After a heartbreaking loss to SDSU in the regular season finale, the Lobos are the #3 seed in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, which starts today. This is a six-team field with the top 2 seeds getting first found byes, with games on Tuesday, Thursday, and the Championship match on Saturday. It is very simple for the Lobos, they must win the tournament to make the NCAA Tournament. That said, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they were able to win this tournament, considering how well they have played on the road this season. SDSU is the favorite in this tournament, as they are both the #1 seed and host of the tournament and they have only lost one conference match this season. However, after SDSU it is a wide-open field.
Teams (Seed):
- SDSU 14-4-0; 10-1-0 (First round bye, plays the winner of Wyoming and Colorado College.)
- SJSU 10-7-2; 8-3-0 (First round bye, play the winner of UNM and UNLV)
- UNM 9-8-1; 7-3-1
- Wyoming 10-5-4; 6-4-1
- Colorado College 8-11-1; 6-5-0
- UNLV 11-9-0; 6-5-0
Lobos Results against Tournament Teams:
- SDSU: Lobos lost a tough 2-1 home match.
- SJSU: Lobos lost a 2-1 home match.
- Wyoming: Tied 0-0 at Wyoming.
- Colorado College: won 1-0 at Colorado College.
- UNLV: Lost 3-1 in a home match.
I found it interesting that all the Lobos conference losses came at home this season while their only non-win on the road was the draw at Wyoming. Look for the Lobos to continue their great play on the road this week.
Conference Honors:
Five Lobos were awarded conference awards with a first team all-conference, two second team all-conference and two all-conference honorable mentions.
First Team: Madisyn Olguin
Second Team: Cassie Ulrich and Maddie Irwin
Honorable Mention: Dylann O’Connor and Emily Chavez
UNLV Match Preview:
The Lobos look for payback tonight when they take on UNLV in the opening match of the MW Conference Tournament. UNLV won the first match between these two teams with a convincing 3-1 win in Albuquerque. In that match, the Lobos scored in the first minute, but the Rebels were able to score three straight goals in the next 50 minutes. It will be interesting to see how the Lobos come out and play, hopefully having an effective attack to make this an easy match so it can move on and face SJSU in the semifinals on Thursday.
Stats:
LOBOS:
- Have outscored opponents 24-21
- Are even in first half goals at 12-12
- Have outscored opponents 12-9 in the second half
- Have outshot opponents 250-206, on average 2.5 more shots per match
- Nine Lobos have scored a goal this season
- Six Lobos have scored multiple goals this season
- Madisyn Olguin leads the Lobos with six goals
- Cassie Ulrich has a 1.02 Goal Against Average, with five shutouts
- Were 5-0-1 on the road during conference play, 6-3-1 overall
REBELS:
- Have been outscored by opponents 31-30
- Have been outscored in the first half 18-17
- Are even in second half goals 13-13
- Have been outshot by opponents 308-304, on average .2 less shots per match
- Eleven Rebels have scored a goal this season
- Eight Rebels have scored multiple goals this season
- Jodi Barber leads the Rebels with six goals
- Have split time with two goalkeepers
- Were 3-2 on the road during conference play, 4-5 overall
Prediction:
While UNLV did win the first match at UNM Soccer Complex, the Lobos have been the better team ever since and I know what to expect when the Lobos are on the road. The Lobos will control the play and will find away to slow down, or stop the UNLV attack. I place the odds of the Lobos winning this match straight up at 55% and a 75% chance that it goes to penalties, which than makes the match a toss up. I like the Lobos in this match and think it is going to end up a 2-1 Lobos win, with the team moving on to the semifinals to face SJSU.
Game Info:
Who: UNM vs. UNLV
Where: SDSU, San Diego, California
When: Tuesday November 3rd, 5 PM MT
Stream: The MWN