CUSA Conference Tourney First Round: UNM vs. South Carolina

by Zach

After a strong finish in their last couple of games, the Lobos enter the seven-team Conference USA Tournament as the #6 seed. This tournament will take place Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, when the Championship Match will determine who will get the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The field is a very solid one, as it has the potential for five or six of its teams to make the NCAA Tournament this year. With Charlotte being the host, they will be considered one of the two favorites along with #1 Seed Kentucky.

As for the Lobos, they will kick of the tournament Wednesday against South Carolina, who won the first meeting between the two teams 2-1 in OT. The Lobos have to play great soccer this week to have a shot to make the NCAA Tournament and it should go with out saying their goal is to win the conference tournament and just claim the automatic bid. The stars on the team need to play great and the role players need to be key parts of the match. It should be a very intriguing tournament with a lot of great matches and matchups.

Teams (Seed):

  • Kentucky 12-3-2; 7-0-1 (First round bye, plays the winner of ODU and FIU)
  • Charlotte 10-5-2; 6-1-1
  • South Carolina 10-6-1; 6-2-0
  • Old Dominion 8-4-3; 3-3-2
  • Florida International University 9-6-1; 3-4-1
  • New Mexico 8-5-4; 2-4-2
  • Marshall 7-8-1; 2-5-1

Lobos Results against Tournament Teams:

  • Kentucky: Lost a tough 1-0 2OT home match.
  • Charlotte: Lost a 2-0 home match.
  • South Carolina: Lost 2-1 OT at South Carolina.
  • ODU: Lost 2-0 at ODU.
  • FIU: Tied 0-0 at FIU.
  • Marshall: Tied 1-1 at Marshall

While the Lobos didn’t have a win against any of the teams in the field, they should be encouraged that they were in all but the Charlotte match and should feel like they have a chance to beat any of these teams.

Conference Honors:

Seven Lobos were awarded conference awards this year, with a first team all-conference, two-second team all-conference, two all-conference third team all-conference and two all-conference Freshman Team. Congrats to all of the honorees!

First Team: Chris Wehan

Second Team: Niko Hansen and Chris Gurule

Third Team: Josh Dye and Josh Dye

Freshman Team: Patrick Khouri and Francesco Casucci

South Carolina Match Preview:

The Lobos look for payback in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament Wednesday when they take on South Carolina. South Carolina won the first match between these two teams with a hard-fought 2-1 OT win in Columbia. In that match, South Carolina scored in the third minute, but the Lobos were able to score on a Chris Wehan Penalty Kick in the 86th minute to tie the score at 1-1 and send the match to overtime. It appeared that the Lobos were on their way to a result on the road, but in the 99th minute a ball got past Jason Beaulieu to end the game with a 2-1 South Carolina win. The Lobos need to come and play a great first half, as that has been a weakness this year, and in a tournament setting the Lobos can’t use too much energy to always have to come from behind.

Stats:

Lobos:

  • Have outscored opponents 22-17
  • Have been outscored by opponents in the first half 9-4
  • Have outscored opponents 18-8 in the second half
  • Have been outshot by opponents 242-226, on average .9 less shots per match
  • Six Lobos have scored a goal this season
  • Four Lobos have scored multiple goals this season
  • Chris Wehan leads the Lobos with ten goals
  • Jason Beaulieu has a .94 Goal Against Average, with four shutouts
  • Were 0-2-2 on the road during conference play, 2-3-2 overall

South Carolina:

  • Are even in goals 26-26
  • Have outscored opponents in the first half 13-10
  • Have been outscored by opponents in second half goals 16-13
  • Have been outshot by opponents 253-198, on average 3.3 less shots per match
  • Eight South Carolina Players have scored a goal this season
  • Four South Carolina Players have scored multiple goals this season
  • Danny Deakin leads South Carolina with ten goals
  • William Pyle has a 1.04 Goal Against Average with three shutouts
  • Were 2-2-0 on the road during conference play, 2-6-0 overall

Prediction:

South Carolina did win the first meeting between the two teams, but this time I do see a different result. It will not be an easy match for the Lobos, as South Carolina is a very solid team that will force you to make the most of your chances and they will not give away goals. The Lobos are in a do-or-die situation, so Chris Wehan and Niko Hansen need to show up and be the stars we know can be in order for the Lobos to win this match and move on in the tournament. I put the odds of the Lobos winning the match in game action at 35%; I put the odds of the Lobos taking this match to at least Penalty Kicks at 65%, at which point the match is a coin flip. I predict a 2-1 Lobos win in regulation, with goals from Wehan and Hansen. Find a place to watch the Lobos play and show your support!

Game Info:

Who: UNM vs. South Carolina

Where: Charlotte, North Carolina

When: Wednesday November 11th, 2:30 PM MT

Stream: Conference USA Digital Network

The will be a few places around Albuquerque that will probably be showing the match. For example:

https://twitter.com/LoboMensSoccer/status/664122717940027394