The business trip to California was a success, as the Lobos Men’s Soccer team had its most successful weekend of the season, going 2-0-0 again Cal State Northridge and nationally-ranked Loyola Marymount University. It was an important weekend to get results and build off of last week’s games against University of San Diego and UC Santa Barbara. The Lobos did just that and saw their success be rewarded by becoming nationally ranked in all three of the National Rankings. They are now currently ranked 17th in the NSCAA Coaches poll, 15th in the Top Drawer Soccer poll, and 23rd in the College Soccer News poll.
Cal State Northridge: This was a very interesting match to watch from home, and not just because it was a Spanish broadcast. With a Cal State Northridge team that didn’t want to space the pitch against a more talented Lobos side, neither team really had a great chance until the second half, when Niko Hansen had a shot from inside of 8 yards saved by the Northridge keeper. UNM’s keeper, Jason Beaulieu, was never really challenge throughout the game and while CS Northridge has shot advantage (10-9), they only had shots from distance. The Lobos controlled the second half and it appeared that it was just a matter of time before they found the back of the net. Hansen put pressure on the CS Northridge backline and was awarded a foul in the box to set up a penalty kick for Chris Wehan. Wehan was able to put it in his 5th goal of the season and win the game 1-0 for the Lobos. The 1-0 win was the first shutout of the season for the Lobos side and set them up well for Sunday’s match against LMU.
Loyola Marymount University: The Lobos were put to the test against this ranked LMU side and founded themselves down 1-0 in the 15th minute, when the Lobos turned the ball over and LMU’s forward was able to make an incredible shot from outside the 18 yard box that Beaulieu had no shot of saving. This was just a few minutes after the Lobos had a great chance by Wehan, but the goalie for LMU was able to make a great save. LMU and the Lobos played the rest of the first half on even terms, with neither team having a great chance during the last 30 minutes of the first half. Things changed quickly in the second half, when the Lobos where able to put pressure on the LMU backline from the opening whistle. In the first couple of minutes of the second half, a ball played in by the Lobos almost resulted in an own goal for LMU, when an LMU defender cleared the ball a foot over the crossbar. In the 75th minute, the Lobos were finally able to find the back of the net, when Chris Gurule crossed the ball in after a semi-clearance by LMU after a set piece and found Nick Rochowski’s foot. Rochowski was able to get it past the keeper and tie the game 1-1. In the 77th minute, a foul by LMU from 30 yards out allowed Wehan, who is probably the best in the nation at free kicks, made a beautiful shot that was able to find the top right corner of the net for his 6th goal of the season, giving the Lobos a 2-1 lead. The Lobo backline was able to keep the LMU offense from finding an equalizer, securing the 2-1 win for the Lobos.
YesWehan: What else can we say about Chris Wehan’s start to the season? In my opinion, this is the greatest stretch of games a player has had for the Lobos. Stopping Wehan has become the primary game plan for the opposing teams, and they have been unable to shut him down. Wehan is coming off a week where he was named National Player of the Week by all three publications and this week was named to Top Drawer Soccer’s Team of the Week for the second straight week. On top of that, he was also named Conference USA Player of the Week for the second straight week. He has scored six of the seven UNM goals this season and both of his goals this weekend were game winners. Enjoy watching Wehan while you can, because he is a very special player doing very special things.
Jason Beaulieu: Not to be outdone by the goal scorer for the Lobos, the Lobos goalkeeper was named Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week. The Lobos’ sophomore keeper has been great to start the year and has left no doubt in the coaches’ eyes who should have the number 1 jersey. Expect Beaulieu to continue to have success, as the backline will become an even more cohesive unit when Yuri Domiciano gets his legs under him.
Gleadle and Domiciano: After missing time to start the season, sophomore forward Sam Gleadle made his return to action, coming off the bench to bring nice energy to the Lobo attack. The biggest news of the weekend for the Lobos side was Yuri Domiciano making his Lobos debut in the match against LMU. It will take time for Domiciano to get to where he is playing the full 90 and having cohesion with the rest of the backline, but this will allow the Lobos to play their best lineup with him at left back, Aaron Herrera at right back, and Josh Goss moving into the midfield, where he can help create and take pressure off of Wehan.
Unlikely Connection: The Lobos have had a tough time finding the back of the net for the first four games, aside from Wehan’s five goals during that span. It took an unlikely connection to find an additional Lobo scorer: center back Chris Gurule crossed the ball into other center back Nick Rochowski to find the net against LMU. That means that all of the Lobo goals this season have come from the midfield and the backline.
First Half Blues: The Lobos have been quite the second-half team this season, outscoring their opponents 7-2, which is fantastic. However, the Lobos have yet to score in the 225 first-half minutes they have played so far this season. While the Lobos have given up three first-half goals this season, they haven’t given up more than one in a match, so they haven’t been too far out of reach in a match. The Lobos need to find a way to score at least a little in the first half of their upcoming matches so they can bury teams in the second half.