The stage is set for the Conference USA Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament Championship, as the Lobos (11-6-2) has advanced to the final with an exciting 2-1 win over #1 seed Charlotte. On the other side of the bracket FIU (10-6-2) advanced to the final with wins over #6 seed UAB and #7 seed ODU. In their win, the Lobos got production from their two leading scorers, with Chris Wehan scoring his 7th goal of the season to give the Lobos a 1-0 lead early in the second half, and leading scorer Niko Hansen gave the Lobos a huge 2-0 lead with 20 minutes left in the match. The Lobo backline played great, aside from the one misplay that led to the Charlotte goal. The Lobos will need to get production from both Wehan Hansen, and their backline once again to seal their bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Tournament Seeding:
- Charlotte 7-1-0 (Lobos 2-1 to UNM)
- South Carolina 5-2-1 (Lost 2-1 to ODU)
- FIU 5-2-1
- Kentucky 5-3-0 (Lost 2-1 in Penalties to UNM)
- UNM 4-3-1
- UAB 2-5-1 (Lost 2-1 to FIU)
- ODU 2-5-1 (Lost 2-0 to FIU)
The Lobos and FIU advanced to the final in very different fashions, as the Lobos had to get past two nationally-ranked teams, while FIU had to beat two teams that were below .500. Funny how that works out sometimes.
Up Next:
After the huge win against Charlotte, the Lobos will be able to leave all doubt behind with a win in the tournament championship match against FIU. The Lobos have played great soccer the last 3-4 weeks and should be able to force their will on FIU like they did in the first meeting, where the Lobos won 4-1 in Albuquerque. In that match, the Lobos dominated FIU and could rest players in the last 10 minutes of the match. While the Lobos dominated FIU in the first match, the Lobos can’t think about that match and focus on what it will take to win this match and clinch the auto-bid.
Stat Comparison:
| Lobos | Opponents | |
| Goals | 30 (7 1st Half, 23 2nd Half) | 17 (5 1st Half, 12 2nd Half) |
| Goals Per Game | 1.58 | .89 |
| Shots on Goal | 129-268 (.481) | 75-173 (.434) |
| Shots Per Game | 14.1 | 9.1 |
| Assists | 22 | 9 |
| Corner Kicks | 120 | 83 |
| FIU | Opponents | |
| Goals | 27 (6 1st Half, 18 2nd Half) | 23 (4 1st Half, 10 2nd Half) |
| Goals Per Game | 1.5 | 1.28 |
| Shots on Goal | 103-245 (.420) | 86-174 (.494) |
| Shots Per Game | 13.6 | 9.7 |
| Assists | 19 | 16 |
| Corner Kicks | 88 | 73 |
The Lobos have the advantage in every category in this matchup. As we can see, both teams open things up in the second half and if one of the sides can score a first half goal, it could be the difference in the match.
Tournament Schedule
Semifinals Sunday:
#3 FIU vs. #5 UNM 12PM
What’s at Stake:
With the win against Charlotte the Lobos RPI has climbed to #25, giving them a very good shot of getting an at-large bid if they don’t win this match. The reward if the Lobos win could be huge, as not only will they get the auto-bid to the NCAA Tournament, a national seed and the first-round bye that comes with it is not out of the question.
Prediction:
The Lobos should be the favorite in this match and it should be a fun match with the chance for a fair number of goals. I give the Lobos a 40% chance of winning this match and a 70% chance of getting a result before a shootout. I predict a 2-0 Lobo win with goals from Sam Gleadle and Chris Wehan.
Match Info:
Who: New Mexico Lobos (11-6-2) vs. FIU Panthers (10-6-2)
When: Sunday, November 13, 12 PM MT
Where: Marshall University. Huntington, West Virginia
Stream: espn3.com