Sept. 16, 2004
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2004 Men’s Soccer Ticket Information
UP NEXT: The UNM Soccer complex will be the focus of college soccer this weekend as three undefeated and ranked programs take the field in the four-team adidas/Crescent Financial Solutions Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. Action begins on Saturday, September 18, at 5:00 p.m. (M.D.T.) when No. 3 U.C. Santa Barbara (4-0-0) faces off against No. 1 and defending NCAA Champion Indiana (5-0-0). No. 14 New Mexico (4-0-0) will take on Columbia (2-2-1) in the second game at 7:00 p.m. (M.D.T.). Saturday night is “Stuff the Stadium” and all tickets are $1.00. Play continues on Sunday with the Gauchos taking on Columbia at 5:00 p.m. (M.D.T.). The highlight match of the weekend follows when host New Mexico goes against Indiana at 7:00 p.m. (M.D.T.). The match marks the first time the Lobos have faced a No. 1 ranked team at the UNM Soccer Complex.
COLUMBIA LIONS (2-2-1)
Location: New York, N. Y.
Conference: Ivy League
Head Coach: Dieter Ficken (LIU `65)
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Record at Columbia: 246-119-50 (26th year)
Career Record: 278-128-58 (30th year)
Starters Returning/Lost: 9/2
2003 Record: 10-4-3
2003 Conference Record: 3-2-2 (3rd)
UNM vs. Columbia: 1st meeting
Top Goal Scorer: Thorstein Gestsson (3)
Top Assists: John Mulhern, Tom Davison, Thorstein Gestsson (2)
Top Goalie: Dean Arnaoutakis (0.95 g.a.a.)
Notes: This is the first meeting between these two teams. It is also the first time the Lobos have faced an Ivy League team in school history. The Lions defeated Army, 3-2, in a match at home on Wednesday night. It was the first time Columbia had given up multiple goals in a game this season.
Web Site: www.GoColumbiaLions.com
NO. 1 INDIANA HOOSIERS (5-0-0)
Location: Bloomington, Ind.
Conference: Big Ten
Head Coach: Michael Freitag (Indiana `79)
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Record at IU: 5-0-0 (1st Year)
Career Record: same
Starters Returning/Lost: 9/2
2003 Record: 17-3-5 (NCAA Champs)
2003 Conference Record: 5-0-1 (1st)
UNM vs. IU: 1st meeting
Top Goal Scorer: Brian Plotkin, Jacob Peterson (3)
Top Assists: Kevin Robson (5)
Top Goalie: Jay Nolly (0.77 g.a.a.)
Notes: The Hoosiers shutout No. 5 Notre Dame, 2-0, on Wednesday. The match was played in Bloomington with a crowd over 3,500. Indiana is undefeated in its last 22 matches and has won nine straight. They have outscored their opponents, 14-4, so far this season.
Web Site: www.IUHoosiers.com
Highest Ever Ranking: UNM is currently ranked 14th in the Soccer America top-25, the highest ranking ever for the Lobo soccer program. New Mexico’s previous highest ranking came in 1997 when they reached No. 15 in the Soccer America top-25. UNM is also ranked 19th in this week’s CollegeSoccerNews.com top-30 and are receiving votes in the Soccer Times top-25. It marks the third consecutive season UNM has been ranked in the top-25 in at least one of the four major college soccer polls. New Mexico is 14-8-2 all-time when ranked in the top-30. The Lobos are also ranked No. 6 in the Far West Region by the NSCAA.
Attendance Records Could Fall: Saturday, September 18, is the opening night of the adidas/Crescent Financial Solutions Invitational and “Stuff the Stadium” at the UNM Soccer Complex. All tickets are $1.00 for both games on Saturday. With three undefeated and ranked teams playing this weekend, the Lobos could threaten to break the single-game attendance record at the UNM Soccer Complex on either Saturday or Sunday. The mark was set on September 12, 1997, when 4,352 fans saw the Lobos defeat Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2-0. New Mexico’s overall home game attendance record was set on September 23, 1989, when 7,449 fans saw No. 4 UCLA defeat UNM, 2-0, in University Stadium. Last season, 3,113 showed up for the Lobos’ “Stuff the Stadium” win over UC-Irvine, the second largest crowd ever at the UNM Soccer Complex.
North Gates Open: The newly renovated North entrance to the UNM Soccer Complex will be open for “Stuff the Stadium” on Saturday, September 18. Fans are asked to enter the UNM Soccer Complex through the North entrance for the remainder of the season. There will be no admittance through the south gate to anyone other than players and coaches.
Leaders: Junior Jeff Rowland has racked up seven goals and 14 points in the first four games. He leads the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in scoring and goals. He is sixth in the NCAA and scoring and fifth in goals scored. Senior Hans Bevers is tied for the MPSF lead with three assists. Bevers is also tied for 30th in the NCAA in assists. As a team, the Lobos are tied for 15th in the nation in scoring, averaging 2.75 goals per game.
Sweeping MVP’s: The Lobos took both MVP awards at the Matador Soccer Invite last weekend. Jeff Rowland scored a pair of goals to take home the Offensive MVP. Ben Ashwill’s solid play in the back earned him the Defensive MVP honor.
All-Tournament: Four Lobos earned all-tournament honors to go along with Rowland and Ashwill’s MVP honors, including senior Hans Bevers and juniors Brandon Moss, Lance Watson and Ricky Francis.
Lobos v/s No. 1: The Lobos will take on No. 1 Indiana on Sunday, September 19. It will mark the third time in school history UNM has faced a top ranked team. New Mexico dropped both of the previous matches against a No. 1 team, including a 2-0 loss at SMU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on November 25, 2001, and a, 1-0, loss at UCLA last season on October 9.
Good Start to 2004: The Lobos start the season 4-0-0 for the second time in three years and the 5th time in school history.
Moving Up the Coaching Ladder: Head coach Jeremy Fishbeinneeds two more wins to become the second winningest coach in UNM history. He currently holds a 30-13-3 mark and is about to pass Craig Robertson (31-12-3) who coached the Lobos from 1983-85. Klaus Weber holds the all-time high with a 157-127-8 record in 15 years at the helm of Lobo soccer.
Junior Jeff Rowland is 5th in the NCAA with seven goals in four games. |
Rowland Racks Up National Recognition: Junior Jeff Rowland was named CollegeSoccerNews.com’s National Player of the Week, the MPSF Player of the Week and Soccer America’s Team of the Week for the week ending September 5. Rowland scored all five of the Lobos’ goals in the opening weekend. He also earned the MVP of the Nike/ALLTELL Classic at Richmond, Va.
GameTracker: Live statistics will be available for every home game this season through Gametracker. To view GameTracker, visit www.GoLobos.com and click on the men’s soccer schedule/results page. Links are provided with each corresponding game. To view the UCSB-Indiana game or the UCSB Columbia game using GameTracker, click here.