By JOEY SAMUEL
Coming into this weekend, New Mexico was considered one of the top teams in the nation in college soccer. But after Friday night, that status is seriously in danger.
With six minutes remaining in overtime of a scoreless stalemate, Air Force's Caleb Downey pounced on a loose ball in the box and buried a shot past New Mexico's goalkeeper to break the deadlock and give the Falcons a dramatic 1-0 upset win.
The Lobos, who entered the weekend at No. 5 in SBI's rankings, struggled mightily on offense and they paid for it in the overtime period. The loss snapped a 13-game regular-season home winning streak for New Mexico, and it gave them their first loss in conference play.
In other action, Xavier topped Saint Louis in Friday's only matchup of two ranked teams. Will Walker scored a brace, while Gino De Paoli netted the winner as No. 13 Xavier edged No. 18 Saint Louis, 3-2, in each team's first match in the Atlantic 10.
It was an exciting, back-and-forth first half, with St. Louis' Kingsley Bryce and Xavier's Walker each scoring within the first two minutes. Walker added another goal in the ninth minute to give Xavier the lead, only for Robbie Kristo to answer for the Billikens and tie the game at 2-2. De Paoli restored Xavier's lead just four minutes later, though, and the Musketeers held on during a less eventful second half to secure the 3-2 win.
Elsewhere, No. 4 North Carolina went on the road and beat Clemson, 2-0, and No. 5 Akron thrashed FAU, 5-0, while No. 6 UC-Santa Barbara needed double overtime to top UC-Irvine, 2-1.
Here is a full rundown of Friday's top college soccer matches:
(2) Maryland 1, Virginia 0. (RECAP)
Clemson 0, (4) North Carolina 2. (RECAP)
(5) Akron 5, Florida Atlantic 0. (RECAP)
(6) UCSB 2, UC-Irvine 1. (RECAP)
(7) New Mexico 0, Air Force 1. (RECAP)
(10) UCLA 1, Oregon State 0. (RECAP)
(13) Xavier 3, (18) Saint Louis 2. (RECAP)
VCU 4, (15) Charlotte 1. (RECAP)
North Carolina State 0, Duke 1. (RECAP)
Dayton 3, Butler 1. (RECAP)
UC Riverside 0, UC Davis 1. (RECAP)
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What did you think of Friday's results? Shocked by Air Force's upset of New Mexico? How far should Xavier climb in next week's SBI rankings after beating Saint Louis?
Share your thoughts below.