The Lobos (5-2-0) will open their Conference USA schedule with a tough road test at Kentucky (4-2-1, 0-1-0). The Lobos look to get past their struggles the last two years in C-USA play and get back in the hunt for a conference title. This matchup will be very interesting to watch, as both teams play a very similar style of soccer, playing tough defense while looking for chances to counter-attack to score goals. This match will be decided by which team can make the most of their limited opportunities. The Lobos will need Niko Hansen and Chris Wehan to come up big in this match, as a win tonight would put the Lobos in good shape for the conference title after just one match.

Kentucky Stats:

	Kentucky	Opponents
Goals	9 (3 1st Half, 6 2nd Half)	4 (4 1st Half, 0 2nd Half)
Goals Per Match	1.29	.55
Shots On Goal	32-88 (.364)	23-73 (.315
Shots Per Match	12.6	10.4
Assists	9	2
Corner Kicks	40	33

• Kentucky, much like the Lobos, are a great defensive team that has scored just enough to go 4-2-1 in their first seven matches of the season.
• Kentucky has had three players score two goals this season in Napo Matsoso, Noah Hutchins and Andrew Mckelvey. Kentucky has also assisted on all nine of their goals this season.
• Stuart Ford has been great so far this season in goal. He, along with his defense, has a very small .54 Goals Against Average with four shutouts.

Lobo Stats:

	New Mexico	Opponents
Goals	9 (3 1st Half, 6 2nd Half)	3 (1 1st Half, 2 2nd Half)
Goals Per Game	1.29	.43
Shots On Goal	43-99 (.364)	24-67 (.358)
Shots Per Game	14.1	9.6
Assists	5	1
Corner Kicks	43	34

• The Lobos have been fantastic on defense this season. Through 7 matches, they have 4 shutouts and have yet to allow a goal in live game action.
• Jason Beaulieu now has a .42 Goals Against Average with 4 shutouts.
• Niko Hansen has been great this season, having scored six of the nine Lobo goals. If the Lobos pull out a win tonight, I have a feeling that it will be because he did something special again.
• Look for the Lobos to get Chris Wehan involved early in the match and try to get him in great positions to make an impact on the Lobo attack.
• Conference matches mean that the scouting reports will be more extensive, but this early in the season it is possible that teams will be going off the scouting reports from last year, which could benefit the Lobos early on.

Conference USA:

The Lobos start conference play against three of the other top teams in the conference, with matches at Kentucky and Charlotte in the first three matches. If the Lobos are able to get results in both matches, it could put them in the driver’s seat for the regular season title.

• Road Matches: Kentucky, Charlotte, FAU and UAB
• Home Matches: FIU, Marshall, South Carolina and ODU
• Conference USA Tournament: At Marshall

Conference USA is always a battle and there will be no easy matches, so the key to the title will be getting results on the road and making sure to win your home matches. If you are able to do this, you will be in a position for a national seed in the NCAA Tournament, which guarantees some home matches.

Conference USA Standings:

TEAM	Conference	Points	Overall Record
UAB	1-0-1	4	3-2-3
Charlotte	1-0-0	3	4-1-0
ODU	0-1-1	1	3-3-2
UNM	0-0-0	0	5-2-0
South Carolina	0-0-0	0	4-3-0
FIU	0-0-0	0	3-3-1
FAU	0-0-0	0	1-4-1
Kentucky	0-1-0	0	4-2-1
Marshall	0-1-0	0	4-4-0

Match Prediction:

This match is going to be a stressful match from the beginning, with both sides looking for that one great look to capitalize on against the other great defense. I would be surprised if there are more than 2 goals in this match, making this the definition of a toss-up match. I put the odds of the Lobos winning this match at 35% and a 65% chance of a result. I have the Lobos winning this match 1-0 with the lone goal coming from Wehan.

Game Info:

Who: New Mexico Lobos (5-2-0, 0-0-0) vs. Kentucky Wildcats (4-2-1, 0-1-0)

When: Sunday September 25^th, 2016, 5 PM M.T.

Where: The Bell, Lexington KY

Stream: espn3.com