
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