(RV) New Mexico at #17 Charlotte – Saturday, Oct. 8 – 5 p.m. (MT)
Charlotte, N.C. | Transamerica Field
GAME NOTES
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After notching its fifth clean sheet of the season against Loyola Marymount on Tuesday night, the University of New Mexico men’s soccer team is scheduled to travel to Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday night to resume Conference USA play against the No. 17-ranked team in the country, the Charlotte 49ers.
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The Lobos will have their work cut out for them when they travel to No. 17 Charlotte Saturday as the squad has allowed just four goals this season and held their opponents to 0.50 goals per game. The UNM offense, however, has been fired up this last week, scoring seven goals in two games including four against C-USA foe FIU and three against LMU on Tuesday.
Series Record vs Charlotte
0-2-1
When Charlotte Ranked: 0-1-0
Last Meeting: The Lobos hosted Charlotte last season on Oct. 27 and were shut out on their home turf. The 49ers scored twice in the first half en route to the win while Jason Beaulieu racked up a season-high nine saves between the posts. The gamewinner was scored by Brandt Bronico, who returns this year for his senior season.
Confernece USA Comparisons
Charlotte currently holds second place in the conference with a 2-1 C-USA record. The 49ers topped (RV) Old Dominion in their conference opener, 2-0 before taking down (RV) FIU in double overtime, 2-1 on Sept. 24. Charlotte suffered its first conference loss against #20 Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 1, by a score of 1-0 on the road. The Lobos also fell to Kentucky by a score of 1-0 this season.
Scouting Charlotte
Charlotte is coming off of a 1-0 double-overtime loss at #20 Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 1, shutting down a two-win streak for the 49ers. Kentucky scored in the 107th minute for the win to hand Charlotte their first Conference USA loss of the season. The 49ers were chosen to finish second in the league in 2016 and boast 2016 C-USA Preseason All-Conference selection Brandt Bronico. Bronico has scored just one goal of the 49ers’ 18 on the season. Leading Charlotte on offense is junior Harrison Steadman who has accumulated 10 points on five goals. Two players tie for seond with three apiece, including junior Marco Sunol-Rojas and sophomore Callum Montgomery.
Defensively, keeper Elliot Panicco has tallied five shutouts and a 0.49 goals against average. Panicco and the 49ers have let up just four goals all season.
Last Time Out
The Lobos claimed their second straight victory on Tuesday night over Loyola Marymount in front of a home crowd at the UNM soccer complex. They have now won seven of their last eight games, five of which have been clean sheets. The teams were tied 0-0 Tuesday night at the half before the Lobos broke the game open in the second. Three separate Lobos scored within six minutes to give UNM a fast 3-0 lead they held throughout the remainder of the contest. Senior Nick Rochowski notched his first goal of the season in the 48th minute with a swift header off of a Josh Goss corner kick before senior Niko Hansen posted his eighth goal of the season in the 51st minute. The final goal of the game was scored in the 54th by sophomore Aaron Herrera on a free kick.
Unbeaten at Home – The Streak Continues
The Lobos have tallied six of their seven wins at home at the UNM Soccer Complex, making them undefeated in Albuquerque in 2016. In fact, the Lobos have lost just 21 games at the UNM Soccer Complex in all 15 years of Coach Fishebein’s tuteledge.
Road Struggles vs. Ranked
UNM is now 6-0 at home but has struggled on the road this season, especially at ranked opponents. The Lobos fell to then-ranked #15 Indiana and #9 Notre Dame on the road and suffered their third loss at the hands of previously-ranked and currently-ranked #15 Kentucky. All three losses came by just one goal as the UNM offense failed to score in the matches.
Back on Track
While senior Niko Hansen has largely carried the team’s offense through the first half of the 2016 season, scoring eight of the Lobos’ 16 goals heading into Saturday’s contest, he received some highly-anticipated help this past week. Senior MAC Hermann Trophy Watch list honoree Chris Wehan netted two against FIU and Luke Lawrence scored his first goal as a Lobo in the match. On Tuesday, Nick Rochowski scored his first goal of the season followed by Aaron Herrera’s second goal of 2016. The increase in Lobo scorers demonstrates that the UNM offense is on the rise as the New Mexico enters the second half of the season.
When the Lobos Score … They Win!
New Mexico is undefeated this season (7-0) when the Lobos notch the first goal of the game. In fact, the Lobos have won each game this season in which they scored at all. The only three losses UNM has suffered have been when the Lobos failed to find the back of the net.
3 Times One Equals 3
All three games that the Lobos have lost this season have come from just a one-goal deficit. UNM has not allowed more than one goal in any game so far this season, but three times it was enough to hand the Lobos the loss including 1-0 losses to Notre Dame, Indiana and Kentucky.
Lobo C-USA Leaders
Niko Hansen and Jason Beaulieu each hold the top spot in the conference in several categories. Hanson ranks first in game-winning goals (1), total goals (8), total points (17), goals per game (0.80), points per game (1.70) and shots on goal per game (2.10) while Beaulieu is first in goals against average (0.400) and save percentage (0.892).
UNM in the Conference
The Lobos currently lead the Conference in three categories including save percentage (0.875), shots on goal per game (6.80) and fouls per game (8.90). In addition, UNM is ranked in the top three in C-USA in a total of 10 categories.
Preseason Honors
The Lobos were picked to finish tied for fourth in Conference USA with South Carolina as voted on by the league’s coaches. In addition, seniors Chris Wehan and Niko Hansen were selected to the 2016 Preseason All-Conference USA Team. Wehan was also named to the MAC Hermann Trophy preseason watch list for the second straight season.
Lobo Soccer: A Mile High and Louder Than …
The UNM Soccer Complex is building a reputation as one of the nation’s toughest venues to play in. In addition to being “a mile high and louder than…”, New Mexico has turned Albuquerque into one of the hottest tickets in college soccer. The Lobos have ranked in the top 15 in attendance nationally every season since the NCAA began keeping those statistics in 2001. It was first in attendance nationally in 2005 and ranked in the top 10 from 2009-2014. In 2015, the Lobos continued the streak among the nation’s attendance leaders hosting 16,918 fans (1,691 per game average) for 15th overall in the country.
International Pride
While the diversity of the team roster is obvious, many Lobos have some serious international credentials. Five have represented their country in top-level international competition: Patrick Khouri (Jamaica U20 World Cup qualifier, US U15), Aaron Herrera (US U20 – currently preparing for U20 World Cup qualification); Matthew Constant (US U17 National team and Canada U20 National team); Billy Jones (captained New Zealand U17 in select World Cup quailfying matches); Rafa Jimenez (Australian U20 World Cup quaifying team).
Excelling Off The Pitch
Lobo Soccer has a rich tradition of academic success. During the Fishbein era (2002 to present), UNM has had 19 Academic All-Americans – more than any other men’s soccer program in the country among all divisions. In addition, the Lobos have garnered 92 Academic All-Conference honorees and 12 NSCAA Scholar All-Americans under Fishbein’s tutelage. As a team, the Lobos have earned the NSCAA Academic Team Award in 12 of the last 13 seasons.