Nov. 24, 2004
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Updated NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament Brackets
Up Next: The top-ranked University of New Mexico men’s soccer team heads to Charlottesville, Va., to take on the fourth-seeded Virginia Cavaliers (18-4-0) in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico (17-1-1) is seeded 13th in the tournament and is making its first appearance in the men’s soccer Sweet 16. The Cavs won the ACC Tournament and are ranked in the top-5 in all four of the college soccer polls. They defeated American, 2-1, in the second round in Charlottesville, Va., on Tuesday, November 23. The Lobos advanced to the third round following a 4-1, win over Portland in Albuquerque, N.M., also on Tuesday.
Virginia Cavaliers (18-4-0, 4-3-0 ACC)
Location: Charlottesville, Va.
Conference: Atlantic Coast
Head Coach: George Gelnovatch (Virginia `87)
Record at UVa: 143-49-14 (9th Season)
Career Record: same
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Starters Returning/Lost: 11/0
2003 Record: 11-10-2 (NCAA 3rd Round)
2003 Conference Record: 3-3-0 (3rd)
UNM vs. UP: First Meeting
Top Goal Scorer: Adam Cristman (9)
Top Assists: Hunter Freeman (21) – Leads the NCAA
Top Goalie: Ryan Burke (0.90 g.a.a., 6 shutouts)
Notes: Virginia is led by junior defender Hunter Freeman who leads the nation with 21 assists on the year. The Cavs are making their 24th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and are playing in their 66th tournament game. UVa has posted a 43-20-2 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and they have won five national titles in school history (1989, `91-’94).
Web Site: www.VirginiaSports.com
More Notes on Virginia: Virginia has posted a 12-1-0 record at home this season, including their 2-1, second round win over American on Tuesday. Their only loss came against No. 12 Maryland, 1-0, in the regular season finale. Four members of the Cavs’ squad were named All-ACC. Junior Hunter Freeman and senior Matt Oliver were first team selections while freshman Nico Colaluca was a second team choice. Colaluca and Jeremy Barlow were both named to the ACC’s All-Freshman team.
Live Stats: Live stats and updates will be available for this game through the NCAA by visiting www.NCAASports.com.
The Field: The NCAA men’s soccer tournament is made up of 48 teams with the top 16 teams earning seeds and a first round bye. The 13th seeded Lobos hosted their second round game against Portland, which they won, 4-1. Higher seeded teams host the first four preliminary rounds of the tournament, meaning New Mexico will now travel to fourth-seeded Virginia. The semifinals and finals of the College Cup will be held in Carson, Calif., at the Home Depot Center on December 10 and 12.
Senior Patrick Grange scored two goals against Portland in the second round. |
First Time in the Third Round: UNM advances to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. This is the Lobos’ third trip to the NCAA’s in program history, with all three appearances coming in the last four years. UNM advanced to the second round in each of their first two showings.
Recapping Portland: UNM gave up an early goal to Portland in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday, November 27, to fall behind, 1-0, for the first time at home this season. The Lobos evened the match on a goal by Jeff Rowland and were tied, 1-1, at halftime. New Mexico opened the flood gates late in the game, scoring three goals in the final eight minutes of play to cruise to a 4-1, win.
Highest Ever Ranking: With a win over San Jose State in the final week of the regular season, the Lobos took over No. 1 in Soccer America’s top-25 for the first time in school history. UNM is also ranked third in the NSCAA top-25 and the CollegeSoccerNews.com top-30. They are sixth in the Soccer Times top-25 and received a first place vote. The Lobos are 26-9-3 all-time when ranked in the top-30. New Mexico is also second in the Far West Region top-10.
2004 MPSF Champs: The Lobos posted a 16-1-1 record during the regular season, including a 10-1-1 mark in MPSF action, earning their second MPSF regular season title in three years. Since the MPSF eliminated the post season tournament this year, New Mexico gained the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the regular season title.
Rowland and Boyens Name co-Players of the Year: Junior forward Jeff Rowland and sophomore defender Andrew Boyens were named the 2004 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation co-Players of the Year. Rowland leads the league in scoring with 19 goals and seven assists, while Boyens anchors the league’s best defense. This is the first conference player of the year award given to a Lobo in school history.
Eight Lobos Make the All-MPSF Team: A total of eight Lobos earned all conference honors this season. Along with Boyens and Rowland, junior midfielder Lance Watson and senior keeper Andrew Weber made the first team. Junior midfielder Brandon Moss was a second team honoree. Junior defender Ben Ashwill and senior midfielders Hans Bevers and Jeff Krause all earned honorable mention all-MPSF honors.
Best Record: The Lobos are the only one-loss team in the NCAA, posting a 17-1-1 record so far this season. They also have the highest winning percentage in the NCAA at .921. One more win for New Mexico would tie the school record set in 2002. UNM went 18-4-0 that season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in head coach Jeremy Fishbein’s first season.
Trying to Get Back home: Since both 5th-seeded Notre Dame and 12th-seeded Old Dominion lost their second round game, a New Mexico win over Virginia would bring the Tournament back to Albuquerque. If UNM can get by a very tough Cavalier squad, they would face the winner of Duke-Ohio State on Saturday, December 4 at 5;00 p.m. (M.S.T.) at the UNM Soccer Complex.
Senior Jeff Krause scored an assist against Portland. |
Rowland 2nd in the NCAA in Goals Per Game: Junior Jeff Rowland has racked up 19 goals and 45 points in 19 games this season. He leads the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in scoring, goals and assists. He is second in the NCAA with a 1.00 goals-per-game average and is fourth in the nation with 2.37 points-per-game. Rowland’s 19 goals ties the Lobos’ single season mark, set by Edmundo Rodriguez (1991-92) in 1992. His 45 points are the most ever by a Lobo in one season.
Tough at Home: The Lobos have won 11-straight matches at the UNM Soccer Complex. The have also posted a 23-1-2 record at home under head coach Jeremy Fishbein. In 2004, UNM is 9-0-0 and has only allowed two goals on their home turf.
Record Breaking Defense: New Mexico’s back five of senior keeper Andrew Weber, sophomore Andrew Boyens and juniors Ben Ashwill, Ricky Francis and Matt Wootton have been near perfect this season. The Lobos have posted a school-record 11 shutouts in 2004 and also had a scoreless streak of 466:53 minutes that stretched over eight games and included a program-high six consecutive shutouts. The team’s 0.56 goals-against-average is in the top-5 in the NCAA while their 0.58 shutout percentage also ranks in the top-5. Their 11 shutouts is also tied for fourth in the nation. UNM’s season record for g.a.a. is 0.77 set in 1983, their first year of competition. That year they also allowed a program-low 11 goals on the season.
Weber’s Experience in the NCAA’s: Senior keeper Andrew Weber has played all 450 minutes of Lobo NCAA games. He has allowed five goals and posts a 1.00 g.a.a. He has one shutout and 22 saves in the Lobos’ five NCAA Tournament games.
Danaher Named to All-Freshman Team: Lobo freshman forward Blake Danaher earned a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer All-Freshman 3rd team for the 2004 season. Danaher is currently fourth on the team in scoring with five goals and four assists. He has come off the bench in all 19 of the Lobos’ matches and has made a huge impact on the squad in his first season.
New Attendance Mark Set: The Lobos set a new attendance mark at the UNM Soccer Complex on Sunday, September 19, in their 1-0, double-overtime win over No. 1 Indiana. 4,412 fans spun the turnstiles to break the previous record 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. The Lobos also had the third largest crowd at the UNM Soccer Complex on Saturday for their, 3-0, win over Columbia when 3,327 fans showed up for the game. Five of the Lobos’ eight home games have had crowds of 2,300 or larger and New Mexico is averaging 2,379 fans per game.
Four Starters Earn Academic All-American: Four of the Lobos starters were named ESPN Academic All-Americans for the 2004 season. Senior Eric Carlson and junior Jeff Rowland were named to the first team, while juniors Ben Ashwill and Matt Wootton earned spots on the second team. New Mexico was the only program with two players on both the first and second teams and the only school with more than two players on any of the three Academic All-American teams.