Nov. 23, 2005
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Up Next: The University of New Mexico men’s soccer is making its second straight appearance in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, but this time, instead of traveling across the country for the match, they will be playing at home in the UNM Soccer Complex. The second-seeded Lobos will host 15th-seed Cal-State Northridge on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 6:00 p.m. (M.S.T.).
New Mexico finished the 2005 regular season with a 15-1-2 record and a No. 1 ranking in the final Soccer Times Top-25, NSCAA Top-25 and CollegeSoccerNews.com Top-30. UNM reached the NCAA Tournament by winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular season title. It is the fourth MPSF title and NCAA Tournament appearance for the Lobos in the last five years.
UNM advanced to the third round by advancing past Wisconsin-Milwaukee on penalty-kicks, 5-3. The Lobos gave up two early goals in the match against the Panthers, but battled back to a 2-2 tie after two overtime periods. Sophomore Mike Graczyk made a save in the third round of PKs and Junior Lars Loeseth nailed the clincher in the fifth round.
Cal-State Northridge posted a 14-3-3 record in the regular season, winning the Big West title with an 8-1-1 record in league play. The Matadors finished the regular season ranked in all four of the major polls with 13th in the CollegeSoccerNews.com Top-30 being their highest mark. After earning a 15th seed and first round bye in the NCAA Tournament, CSUN hosted UC-Santa Barbara in the second round. The Matadors prevailed, 3-2 in a shootout that saw all five goals come in the first half. Daniel Paladini, Will Beard and Brian Siu all scored for CSUN in the match. These two teams are familiar with each other, having faced-off last year in Northridge,Calif. UNM won that contest, 3-2, with Jeff Rowland scoring the game-winner in the 82nd minute.
Cal-State Northridge Matadors (15-3-3, 8-1-1 Big West)
Location: Northrdige, Calif.
Conference: Big West
Head Coach: Terry Davila (CSUN `94) Big West co-Coach of the Year
Record at CSUN: 77-47-14 (6th Year)
Career Record: same
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2005 Record: 15-3-3
2005 Conference Record: 8-1-1 (1st)
NCAA Appearances: 4 – 2002-05
How Did They Get In: Won the Big West Regular Season
UNM vs. CSUN: 4-3-1
Last Time: No. 19 UNM won 3-2 (9-12-04) in Northridge, Calif.
Top Goal Scorer: Willie Simms (8) – 1st Team All-Big West
Top Assists: Sean Franklin (6) – 1st Team All-Big West
Top Goalie: Kevin Guppy (0.88 g.a.a.) – 1st Team All-Big West
Notes: UNM and CSUN both played UNLV in 2005. The Lobos scored two wins over UNLV, outscoring the Rebels, 11-2 in the process. The Matadors downed UNLV, 5-3 on Sept. 17. This is the third -straight year UNM and Cal-State Northridge have faced off. UNM won last year’s contest, 3-2, and CSUN won in 2003, 4-0.
Web Site:www.GoMatadors.com
UNM In The NCAA Tournament: The Lobos are making their fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the past five seasons and their second consecutive showing in the third round. UNM won its third MPSF regular season title in the past four years, earning the Federation’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. All four of UNM’s trips to the NCAA Tournament have come in the past five years. In 2001, New Mexico won the MPSF Tournament to earn its first NCAA bid. In long-time head coach Klaus Weber’s final year, UNM defeated Florida International 1-0 in the opening round before falling to No. 1 SMU 2-0 in the second round. In 2002, current head coach Jeremy Fishbein’s first season, the Lobos won the MPSF regular season and tournament titles before defeating Bradley 2-1 in the first round. UNM fell to No. 18 Saint Louis 1-0 in the second round. Last year, the Lobos earned a first-round bye before defeating Portland. They went on to tie No. 4 Virginia on the road, but the Cavaliers advanced on penalty kicks 6-5.
Lobo NCAA Tournament Results
2001 – Head Coach Klaus Weber – 7-12-2, 0-6-1 MPSF
Won MPSF Tournament
1st Round – Dallas, Texas – Nov. 23, 2001
Defeated Florida International – 1-0
2nd Round – Dallas, Texas – Nov. 25 2001
Lost to No. 1 SMU – 2-0
2002 – Head Coach Jeremy Fishbein – 18-4-0, 5-1-0 MPSF
Won MPSF Regular Season and Tournament
Final National Ranking – No. 27 (CollegeSoccerNews.com)
1st Round – Peoria, Ill. – Nov. 23, 2002
Defeated Bradley – 2-1
2nd Round – St. Louis, Mo. – Nov. 27, 2002
Lost to No. 18 Saint Louis – 1-0
2004 – Head Coach Jeremy Fishbein – 17-1-2, 10-1-1 MPSF
Won MPSF Regular Season
Final National Ranking – No. 1 (Soccer America)
13th Seed
1st Round – Bye
2nd Round – Albuquerque, N.M. – No. 23, 2004
Defeated Portland – 4-1
3rd Round – Charlottesville, Va. – Nov. 27, 2004
Tied No. 4 Virginia – 1-1
Virginia Advanced on Penalty Kicks 6-5
Head Coach Jeremy Fishbein – 15-1-3, 7-1-2 MPSF
Won MPSF Regular Season
Final National Ranking – No. 1
2nd Seed
1st Round – Bye
2nd Round – Albuquerque, N.M. – No. 22, 2005
Tied Wisc.-Milwaukee – 2-2 (Advanced on PKs, 5-3)
NCAA 3rd Round Tickets: Tickets for New Mexico’s third-round game will be available starting Friday at the ticket office at the The Pit. The ticket office opens at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, due to the holiday and at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Tickets will also be available the day of the game at the stadium, starting at 6 p.m. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for UNM students and ages 18 and under.
Lobos Against The NCAA Tournament Field: UNM is 6-0 against NCAA Tournament teams, with all six games coming in their non-conference schedule. Five of the Lobo wins over 2005 NCAA Tournament teams were on the road. Here is a list of the NCAA Tournament teams UNM beat in 2005.
2-0 vs. Penn State – Sept. 2 in Columbus, Ohio
1-0 (OT) vs. Ohio State – Sept. 4 in Columbus, Ohio
3-2 vs. South Florida – Sept. 9 in Dallas, Texas
2-0 vs. West Virginia – Sept. 11 in Dallas Texas
1-0 vs. James Madison – Sept. 18 in Albuquerque, N.M.
2-0 vs. SMU – Sept. 23 in Tulsa, Okla.
MPSF Champs Again: New Mexico scored a pair of 1-0 wins over Denver and Air Force in the last weekend of the regular season to clinch its second, consecutive MPSF title and the fourth crown in the last five years. The Lobos finished with a 7-1-2 record in conference play and 23 points. UNM squeezed by San Jose State (7-2-1), who had 22 points, and Air Force (6-3-1), who finished in third place with 19 points. Had the Lobos dropped their match to the Falcons they would have finished in third place and Air Force would have been MPSF Champs. New Mexico won the MPSF Tournament in 2001, the regular season and tournament in 2002 and the regular season again in 2004.
Four Make Academic All-American: For the second year in a row, four Lobos earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American honors. Seniors Ben Ashwill, Jeff Rowland and Matt Wootton all earned spots on the first team while senior Brandon Moss was named to the third team. Ashwill is the Lobos’ first three-time Academic All-American, while Wootton and Rowland both earn their second honors. New Mexico was the only school with multiple first-team honors and the only school with more than two on all of the teams.
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.
Two With One Loss: UNM holds the second-best record in the NCAA with a 15-1-2 mark in 2005. The Lobos are one of only two teams with one loss, including No. 2 Akron (17-1-2). UNM is tied with Bradley, UCONN, Old Dominion, North Carolina, Maryland and UNC-Greensboro for second place in the NCAA with 15 wins. Akron’s 17 wins in 2005 leads the nation.
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 29-2-3 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. The Lobos are averaging a school-record 3,230 fans per game. New Mexico set a new single game record for attendance at the UNM Soccer Complex against Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament when 4,552 fans spun the turnstiles.
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 154-75-18 (.660) record in over 12 years as a collegiate head coach. He is in his fourth year at UNM and has posted a 58-15-8 (.765) as head of the Lobos.
Lobos in the Rankings: The Lobos remain in the top-3 in the four major polls this week. They are No. 1 in the CollegeSoccerNews.com top-30, NSCAA top-25 and Soccer Times top-25 and No. 3 in the Soccer America top-25.
15 Wins: The Lobos won their 15th game of the season against Air Force on Sunday, Nov. 13. It is the third time in school history UNM has reached 15 wins in a season, all three coming under head coach Jeremy Fishbein.
NCAA Statistical Rankings: Jeff Rowland has 32 points on 14 goals and four assists and is tied for 20th in the NCAA in scoring. He is also tied for 13th in goals-per-game. Sophomore keeper Mike Graczyk’s 0.67 g.a.a. is 10th in the NCAA. As a team, the Lobos’ 11 shutouts in 18 games are seventh in the nation while their 0.70 g.a.a. is 14th. UNM’s 19 goals in the last seven games also helped bump their offense to 2.05 goals-per-game which is tied for 19th in the nation. UNM’s 15-1-3 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. Boyens was again on Soccer America’s squad in Week 10.
Rowland a Hermann semifinalist: Lobo senior forward Jeff Rowland has been named one of 15 semifinalist for the 2005 MAC Hermann Trophy. 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 14 goals and four assists in 19 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. The school record for wins in a season is 18 set in 2002.
2005 Lobos Climbing the All-Time Lists: Seniors Lance Watson and Jeff Rowland are putting their names on UNM’s all-time lists in scoring, goals, assists and shots. Rowland currently ranks third in points (100), third in goals (43) and third in shots (225). Watson is currently sixth in points (65), sixth in goals (22), tied for second in assists (21) and fourth in shots (176). Senior Ben Ashwill is also tied for eighth in career goals with 19. Senior Brandon Moss ranks third in minutes played with 7,142 while sophomore Mike Graczyk is eighth in wins (15) and sixth in shutouts (11).
Graczyk Sets Shutout Record: Sophomore keeper Mike Graczyk has recorded 11 shutouts in his first season as UNM’s fill-time keeper. He broke Andrew Weber’s previous high of nine shutouts in 2004. The team record for shutouts in a season is 11 also set in 2004.
Local Flavor: Although the Lobos are bringing in some of the top players in the country, they are still winning with a roster dominated by homegrown 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 13 games and recorded a goal and five assists.