Nov. 8, 2005
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Up Next: New Mexico returns home for its final regular season matches at the UNM Soccer Complex this weekend. With a No. 3 ranking in the NSCAA Top-25, UNM will welcome Denver (6-9-1 2-6-0 MPSF) and Air Force (7-8-2, 5-2-1 MPSF) to Albuquerque. Neither the Pioneers nor the Falcons have defeated a Jeremy Fishbein-led Lobo squad in Albuquerque, a trend New Mexico hopes to continue through the next two matches.
Action begins on Friday, Nov. 11, at 7:00 p.m. (M.S.T.) when the Lobos host DU. New Mexico has drawn over 4,000 fans in both of their previous Friday night matches in 2005 and another big crowd is expected against the Pioneers. The Lobos are averaging over 3,000 fans per game at home and is on pace to set a school-record for attendance in a season.
Air Force visits UNM on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 1:00 p.m. (M.S.T.) for Senior Day. Nine Lobo seniors, including Ben Ashwill, Erik Bagwell, Josh Brown, Cody Hanna, Ryan McVay, Brandon Moss, Jeff Rowland, Lance Watson and Matt Wootton, will be honored prior to the match with the Falcons. Air Force finished a tough non-conference slate going 2-6-1, but have rebounded with a 5-2-1 mark in MPSF action. Along with UNM and San Jose State, the Falcons are one of three teams still in the hunt for the MPSF title. If the Lobos win both of their home games this weekend they will clinch their second-consecutive MPSF title and their third in the last four years.
Denver Pioneers (6-9-1, 2-6-0 MPSF)
Location: Denver, Colo.
Conference: Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
Head Coach: Chad Ashton (North Carolina `90)
Record at Denver: 73-79-12 (9th Year)
Career Record: same
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Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3
2004 Record: 12-5-1
2004 Conference Record: 9-3-0 (2nd)
UNM vs. Denver: 10-9-1
Last Time: UNM won 1-0 on (10-9-05) at Denver, Colo.
Top Goal Scorer: Thomas Flynn (4)
Top Assists: Liam Girard (6)
Top Goalie: Matt Bredehoft (1.44 g.a.a.)
Notes: UNM defeated Denver 1-0 on Oct. 9 in the first meeting of the season. The Pioneers were picked second in the preseason MPSF Coaches’ Poll, but have posted a 2-6-0 mark in conference play and are in fifth place. The Lobos have won three-straight over DU at the UNM Soccer Complex with their last loss coming in 2001.
Web Site: www.DenverPioneers.com
Air Force Falcons (7-8-2, 5-2-1 MPSF)
Location: Colorado Springs, Colo.
Conference: Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
Head Coach: Luis Sagastume (San Francisco `68)
Record at Air Force: 276-175-42 (27th Year)
Career Record: 297-182-42 (29th Year)
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Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3
2004 Record: 8-10-1
2004 Conference Record: 4-8-0 (T6th)
UNM vs. Air Force: 8-16-1
Last Time: Tied 0-0 (2OT) on (10-7-05) at Colorado Springs, Colo.
Top Goal Scorer: Scott Muir (10)
Top Assists: Colin Eames (6)
Top Goalie: Brian Guyette (1.46 g.a.a.)
Notes: UNM tied the Falcons 0-0 in their first match of the season. AFA’s Scott Muir is second in the MPSF in scoring with 25 points on 10 goals and 5 assists. UNM was 4-15-0 all-time against Air Force before Jeremy Fishbein took over as the Lobo head coach in 2002. Since then, New Mexico is 4-1-1 against the Falcons.
Web Site: www.AirForceSports.com
Recapping the Weekend: New Mexico avenged its only loss of the season with a 3-1 win over San Jose State last Friday. Brandon Barklage, Jeff Rowland and Andrew Boyens all tallied goals in the win. UNM had a disappointing tie in their match with Sacramento State on Sunday. Junior Lars Loeseth scored New Mexico’s only goal in the 1-1 draw.
A Three-Horse Race: The Lobos were picked to win the MPSF Championship in the preseason coaches’ poll, but another title is going to be tough to get for New Mexico. UNM is in second place with a total of 17 points and a 5-1-2 conference record. San Jose State sits atop the standings with a 6-2-1 record and 19 points in league play. Air Force is in third place and is the only other team with a chance to win the MPSF title. The Falcons have posted a 5-2-1 record in league play and have 16 points. Sacramento State (4-4-1), Denver (2-6-0) and UNLV (0-6-1) have all been eliminated from contention. San Jose State only plays one match this weekend, Sunday at Sacramento State. The Spartans can total a maximum of 22 points. If the Lobos sweep their weekend matches they will have 23 points and can clinch the outright MPSF title for the second year in a row. The Falcons need to win both of their remaining matches total 22 points.
Seven Lobos Named Academic All-District: After setting a program high with a 3.35 team grade-point-averaged in the 2005 spring semester, seven Lobos were named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VI squad. Ben Ashwill, Jeff Rowland, Brandon Moss, Matt Wootton, Erik Bagwell, Andrew Boyens and Mike Graczyk took all but four of the 11 spots on the team, the most Lobos on one team in school history.
Lobos Downed Three Conference Winners in 2005: UNM played a very difficult non-conference slate in 2005, defeating three eventual conference winners on their way to an 8-0-0 start. The Lobos defeated Big 10 champ Penn State, 2-0 on Sept. 2, Big East Red Division winner South Florida, 3-2, on Sept. 9 and Conference USA regular season leader SMU, 2-0, on Sept. 23.
Three With One Loss: UNM holds the second-best record in the NCAA with a 13-1-2 mark in 2005. The Lobos are one of only three teams with one loss, including No. 2 Indiana (11-1-6) and No. 4 Akron (16-1-1).
Tough at Home: The Lobos had won 14-straight games at the UNM Soccer Complex before losing to San Jose State on October 16. However, UNM is still 27-2-2 in more than three seasons under head coach Jeremy Fishbein. That record includes a 1-0 defeat of top-ranked Indiana on Sept. 19, 2004. The crowd has played a big part in New Mexico’s home field success. Last season, UNM averaged 2,379 fans per game, the second-highest attendance in the NCAA in 2004. In five games at home this year, New Mexico has averaged 3,087 fans.
Most Goals in 11 Years: The Lobos exploded for 7 goals against UNLV in a 7-2 win on Saturday, Oct. 22. It was the best output under head coach Jeremy Fishbein and the most goals in a game since an 8-1 win over Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 6, 1994.
Fishbein Gets 150th Win: UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein recorded his 150th win in a 7-2 rout of UNLV on Saturday, Oct. 22. He holds a 152-75-17 (.658) record in over 12 years as a collegiate head coach. He is in his fourth year at UNM and has posted a 56-15-7 (.763) as head of the Lobos.
Lobos in the Rankings: The Lobos remain in the top-5 in the four major polls this week. They are third in the NSCAA and Soccer Times top-25 and fifth the Soccer America top-25 and the CollegeSoccerNews.com top-30.
13 Wins: The Lobos won their 13th game of the season against UNLV on Saturday. It is the sixth time in school history UNM has reached 13 wins in a season. New Mexico reached 13 wins in two of Fishbein’s first three seasons, setting a school-record with 18 wins in 2002.
NCAA Statistical Rankings: Jeff Rowland has 28 points on 13 goals and two assists and is 17th in the NCAA in scoring. He is also tied for 10th in goals-per-game. Sophomore keeper Mike Graczyk’s 0.68 g.a.a. is tied for 17th in the NCAA while senior Lance Watson’s eight assists are tied for 22nd. As a team, the Lobos’ nine shutouts in 16 games are tied for 11th in the nation while their 0.72 g.a.a. is tied for 18th. UNM’s 15 goals in the last four games also helped bump their offense to 2.19 goals-per-game which is 16th in the nation. UNM’s 13-1-2 mark is also the second best record in the NCAA.
Lobos on National Teams of the Week: So far this season four Lobos have been named to CollegeSoccerNews.com and Soccer America Teams of the Week. Jeff Rowland was CollegeSoccerNews.com’s National Player of the Week in Week 1, and on Week 8’s squad, Andrew Boyens earned a spot on both teams following Week 2 and Cody Hanna represented UNM on Week 3’s squads. Ben Ashwill also earned a spot on Soccer America’s Week 4 national team.
Rowland on the Hermann Watch List: Lobo senior forward Jeff Rowland has been named to the 2005 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Rowland is one of 25 players up for college soccer’s top award. He is coming off a record breaking season in 2004 after scoring 45 points on 19 goals and seven assists and is a consensus preseason All-American selection. So far this season he has scored 13 goals and two assists in 16 games.
Keeping the Momentum: UNM is coming off one of the most successful campaigns in school history. The Lobos finished the 2004 regular season ranked No. 1 in Soccer America’s Top-25, posted a 17-1-2 record and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
2005 Lobos Climbing the All-Time Lists: Seniors Lance Watson and Jeff Rowland and putting their names on UNM’s all-time lists in scoring, goals, assists and shots. Rowland currently ranks third in points (96), third in goals (42) and third in shots (205). Watson is currently sixth in points (65), sixth in goals (22), tied for second in assists (21) and fourth in shots (173). Senior Ben Ashwill is also tied for eighth in career goals with 19. Senior Brandon Moss ranks sixth in minutes played with 6,846 while sophomore Mike Graczyk is eighth in wins (13) and tied for sixth in shutouts (9).
Graczyk Looking For Shutout Record: Sophomore keeper Mike Graczyk has recorded nine shutouts in goal this season and needs one more to set the Lobo single season record. Andrew Weber recorded nine shutouts in 2004 and currently holds the career shutout record with 25 blanks. The team record for shutouts in a season is 11 which was also set in 2004.
Local Flavor: Although the Lobos are bringing in some of the top players in the country, they are still winning the a roster domintaed by home-grown players. Nine of UNM’s 26 players are from the Land of Enchantment. Even more impressive is the fact that five of those nine are starters or regular players.
Barklage a Freshman to Watch: Freshman Brandon Barklage was named one of the Top-100 Freshmen to Watch by CollegeSoccerNews.com. The 5-11, midfielder/forward from St. Louis, Mo., has started 11 games and recorded a goal and four assists.