It was a successful road trip for the Lobos, as they got a 0-0 draw against Wyoming and a 2-1 win against CSU. The results improved the Lobos to 3-0-1 on the road during conference play and making their conference record 4-1-1 with five matches left to play. This also improved their overall season record to 6-6-1 after starting the season 2-5-0. The Lobos have found their stride and it will be interesting to see how these last five matches play out. The Lobos are in 3rd place right now, two points behind SDSU and SJSU who are both 5-1-0, but the Lobos will play both sides at home during the five matches, so they will certainly have their opportunities to win the conference.
Author: Zach
Men’s Soccer at Old Dominion Recap
The start to the Conference USA season has not been what the Lobos were hoping for, finding themselves at 0-3-0 after three matches. Saturday was another example of playing on relatively even terms but struggling to find the net, especially in the first half. The Lobos need to find their stride again or their season could end up just like last season, where they missed the NCAA Tournament with a talented squad. I believe that they will regroup and find a way to make the NCAA Tournament. If they do, they will be a side that other teams won’t want to face.
Men’s Soccer at Old Dominion Preview
The Lobos head east to Norfolk Virginia to take on Old Dominion in a key Conference USA match. For the Lobos to have a chance to win the Conference USA title, they need to win this match. The Lobos haven’t gotten off to the start that they want in conference play, losing two heartbreakers, and have to try to get on track on the road against a very solid team. The Lobos are without the services of freshman defender Aaron Herrera who was called up for an USA U-20 tournament in Germany, so they will have to rely on someone else to stabilize the backline. For the Lobos to have a good shot in this match, they must solve their first half struggles. They have only scored in the first half in one match this year, with three goals against San Francisco, which won’t cut it for this game. They can’t afford to fall behind ODU and expect to come back and win this match.
State of the Programs: Part 2
At long last, here is the second part of our look at the state of the various UNM Athletics programs. Previously, we looked at the programs that have been struggling recently and whose immediate goals are to be in the conversation for a conference title. This time, we’ll look at the programs that are already there and whose goals are to be relevant on a national scale. In the final installment, which we swear will happen at some point, we’ll take a look at the programs who are already competing for national titles.
Women’s Soccer at Wyoming Preview
The Lobo women’s soccer team heads north this weekend to take on the Wyoming Cowgirls on Friday night in a key Mountain West match-up. This is a very important game for both teams, as they try to position themselves to be in contention for the regular season title. Both teams are also looking to rebound from their losses on Sunday and are wanting to avoid going on a losing streak. The Lobos need to put pressure early on the Cowgirls and find the first goal of the match, because it is unknown how the elevation at Wyoming (7,200 ft.) will affect the Lobos in this match. If the elevation doesn’t affect the Lobos, they will be able to play this match out like they do everywhere else.
Men’s Soccer vs. Kentucky Recap
The Lobo Men’s soccer team had another tough loss in overtime to start out its conference home slate, losing 1-0 in 2OT to Kentucky. The loss moves the Lobos to 6-3-1 overall and 0-2-0 in conference play, desperately needing to gain back the momentum they had during their 5 match win streak. This loss is nowhere close to the end of the Lobos season, as they have plenty of matches left and still have time to improve their ranking and seeding come NCAA tournament time. Look for the Lobos to work on things to improve their first half attack.
Men’s Soccer vs. San Francisco Recap
New Mexico Men’s Soccer came back home after a tough loss in its Conference USA opener against South Carolina to play a non-conference game against University of San Francisco. The Dons (2-9-0) were a team that seemed to promise a great confidence-boosting opportunity and give Coach Fishbein the chance to give important players minutes off the pitch and give bench players a chance to play in a match. That promise was delivered, as the Lobos improved their record to (6-2-1, 0-1-0) with a 3-0 win against the Dons.
Men’s Soccer AT South Carolina Recap
This past weekend, New Mexico Men’s Soccer went to South Carolina to open their Conference USA season and played an even match with a lot of emotional swings for both sides. South Carolina was able to score early, when a cross was sent in to the six-yard box and found the body of Kevin Walker in just the 3rd minute for his third goal of the season. It appeared that the Lobos would find themselves down 2-0 when Walker got free again, but his shot on an open goal found the cross bar and the Lobos were able to clear the ball. The Lobos did have a 6 to 3 shot advantage in the first half, but they, like all year, were unable to find the net in the first half and were down 1-0 after 45 minutes.
Women’s Soccer Weekend Recap
New Mexico Women’s Soccer went on the road this past weekend to start Mountain West play with two matches, one against Utah State and the other against Boise State. Although these matches were played differently, the results were the same, as the Lobos came home with two victories. This was an important start for the Lobos for many reasons. It not only showed that playing against a great schedule readied the team for conference play, it gave them a huge advantage in the conference by winning two road matches on the first weekend of the season.
UNM Women’s Soccer AT Boise State Preview
New Mexico (3-5-0, 1-0-0) AT Boise State (3-5-3, 1-0-0)
Both the Lobos and Broncos are coming off Conference opening wins on Friday, with the Lobos beating Utah State 1-0 on the road, and the Broncos beating SDSU at home 2-1. This will be an interesting game to see how it plays out the two sides have one common opponent in Idaho State with two very different results, the Lobos won their match against Idaho State 4-1, while the Broncos had a 1-1 draw in their match. It is still early in Mountain West play but if the Lobos can find another great result today against the Broncos it sets them up well for a great conference season.