The 2017 season is finally upon us for the Lobo Men’s Soccer program, marking the 16th year of the Coach Fishbein Era. The Lobos are coming off a 12-7-3 season (4-3-1 in Conference USA play), which came with the conference tournament crown and a second round appearance in the NCAA Tournament before losing at Washington. The 2016 season was an interesting one, as aside from that loss at Washington, all of their losses were by a single goal. Where is gets even stranger is that three of the losses came with the other team scoring their goals on penalty kicks, and two other losses were they lost in 2OT. In other words, the 2016 Lobos were extremely close to being in the conversation as one of the all-time greatest Lobo teams, instead of “just” a very solid squad.
Category: Lobo Soccer
Women’s Soccer: Lobo Invitational Recap and NMSU Preview
Over the weekend, the Lobo Women’s Soccer team (1-1-0) hosted their annual Lobo Invitational. In the opener against San Francisco, the Lobos scored in the 3rd minute of the match, but ended up falling 2-1. In the second match of the weekend against Grand Canyon, the Lobos controlled the match from the first minute and won the match 1-0. While the Lobos had hoped for a 2-0 weekend, a 1-1-0 weekend while playing well is something the coaching staff will take every week. The San Francisco match was played at even terms, with the neither team taking complete control of possession or field position, making the match basically a 50/50 battle. The Grand Canyon match, on the other hand, was played on the Lobos terms and the 1-0 result doesn’t show how well the Lobos played. In the match, the Lobos beat the keeper 3 more times, but hit the post each time, so the score should been at least 2-0 or even 4-0. There are many things that caught my eye over the course of the two matches, mostly positives, and a few things that I would guess the team is going to focus on correcting.
Women’s Soccer 2017 Preview: Part 2
Women’s Soccer 2017 Preview: Part 1
Year 3 of the Heather Dyche era (coincidently, also our third year) begins this weekend, as they host the Lobo Invitational. Last year was a success, as even though the Lobos (9-7-3, 5-5-1) didn’t make the MW Tournament (which only consists of the top six teams), the Lobos beat 3 of the top 4 teams last year and went 3-2-1 against the teams that made the tournament. The Lobos will be picked lower than they probably should be in the conference, but I think there are plenty of reasons for the Lobos to soar above the expectations. This season should be a great season for the Lobo program and could be the year that Dyche’s plan takes the huge leap from idea to reality.
Our Top Lobo Memories from 2016
2016 is finally, mercifully behind us. And while the year has been a rough one in a lot of ways, we still ended up with a lot of great memories from following the Lobos over the past 12 months. Without further ado, here are our favorite Lobo memories from the past year.
Men’s Soccer NCAA Tournament Preview
The road is set for the Lobos (12-6-2) to make a run to the College Cup in Houston. Coming off the Conference USA Tournament Championship, the Lobos are clicking as a team at the perfect time and could be ready for an exciting NCAA Tournament. After a couple of bad weeks in the middle of the season, the Lobos have gone 5-0-2 in their last seven matches including 2-0-1 against NCAA Tournament teams. The Lobos have the talent to play with any team in the country, which gives them the possibility of making a run to the College Cup.
Men’s Soccer: C-USA Championship Preview
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.
Men’s Soccer: CUSA Tournament Semis Preview
The match of the day on the opening day of the Conference USA Tournament was, without question, the match between the Lobos (10-6-2) and Kentucky. The Lobos twice found themselves down a goal and twice were able to respond with an equalizer within a couple of minutes. The Lobos were able to get goals from Sam Gleadle and Nick Rochowski to end the match in a 2-2 draw. Since it was in tournament play, it went to the always-tense penalty shootout. Coach Fishbein put in backup goalie and PK specialist Ford Parker for the shootout. What Parker ended up doing is one of the most impressive feats I have seen, saving 4 of the 5 attempts and allowing the Lobos to win the shootout 2-1 to advance to the semifinals. It is strange to say that the man of the match was someone that didn’t actually play a second of the match.
Men’s Soccer: CUSA Tournament Preview
The Lobos (10-6-1, 4-3-1) head to Huntington, West Virginia for the Conference USA Soccer Tournament. In the seven team field, the Lobos are the #5 seed and will face Kentucky in the first round. The Lobos are in a situation where they could not make the NCAA tournament at all or could even get a national seed if they are able to win the tournament. As we have seen in the past with seeding, the Lobos can’t leave anything in the hands of the selection committee and must play this tournament like it is their last match of the season. There are two very good wins available for the Lobos in the first two rounds of the tournament, so they have a great chance to improve their resume.
Men’s Soccer vs. Old Dominion Match Preview
Tonight is Senior Night for the Lobos (9-6-1, 3-3-1), as well as the regular season finale. The Lobos were able to clinch a spot in the conference tournament with their win on Sunday against South Carolina, with goals by seniors Chris Wehan and Niko Hansen. While the field is set, there is plenty for the Lobos to play for on Friday. First, the Lobos could possibly move up to the #3 seed in the tournament with a win and some help. Second, the Lobos look to go undefeated at home this season, which would be a huge accomplishment. Finally, they could end this senior class’ home careers with a huge win against the ODU Monarchs (5-7-2, 2-4-1). This will be a night of celebrating the five seniors that have done so much for this program and I hope that a great Lobo crowd shows up for this match.