Back line comes to the fore in Lobos' soccer success
Apr. 16—It is fairly traditional that goal scorers get the lion's share of attention when a soccer team is going well.
And make no mistake, the New Mexico women's team has some goal scorers. The Lobos have the top two in the Mountain West in Gwen Maly (10 goals) and Alesia Garcia (six), as well as No. 10 Madi Hirschman (three).
But when it comes to defense, the group that protects goalkeeper Emily Johnson is unparalleled. New Mexico (9-1) has allowed three goals all season and has seven shutouts.
Alexa Kirton buttons up the defensive midfield for the Lobos, while Myah Isais and Karlee Maes form the center backfield. Jadyn Edwards, Maly, Johnson, Kiron and Maes were named to the conference's first team.
"They are a special group just in their character," said coach Heather Dyche, who was named conference coach of the year. "They're a group of tremendous leaders, but they're all really, really competitive kids and for them to meld that together to be cohesive has been a big key to our success."
That success has led to Saturday's conference finale against San Diego State (8-2) at the UNM Soccer and Track Complex. The winner gets an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
"I think those kids deserve to hold their heads high and I think this weekend is going to get retested," Dyche said. "San Diego State has put up goals like nobody else. We'll see how good we really are. Hopefully that test rolls into next year too."
Both teams finished with 30 goals on the season, but the Aztecs have allowed 11.
"These three, Karlee, Myah and Alexa, are kind of like the backbone and spine of our whole field and line," Johnson said. "But it comes with communication, organization and effort plays in these three. And they can do that the whole game and you can trust them the entire time."
Include outside backs Jaelyn Hendren and Aspen Headrick and the back line is truly rugged.
"I wouldn't be going forward if I didn't have the two behind me, Emily, everyone, because I know I can trust them," Kirton said. "I know that they'll stop the ball if it gets there."
The smooth-functioning unit thrives on its success, Isais said.
"It's confidence," she said. "I feel like all of us are on the same page all the time. We just work very well together. I think it helps having a good relationship off the field for sure, even though we haven't had time to spend off the field together because of COVID, but it's amazing because we all have each others' backs and we're supportive of everything we do. And we feed off of each other's achievements."
The players were together on the back line in 2019, as well, and that has played a role in the team's success
"It's insane," Maes said. "Everyone is super good. It is really easy to have fun when everybody else out there has the same goal you do and is working hard. I think we all communicate and everybody is really positive and we talk through any issues we have."
Now it's time to give San Diego State some issues.
"In the Mountain West, a lot of games come down to heart," Dyche said. "It comes down to people willing to put out that extra energy. People who are willing to be committed to the actual tackle. And I never question any of those kids, any of our back four, really. They get it. They know what it takes to be successful."
