Open Announce

Lobos Take on Undefeated FIU Saturday

MATCH NOTES

No. 24 New Mexico vs. No. 15 FIU
Saturday, Oct. 21 – 5 p.m. (MT)
Miami, Fla. | FIU Soccer Stadium (1,500)
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | IN-MATCH UPDATES @UNMLoboMSoccer

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Just three days after an exciting 1-1 draw against top NCAA soccer program UCLA, the Lobos will face yet another important opponent on Saturday, Oct. 21 – on the road. New Mexico is set to face the top team in the Conference USA standings, FIU, which carries an undefeated 9-0-3 overall record and is 4-0-1 in C-USA play. The squads will face off in Miami, Fla.

FIU is led by C-USA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Santiago Patino who has accumulated 28 points on 12 goals and four assists. The Panthers are also ranked first in the nation in scoring offense, second in points per game (8.75) and third in win-loss-tie percentage (.875). Among C-USA competitors, the Lobos rank just behind FAU with a .692 W-L-T percentage.

Series Record vs. FIU
5-2-1
When FIU Ranked: 0-1-1
In Overtime: 1-0-1
Last Meeting: The last time the Lobos and the Panthers faced off was in the Conference USA Championships last season when fifth-seeded UNM knocked off third-seed FIU 3-0 to claim the 2016 C-USA Tournament title. All three Lobo goals came in the second half in the match. UNM earned the win over the Panthers by a three-goal margin for the second time in the 2016 season after taking the first game 4-1 at home on Sept. 30, 2016.

Scouting No. 15 FIU
The Panthers are currently the top team in the Conference USA standings boasting 13 points with a 4-0-1 record in the league. Overall, FIU is 9-0-3 under first-year head coach Kevin Nylen, who was promoted from first assistant to head coach after the conclusion of the 2016 season. 

FIU is ranked number one in the nation in scoring offense posting an outstanding 3.08 goals per game average. In addition, FIU is ranked second nationally in points per game (8.75) and third in win-loss-tied percentage (0.875). The Lobos rank right behind the Panthers in W-L-T percentage in the conference with a .692.

The Panthers are led by C-USA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Santiago Patino who has accumulated 28 points on 12 goals and four assists. Patino was one of three FIU players to make the C-USA Preseason squad and was joined by defender Paul Marie (5 goals, 2 assists) and midfielder Joris Ahlinvi (3 goals, 4 assists).

Defensively Hugo Fauroux has spent 11 games between the posts and boasts a 1.14 goals against average while accumulating 36 assists and a pair of shutouts. 
 
Last Time Out – UNM vs UCLA
The Lobos tied a historically dominant men’s soccer program on Wednesday night at home at the UNM Soccer Complex. UNM played UCLA to a 1-1 draw in double overtime. Junior Aaron Herrera found the back of the net in the 14th minute to take the lead but UCLA’s Matthew Powell netted the equalizer in the 51st.

Officially Streaking
With their tie with UCLA on Wednesday night, the Lobos continue their six-game unbeaten streak. UNM is 8-1-2 in its last 11 matches. 

Ranked v Ranked
The Lobos are back in the national rankings, checking in at No. 24 this week in the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 Poll. In addition, UNM is still receiving votes in the College Soccer News Top-30 Poll. The Lobos will face a ranked team on Saturday for the first time since taking on then No. 13/17 Kentucky on Sept. 16 when UNM fell 1-0 at home.

#SCTop10 Worthy
Junior Aaron Herrera netted a goal to remember on Wednesday against UCLA, reading the Bruins’ keeper and using his knowledge to the UNM advantage. Herrera received the ball at midfield, saw the keeper out on the line and booted it high above the keeper’s head and into the net for an early 1-0 edge.

Undefeated October…
The Lobos finished the month of September 5-1-1 and have translated the September momentum into an undefeated (3-0-1) October. Riding a six-game unbeaten streak, the Lobos have not lost two straight matches since they fell to No. 11 Washington and Seattle by one-goal margins on the road to kick off the season.

Fourth and Rising
It’s a tight race in the C-USA standings in the heat of the conference season. The top four teams are separated by just three points with FIU leading the way (13), followed by Old Dominion (12) and Kentucky (12). UNM rounds out the top four with 10 points. The Lobos will have a chance to tie the lead with a win over FIU.

Beaulieu – Defensive Player of the Week
Senior Jason Beaulieu earned his fourth career Conference USA Player of the Week honor Oct. 9 as he was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week for his performances vs LMU and FAU. He registered his 19th career shutout against LMU before helping lead the Lobos to a 3-1 victory over FAU on Saturday and a 2-0 clean sheet a week later vs UAB, notching his 20th career shutout. 
 
Beaulieu remains ranked third in program history in shutouts behind second-place Andrew Weber who posted 25 from 2001-04. The program leader in career shutouts is current UNM associate head coach Mike Graczyk, who racked up 30 from 2004-07.

First is Best
The Lobos are now 6-0-1 when scoring first this season. Under coach Fishbein, UNM is 171-14-22 when scoring first.

Second-Half Explosion
Since the Grange & Ashwill Invitational on Sept. 8, the Lobos have netted all but three goals in the second half of play, scoring 14 of 17 in the second frame following UNM’s most recent outing against UCLA. Of those 14 goals, six have been gamewinners and one tied up the match with 1:17 left. Prior to Sept. 8, the Lobos had scored only three of nine goals in the second half. 

Fishbein’s 300: COMPLETE
In his 25th season as head coach, coach Fishbein reached the 300 milestone with UNM’s victory over LMU on Oct. 4. He clinched the triple-century win and had all the credit to give to his guys. “I’m just glad I get to share it with this group,” – Coach Fishbein

Fishbein surpassed 200 wins at UNM with the Lobos’ 3-0 victory over UNLV at the UNM Soccer Complex on Sept. 1. He is the program’s all-time winningest coach and entered the season ranked 17th in the nation among NCAA DI active head coaches.

Preseason Honors
The reigning C-USA Tournament Champion Lobos were picked to finish second in Conference USA behind Charlotte in 2017. In addition, sophomores Tom Smart and Matthew Constant were named to the C-USA Preseason Team.

As a team, the Lobos have been ranked in the preseason by two organizations. The United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll notched the Lobos 20th while Top Drawer Soccer ranked UNM 19th. 

Junior Aaron Herrera also earned Top Drawer Soccer Best XI Second Team honors heading into the season.

It’s A Hard-Knock Schedule
The Lobos are no stranger to tough competition, but this season UNM will take on eight squads that competed in the NCAA Tournament last season including three C-USA opponents. Those teams include No. 11 Washington, (RV) UNLV, CSUN, No. 13/17 Kentucky, South Carolina, UCLA, Denver and Charlotte.* 
*Note: Teams that have already been faced have locked in rankings, other are updated.

A Whole New Offense    
After a successful run to the 2016 NCAA postseason, the Lobos lost five key seniors from the squad and a pair of dominating attackers including Niko Hansen and Chris Wehan. Hansen was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2017 MLS Superdraft to the Columbus Crew SC while Wehan has been racking up the accolades as a member of Reno 1868 FC, a USL team. The pair combined for 61.8 percent of the Lobos’ goals last season.

Offensively, the Lobos will need to replace the dynamic duo in the attacking third and have added 13 new players to the 2017 roster in effort to replenish the squad. Of UNM’s 20 points in exhibition matches this season, 10 came from new players. The other 10 came from a trio of returners (Aaron Herrera, Sam Gleadle and Luke Lawrence) and a redshirt freshman (Noah Bushey).

The newcomers that scored included freshman Nick Taylor, who led UNM with two goals, as well as freshman Alex Vedamanikam, junior transfer Antoine Vial and redshirt junior transfer Wedner Delmonte who posted one goal apiece.

Defensively, The Boys Are Back
While the Lobo offense will look very different, the UNM defense returns the majority of an experienced and solid back line that helped lead the Lobos to nine shutouts in 2016.

First, senior Jason Beaulieu returns between the posts. He started all 22 games for UNM in 2016 racking up 2,072 minutes. He posted eight shutouts which ranks seventh in Lobo history for most shutouts in a single season. Last season he also tied for ninth in UNM history in single-season wins (12). For his career, Beaulieu heads into the season ranking tied for third in shutouts with 17, sixth in saves with 163, seventh in wins with 26 and sixth in appearances with 51. 

Junior Aaron Herrera will help anchor the back line for UNM after competing with the U-20 World Cup over the summer. He started all 22 games for the Lobos last season totaling 2,050 minutes and registering six points (two goals, two assists). In addition, Herrera was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Best XI Second Team recognizing him as one of the projected top players in the country this season.

Sophomores Tom Smart and Matthew Constant also return to the Lobo defense. The pair both started all season in 2016, Smart earning 22 starts and Constant starting 20 matches, missing two to play with the Canadian U-20 Team. Smart and Constant were also the only two Lobos to earn Conference USA Preseason honors.

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 25 in attendance nationally every season since the NCAA began keeping those statistics in 2001. 

International Pride
While the diversity of the team roster is obvious, many Lobos have some serious international credentials. Four have represented their country in top-level international competition: Aaron Herrera (US U20); Matthew Constant (US U17 National team, Canada U20 National team); Billy Jones (captained New Zealand U17 in select World Cup qualifying matches) and Aaron Scott (U15, U16, U17 Scottish National Team). 

Excelling Off the Pitch 
Lobo Soccer has a rich tradition of academic success. During the Fishbein era (2002 to present), UNM has had 20 Academic All-Americans – more than any other men’s soccer program in the country among all divisions. In addition, the Lobos have garnered 91 Academic All-Conference honorees and 20 NSCAA Scholar All-Americans under Fishbein’s tutelage. As a team, the Lobos have earned the NSCAA Academic Team Award in 13 of the last 14 seasons.