New Mexico Men’s Soccer came back home after a tough loss in its Conference USA opener against South Carolina to play a non-conference game against University of San Francisco. The Dons (2-9-0) were a team that seemed to promise a great confidence-boosting opportunity and give Coach Fishbein the chance to give important players minutes off the pitch and give bench players a chance to play in a match. That promise was delivered, as the Lobos improved their record to (6-2-1, 0-1-0) with a 3-0 win against the Dons.
First Half Goals: The bad streak of the Lobos not scoring a first half goal finally came to an end Wednesday night with resounding fashion. It was no surprise who ended the streak: Chris Wehan. In the 18th minute, Lucas Seligman sent a cross in, which was deflected by Niko Hansen and went straight to Wehan, who beat the keeper for his eighth goal of the season. The Lobos were then able to add a second first-half goal in the 29th minute, when Josh Goss found freshman Simon Spangenberg who had just checked in the match. Spangenberg let go a rocket from about 35 yards out that found top shelf for his first career collegiate goal. The Lobos found its third and final goal of the match in the 43rd minute, when Goss sent a cross in and the ball was deflected off a defender into the goal for an own goal.
Resting Players: With the 3-0 lead at the half, Coach Fishbein and the Lobos were able to give rest to key figures in the lineup. Jason Beaulieu got his first break of the season when he was taken out in the 71st minute, making Nick Rochowski the only Lobo that has played every minute this season. Other players that didn’t play their normal minutes were Chris Wehan (57), Chris Gurule (62), Josh Goss (55), and Niko Hansen (55). I believe that it was important to give these players a break as the Lobos head into the meat of the Conference USA schedule and any time you can rest important players and give match time to freshmen is important to the depth of the team.
Next Opponent: New Mexico returns to Conference USA play to take on the University of Kentucky on Sunday night at 6pm. This is a very important match for the Lobos to improve to (1-1-0) in conference play, as if you want to win the conference you can’t lose at home.
Rankings: After the road loss to South Carolina, the Lobos did take a little hit to their national rankings. However, if they can go on another good winning streak they will find themselves back into the top ten soon.
- NCAA: 21
- Top Drawer Soccer: 18
- College Soccer News: 19
- RPI: 15