Coming off their huge season-opening win against Texas Tech, the Lobos (1-0-0) will head to the Pacific Northwest for a huge weekend against Portland Pilots (0-0-1) and Washington Huskies (0-0-2). While it is hard to gather too much information from the first games for the Lobos and the Pilots, we will do our best to get you ready for the match on Thursday night. One thing that Coach Dyche mentioned after the Texas Tech match is that the Pilots will be more tactical than Texas Tech and won’t have the same athletes that Texas Tech presented. Here are a few other things to watch out for in this match:

Letdown?: Coming off the biggest win of each Lobos’ college career, it is easy to see the possibility of a letdown match. The good thing for the Lobos is they didn’t play their best in the win against Texas Tech, which should give them plenty to work on/fix for this match against the Pilots. There are a few other things that will help take the pressure off the Lobos going into this match. First, these sides are probably pretty even, meaning there isn’t a terrible result (bad loss) to be had. Second, the Lobos can only gain a good win, which should allow them to play without pressure.

Who’s In Goal?: The Lobos have a good problem to have: two very good and capable goalkeepers in senior Emily Johnson and sophomore Malia Vanisi. Coach Dyche has no problem playing either one and will have matches where they split time between the posts. Johnson is coming off a great match against Texas Tech, where she was awarded Mountian West Defensive Player of the Week and will probably get a larger portion of the minutes. I could see the match against the Pilots being the match that Vanisi gets the start with Johnson getting the start against Washington on Sunday. Either way Coach Dyche goes, the Lobos should be well suited between the posts.

Cornering the Market?: Last season, the Lobos earned 34 more corner kicks than their opponents and a whole lot more of flip-throws from Jessica Nelson, which gave the Lobos about 7-10 more corner kick plays a match. The Lobos don’t have the luxury of the flip-throws this season and will need to find other ways to get balls into the box. In the first match against Texas Tech, the Lobos lost the corners battle 11-3. While you can win matches losing this battle, the chances for a goal continue to grow as the corner count grows. If the Lobos can be even or better on the corner count, they should be fine in these big matches.

Controlling the Middle: The Lobos have one of the better center-mid combos around with senior Jessie Hix and junior Alexa Kirton. Both players are able to use their physical style of play to control the middle of the field. A key for Hix and Kirton is communication and knowing where the other player is at all times. If they are able to do that, teams will have to play around the middle, which is what the Lobos want. If Kirton continues to play well, it should also allow Hix to push up into an attacking midfield position and help the offensive attack. It will be a blast to watch these two control the middle of the field this season.

Portland: While Megan Rapinoe won’t be on the pitch for the Pilots, the Pilots should have a very solid team this season. They played Washington to a scoreless draw and should be one of the most defensively sound teams the Lobos play this season. However, they didn’t get in the attacking third much in their match against Washington (outshot 19-5, lost the corner battle 13-3). If the Lobos are able to get a goal in the first 25 minutes, it could change the mindset of the Pilots going into the second half. The Pilots have liked to open things up in the second half, while the Lobos like to bring pressure from the opening minute. It should be an interesting matchup in Seattle against two teams that have a different style of play.

Prediction: While it is difficult to get a complete read on both sides, I like the Lobos chances going into this match. Why, you ask? I like the style the Lobos play more and when in doubt go with the team with Hix. I have the Lobos chances of a win at 38%, chance of a draw at 35%, and the chance of a loss at 27%. I have the Lobos winning this one 1-0 on a header from Hix.

Match Info:

Who: New Mexico Lobos (1-0-0) vs. Portland Pilots (0-0-1)

When: Thursday August 29th, 5 PM (MT)

Where: Husky Soccer Stadium, Seattle, Washington

Stream: Pac12 Network Washington Stream2