After two straight disappointing seasons, the Lobos men’s soccer team looks to bounce back, get back to the NCAA Tournament, and once again be a national title contender. This is a very important year for the program, since perception of a program can change very quickly and hurt scheduling and recruiting. A good thing for the Lobos is they have been young and unlucky the last two season, which shouldn’t be the case anymore. Although they can’t control the luck aspect, they will be an experienced squad. The Lobos will have multiple-year starters, key transfers, and a highly regarded recruiting class this year. All that makes me think that if the team can come together to fulfill their potential, it could be a very exciting and special season.

A Look Back:

Last season, the Lobos seemed to have a really hard time finding a consistent flow to the season, mostly due to a combination of injuries and having Aaron Herrera miss time due to US team commitment. That added up to an 8-6-4 record overall and 2-4-2 Conference USA record, with a loss in the first round of the CUSA Tournament. While it wasn’t the season that we had hoped for, there were still some positives to take away:

• Chris Wehan proved that he is one of the most talented scorers in college soccer, backing his ten-goal sophomore campaign with ten more goals as a junior.
• Jason Beaulieu proved to be a very solid starting goal keeper during his sophomore season, with a Goal Against Average of .94 with 75 saves and 5 clean sheets (one combined).
• Nick Rowchowski found a home in backline during his junior season. After moving positions early in his career Rochowski will again be an anchor on the backline.
• Aaron Herrera had a great freshman year that was interrupted by time with the US U19 team. When he was suited up for the Lobos, he was a key cog in the backline and played almost every possible minute.

There are some trends that the Lobos will look to shake off during this 2016 Campaign:

• The Lobos scored only 4 goals in the first half of games last season, while allowing 9. Because of that, the Lobos very rarely saw a half time lead, which put tons of pressure on the second half of games. They did handle that fairly well, though, outscoring opponents 18 to 9 in the second half and overtime.
• Finding a consistent second scorer is imperative for the Lobos this season. Wehan scored 10 goals last year, which is fantastic, but the next leading scorer returning is Niko Hansen, who scored 3 goals last year. Good news is that Hansen was fantastic in the spring season, scoring more than a goal per match, and had two goals in first exhibition game against UNLV and one against Fort Lewis.

Season Outlook:

The Lobos enter the 2016 with most of their key players returning from last season, which should provide a lot of stability. With eight starters returning, the Lobos will only have to plug in three holes in the starting eleven. The first exhibition against UNLV gave a good idea of how this season could be a special one. With new players allowing starters to play their natural positions, I saw each player playing with comfort level that they didn’t always show last year.

Here are some keys to a great season for the Lobos this season:

• One thing that stood out to me in the first exhibition was Coach Fishbein having both Chris Gurule and Patrick Khouri as Center Midfielders. As we have seen in the past, the best Lobo teams have had great players in that position that could control the middle of the field. Having players like Brandon Moss and Michael Kafari giving support to the backline and allowing the right and left back to be aggressive created space for the attacking players to make runs. This was something that I feel was lacking the last two seasons.
• Chris Wehan and Niko Hansen could both have special senior seasons. With the addition of Luke Lawrence, Hansen is able to move to a wing, which should give him more space to put pressure on the defense. With more attacking players on this year’s team, opponents will have to decide who they are going to focus on stopping.
• It looks like freshman Matt Constant and redshirt freshman Tom Smart will get the first chances to start in the back line. Constant, who was the prized recruit for the recruiting class, will start at one of the center back spots alongside Nick Rochowski. It’s obviously early to say, but I feel like Constant has a chance to go down as one of the great defenders in Lobo soccer history. For his part, Smart is a strong defender that will be very important to the success of the team.
• With the additions on the backline, Josh Goss is able to move to his natural position in the midfield, where he will be the main distributor for the Lobos. Goss led the Lobos with 5 assists last year and took most of the corner kicks and non-direct free kicks last year. With Goss in the midfield it should help the Lobos in the final third.
• Luke Lawrence returning to play for his hometown team after spending two years at Fort Lewis is a huge addition for the Lobos. Lawrence gives the Lobos a true striker that will look for his shot and doesn’t need much space to get a shot off. I am reminded of another former La Cueva star turned Lobo All-American: Jeff Rowland.

Projected Starting Eleven:

While there will be some changes in the starting lineup from time to time, here is the starting eleven that I am projecting. By the looks of it, the Lobos will be in a 4-5-1 or a loose 4-4-2 formation with two defensive-minded center midfielders. Probably something like this:

Jason Beaulieu

Aaron Herrera               Nick Rochowski               Matt Constant               Tom Smart

Chris Wehan               Chris Gurule               Patrick Khouri               Niko Hansen

Josh Goss

Luke Lawrence

Expect to see Coach Fishbein to move Hansen, Wehan and Goss around to give the attack different looks throughout the course of a match. There will be other players pushing the starters for minutes, which would be a huge blessing for the team by keeping Hansen and Wehan fresh and healthy for the conference and NCAA Tournament.

Season Expectations:

The expectation for this season should be as lofty as always. In fact, I think that these Lobos have the pieces to be one of the best Lobo teams in history. That doesn’t mean that they will reach these lofty goals of reaching a National Championship or the College Cup, but those things can be within their reach. The expectation every year for this program is to be a top 15 team in the country and is in the conversation for the conference regular season title and a host team in the first couple of rounds of the NCAA Tournament, and this year is no different. Still, even with those lofty goals, I think that a Sweet 16 run would be a great season and anything more than that would be icing on the cake. If the Lobos are able to get results in their first weekend on the road against Indiana and Notre Dame, it would vault the perception of this Lobo team on the national stage in a hurry.

Conference expectations have changed a little since the move to Conference USA, as in the MPSF the Lobos had no place to pick up a big win, and any loss was considered a bad loss. That left the team practically having to always win the MPSF to reach their goals. However, in Conference USA, the Lobos have a way tougher schedule where every win is a good win and some happen to be great wins. Because of this, the Lobos expectation in conference play have shifted to competing for the league title every year.

As mentioned earlier, a Sweet 16 has been the measuring stick to what a great season is for this Lobo program. As we know from experience, any success in the NCAA Tournament can come down to matchups and travel, so there’s some luck involved at that point. If the Lobos are able to have home games in the NCAA Tournament, it isn’t crazy to think that an Elite Eight run or a College Cup is out of the question.

In a future post, we will look at Conference USA, the schedule, and our bold predictions for the season.

Up Next:

The Lobos will host the University of Washington, Saturday Night at 6 P.M. The Huskies have a couple of familiar faces around New Mexico in their Head Coach Jamie Clark (former Lobo Assistant) and Assistant Coach Jeff Rowland.