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UPCOMING GAMES: The (15-3-0, 5-1-0 MPSF) have completed their regular season schedule and now turn their attention to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship, being held at the UNM Soccer Complex this week. First round action begins on Thursday, November 14 at 4:00 p.m. (M.S.T.). The top-seeded Lobos will face the winner of #5 Denver vs. #4 Sacramento State on Friday, November 15 at 6:30 p.m. (M.S.T.).
2002 Mountain Pacific Sports FederationMen’s Soccer Championships
First Round – Thursday, November 14, 2002
Game 1 – 4:00 p.m. (M.S.T.)#6 Air Force (8-9-1, 2-4-0 MPSF)vs.#3 UNLV (11-7-0, 4-2-0 MPSF)
Game 2 – 6:30 p.m. (M.S.T.)#5 Denver (8-11-0, 2-4-0 MPSF)vs.#4 Sacramento State (5-9-4, 2-3-1 MPSF)
Second Round – Friday, November 15, 2002
Game 3 – 4:00 p.m. (M.S.T.)Game 1 Winnervs.#2 San Jose State (12-7-0, 5-1-0 MPSF)
Game 4 – 6:30 p.m. (M.S.T.)Game 2 Winnervs.#1 New Mexico (15-3-0, 5-1-0 MPSF)
Championship – Sunday, November 17, 2002
Game 5 – 1:00 p.m. (M.S.T.)Game 3 Winnervs.Game 4 Winner
Lobos In the Rankings: The Lobos dropped in the rankings with their loss to UNLV this week. They are No. 4 in the NSCAA Midwest Region Poll, down from a program-high No. 2 ranking last week. They fell out of the CollegeSoccerNews.com Top-30, but are still receiving votes in that poll as well as the Soccer Times Top-25.
Previous Rankings: The Lobos have only been ranked in two previous season. In 1992, UNM climbed as high as No. 17 in the Soccer America Poll for the week of October 20, 1992. In 1997 the Lobos earned their highest ranking in any poll when they reached No. 15 in the Soccer America Top-20 for the week of November 3, 1997.
Streaks Ended in 2002: The Lobos ended three long losing streaks to conference opponents this season. First, the Lobos defeated Air Force, 5-1, on 10/25/02 to end a seven-game slide to the Falcons that dated back to 1995. Next the Lobos topped Denver, 1-0, on 10/27/02 that stopped a three-game losing streak that began in 1997. Finally, UNM defeated San Jose State, 1-0 in overtime, on 11/3/02 to end a four game skid that went back to the 1995 season.
NCAA Tournament Possibilities: Soccerratings.com, which produces a list similar to the Ratings Power Index and the Bowl Championship Standings for NCAA basketball and football, had UNM ranked No. 29 prior to the loss at UNLV. If UNM wins the MPSF Tournament they will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. If not they will be looking for one of the 26 at-large bids given in the 48-team field. Soccerratings.com will be updated on Thursday, November 14, 2002.
NCAA Statistical Rankings: The Lobos are tied for the second-most wins in the NCAA (15) with No. 4 SMU, No. 11 Furman, and No. 14 UC Santa Barbara. No. 8 Wisconsin-Milwaukee and No. 13 Coastal Carolina lead the nation with 16 wins. New Mexico .833 winning percentage is ranked 7th in the Nation. UNM’s defense has a 0.81 team goals-against-average which is 19th in the nation.
Leading The Way: Ben Ashwill still leads the MPSF in goals scored (10). As a team, the Lobos lead the conference in goals scored (38), goals-per-game (2.11), and G.A.A. (0.83).
Streaky: UNM started the 2002 season with eight-straight wins, the best ever in school history. After dropping two straight games, the Lobos went on a seven-game winning streak before losing to UNLV last week.
Weber Moves Up the All-Time Shutout List: Sophomore Andrew Weber recorded his sixth shutout of the season with the 1-0 win over San Jose State on Sunday, November 3. He now has 11 career shutouts and is all alone in fourth place on UNM’s all-time shutout list. The career mark is held by Greg Hess (‘97) who scored 15 shutouts from 1994-1997.
Iron Men: The Lobos have two players who have played every minute in 2002, including sophomore Danny Bills and freshmen Brandon Moss.
Most Wins in School History: With their 1-0 win over San Jose State on Sunday, November 3, the Lobos set a new single-season win mark with 15. They had notched 14 wins in two previous season, 1994 (14-6-0) and 1992 (14-4-1).
MPSF Tickets On Sale: Tickets for the 2002 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Men’s Soccer Tournament are now on sale. The tournament takes place on November 14, 15, &17 at the UNM Soccer Complex. The top six teams in the MPSF qualify with the first and second seeds receiving first round byes. Game times for Thursday and Friday are 4:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (M.S.T.) with the championship game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. (M.S.T.). Prices are $12 All-Session Adult, $8 All-Session Student/Youth, $6 Single-Session Adult, $4 Single-Session Youth, and $3 Single-Session group of 20 or more. Call the UNM ticket office at (505) 925-LOBO to order.