Men's Soccer Falls in MPSF Semifinals, 3-2

Nov. 15, 2002

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Senior Nat Borchers (Pueblo, Colo.) and sophomore Christian Bowers (Holladay, Utah) each tallied a goal as the University of Denver men's soccer team fell to tournament host New Mexico tonight at the University of New Mexico Soccer Complex. The loss ends Denver' season with a record of 9-12-0. New Mexico improves to 16-3-0 and will play No. 2 San Jose State Sunday afternoon for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's automatic NCAA Tournament berth.

New Mexico grabbed the lead first, despite some early Denver dominance that saw them miss a few scoring opportunities in the early going. The Lobos were able to score in the 4th minute, as Javier Carrasco was able to put a foot on a corner kick from Ashwill and get it past Pioneer goalkeeper senior Brian Lux (Lakewood, Colo.), giving New Mexico a 1-0 lead.

Denver tied the score in the 22nd minute when Borchers scored on a pass from senior Nic Hartman (Littleton, Colo.). New Mexico regained the lead right before half as Eric Bagwell one-touched a Matt Wootton pass from 5-yards out.

The Lobos added to their lead in the 52nd minute when Jeff Rowland scored on a pass from Lance Watson. The Pioneers would score late on a goal from Bowers. The play was setup by senior Robert Rice (Kingwood, Texas).

Denver head coach Chad Ashton was disappointed but proud of his team. "We feel there is a black cloud over our heads," he said. We finally put some balls in the net but could not limit their opportunities."

"I couldn't be more proud of our team for the effort they put out and the game they played today. We are disappointed but our guys know they played their hearts out today," he said. The Pioneers end their season, winning three out of their last four contests. Denver will return five of today's 11 starters next season.

Goals by Period 1 2 Tot NEW MEXICO....... 2 1 - 3 DENVER................1 1 - 2

Shots by Period 1 2 Tot Saves by Period 1 2 Tot --------------------------------- --------------------------------------- NEW MEXICO.... 6 3 - 9 NEW MEXICO.... 1 1 - 2 DENVER.............. 6 7 - 13 DENVER.............. 1 0 - 1

SCORING SUMMARY: GOAL Time Team ## Goal Scorer Assists ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. 04:20 UNM 14 Javier Carrasco 2 Ben Ashwill / 10 Lance Watson 2. 22:51 DENVER 9 Nat Borchers 15 Nic Hartman 3. 43:17 UNM 19 Erik Bagwell 17 Matt Wootton 4. 52:28 UNM 23 Jeff Rowland 10 Lance Watson 5. 73:17 DENVER 4 Christian Bowers 22 Robert Rice

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