Aug. 17, 2006
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Up Next: The third-ranked University of New Mexico men’s soccer team will start the season on the road with an exhibition match at defending NCAA Division II champ Fort Lewis on Friday, Aug. 18, at 4:00 p.m. (M.D.T.). The Skyhawks are coming off a 22-0-1 season that brought them their first national title and are set to host the Lobos in Durango, Colo. as a part of their alumni weekend. The Lobos finished the 2005 season with an 18-2-3 mark and a trip to the NCAA Division I national championship game.
There are a lot of connections between the Fort Lewis and New Mexico men’s soccer programs. Lobo head coach Jeremy Fishbein led the Fort Lewis program from 1992 to 1998. Skyhawk head coach Jeremy Gunn was an assistant under Fishbein at Fort Lewis in 1998. Current Lobo assistant Luc Cisna was a two-time All-American at Fort Lewis from 1995-99.
NO. 1 FORT Lewis Skyhawks (0-0-0)
Location: Durango, Colo.
Conference: RMAC (DII)
Head Coach: Jeremy Gunn (Cal State Bakersfield `93)
Record at FLC: 102-33-16 (8th year)
Career Record: same
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Starters Returning/Lost: 6/5
2005 Record: 22-0-1 (NCAA DII Champs)
2005 Conference Record: 11-0-1 (1st)
UNM vs. FLC: 5-1-0 (regular season games)
Last Time: UNM won 2-0 (8-29-05) at Home (Ex.)
Top Goal Scorer: John Cunliffe (20)
Top Assists: John Cunliffe (22)
Top Goalie: Tom Donley (0.00 g.a.a. in 5 games)
Notes: Fort Lewis is coming off an undefeated season in 2005, winning the NCAA Division II national title. Senior John Cunliffe was the DII Player of the Year, scoring 20 goals and 22 assists last season. Skyhawk head coach Jeremy Gunn was an assistant under Jeremy Fishbein when Fishbein was the head man in Durango.
Web Site: www.FortLewis.edu
Fishbein to be Inducted Into the FLC Athletic Hall of Fame: University of New Mexico men’s soccer coach Jeremy Fishbein will be inducted into the Fort Lewis College Athletic Hall of Fame, Saturday, Aug. 19, in Durango, Colo. Fishbein coached the Skyhawks from 1992-98, winning four conference titles during that stretch. The Lobos open the 2006 season with an exhibition match at Fort Lewis on, Friday, Aug. 18 at 4:00 p.m. (M.D.T.) in Durango, Colo.
In seven seasons at Fort Lewis (1992-98), Fishbein’s teams posted a 74-47-7 record (.605) and won four league championships — two in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (1997, 1998) and two in the Colorado Athletic Conference (1993, 1995). He also guided the Skyhawks to their first two NCAA Division II playoff trips (1997, 1998).
“Coach Fishbein created something out of nothing at Fort Lewis College,” said Skyhawk men’s soccer coach Jeremy Gunn, who replaced Fishbein at Fort Lewis in 1999. “He created a tradition of excellence that set the standard not only for our soccer program, but for every program in the region.”
Fishbein’s coaching accolades are numerous. At Fort Lewis, he won NCAA Division II West Region Coach of the Year honors in 1993 and RMAC and CAC Coach of the Year awards in 1993, 1997 and 1998. At UNM, he was chosen as Soccer America magazine National Coach of the Year in 2004, NCAA Far West Region Coach of the Year in 2005, and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2005.
Two other Lobo coaches are already in the Fort Lewis College Athletic Hall of Fame. UNM assistant men’s soccer coach Luc Cisna was a two-time All-American at FLC and a 2005 inductee. Lobo women’s basketball head coach in a Fort Lewis alum and a 2003 inductee.
New Mexico Picked to Win MPSF Title…Again: For the fourth consecutive year, the 2005 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Champion University of New Mexico Lobos sit atop the MPSF Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll, capturing five of the six first-place votes to outpace Sacramento State and San Jose State who tied for second with 19 points each as the Hornets garnered the remaining first-place vote. Denver finished fourth in the poll, followed by Air Force in fifth-place and UNLV taking the sixth-spot. The MPSF will determine the Federation champion and NCAA automatic qualifier after a 10-match double-round robin league schedule with the MPSF champion being the team with the best conference record after the final conference matches on Sunday, November 5.
Boyens Named Preseason All-American: Senior All-American Andrew Boyens will miss the Lobos’ exhibition match against Fort Lewis, but has a good excuse. The New Zealand native has been playing with the Kiwi’s full nation team since the end of the 2005 collegiate season and won’t return to Albuquerque until Aug. 18. He was recently named preseason 1st Team All-American by collegesoccernews.com.
Lobos in the Rankings: The Lobos are ranked in the top-10 in two preseason polls. New Mexico received a No. 3 ranking in the NSCAA Top-25 and a No. 9 ranking in the CollegeSoccerNews.com Top-30. Soccer Times and Soccer America have not released a preseason poll.
Two Lobos Lead Their PDL Teams in Goals: Sophomore Chris Wright and freshman P.J. Wilson both led their PDL teams in goals this summer. Wright found the net five times in limited playing time for the Indiana Invaders. Freshman Michael Reed and sophomore Mike Porter also played for the Invaders over the summer. Wilson was named the PDL’s U-19 Player of Year after leading the Fort Wayne Fever with eight of the team’s 18 goals. Freshman Zach Tierney was twice named to the PDL Team of the Week for his play with the St. Louis Lions. Other Lobos playing in the PDL this summer include sophomore Jack Smithson (Chicago Magic) and freshman Eric Staver (Kalamazoo Kingdom).
Pair of Lobos Win the U-18 USYSA National Title: Freshmen Bryan Sajjadi and Stephen Brown teamed-up to lead the Dallas Texans to the 2006 USYSA U-18 national championship. It was the second-straight youth national title for Brown and Sajjadi with the Texans.
Lobos Welcome Four All-Americans and Three State Players of the Year in 2006: Freshman Gardner Morrow was an NSCAA High School All-American and Vermont Player of the Year at Champlain Valley High School in Shelburne, Vt., in 2005. Michael Reed was also an NSCAA High School All-American and New Mexico Player of the Year at Sandia High School in Albuquerque, N.M., in 2005. Zach Tierney is a two-time NSCAA Youth All-American from Wildwood, Mo. P.J. Wilson is a two-time NSCAA Youth All-American, 2005 NSCAA High School All-American and the 2005 Indiana Player of the Year at Canterbury High School in Fort Wayne, Ind.
School Record 18 Wins: The Lobos posted an 18-2-3 mark in 2005, tying the school record for wins in a season. UNM also won 18 games in 2002, head coach Jeremy Fishbein’s first season, posting an 18-4-0 record. Three of the high win totals in the Lobo soccer record book have come in the last four years under Fishbein – 18-4-0 in 2002, 17-1-2 in 2004 and 18-2-3 in 1005.
First Trip to the College Cup: New Mexico made its first appearance in the College Cup in 2005, including the first showing in a national championship game by any sport at UNM. The Lobos posted a 2-1 win over Clemson in the semifinals, but dropped at 1-0 match to Maryland in the finals.
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, 22 points) and Air Force (6-3-1, 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. New Mexico is 26-5-3 (.809) in the last four years of MPSF play under Fishbein.
Undefeated in the Non-Conference: UNM posted an 8-0-0 record in regular season non-conference action in 2005. It is the second straight year the Lobos have gone undefeated and untied in out-of-conference play. In 2004, New Mexico recorded a 6-0-0 record before the start of MSPF action. Over the last two years, UNM has defeated the likes of No. 1 Indiana (1-0 on 9/19/04), at No. 13 VCU (2-1 on 9/5/04), at No. 18 Ohio State (1-0 on 9/4/05), and No. 23 Penn State (2-0 on 9/2/05). The last time UNM lost a non-conference game was at No. 20 UC-Santa Barbara on October 12, 2003. UNM has not lost a non-conference home game under head coach Jeremy Fishbein, posting an 11-0-2 record over the last four years at home. The last non-conference loss at home was a 2-1 setback against Air Force in a non-MPSF match on October 7, 2001, in Klaus Weber’s final year as head coach.
Home Field Advantage: New Mexico finished the 2005 season with an 8-1-1 record at the UNM Soccer Complex. The Lobos are now 31-2-3 at home in the last four years under head coach Jeremy Fishbein. The 3-2, overtime loss to San Jose State on Oct. 16 snapped a 14-match home winning streak, the longest in school history. UNM is currently on a new 6-game home unbeaten streak, with the only blemish being a 2-2 tie against Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the second round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. New Mexico advanced on penalty kicks in that game, 5-3.
New NCAA Attendance Mark Set: Fans packed the UNM Soccer Complex for three rounds of the 2005 NCAA Tournament, setting record attendance marks in each game. Against Wisconsin-Milwaukee 4,552 fans spun the turnstiles, while a UNM Soccer Complex record 4,849 attended the Lobos’ 1-0, overtime win over Cal-State Northridge. That record lasted less than a week after a sellout crowd of 5,600 attended the Lobos’ 1-0 win over Cal in the quarterfinals. UNM’s record for attendance in a single home game is still 7,449 for a 2-0 loss to No. 4 UCLA on Sept. 23, 1989, however, that game was played in University Stadium. The Lobos drew over 4,000 fans five times in 2005, averaging an NCAA record 3,629 fans per game.
Lobos Played in Five of the 10 Highest Attended Games in 2005: The Lobos were a popular bunch in 2005, playing before five of the largest crowds of the season in the NCAA. In the College Cup, 8,645 fans packed the SAS Soccer Stadium in Cary, N.C., to watch UNM defeat Clemson, 2-1, in the highest attended game of the year. New Mexico’s three NCAA Tournament games at the UNM Soccer Complex also ranked among the top attended games of the year.
Top-10 Attended Games in 2005
1. 8,645 – Clemson vs. New Mexico (NCAA Semifinal at Cary, N.C.), Dec. 9
2. 6,922 – Maryland vs. New Mexico (NCAA Final at Cary, N.C.), Dec. 11
3. 6,680 – Creighton at Clemson, Dec. 2
4. 6,203 – Indiana at Maryland, Oct. 29
5. 5,600 – California at New Mexico, Dec. 2
6. 5,271 – St. John’s (N.Y.) at Connecticut, Sept. 23
7. 4,884 – Akron at Indiana, Nov. 3
8. 4,849 – Cal St. Northridge at New Mexico, Nov. 26
9. 4,585 – Penn St. at Indiana, Sept. 30
10. 4,552 – Wis.-Milwaukee at New Mexico, Nov. 22
Fishbein Adds Two More Honors to His Resume: Lobo head coach Jeremy Fishbein added to his list of accomplishments with the 2005 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation co-Coach of the Year and the Far West Region Coach of the year honors. Fishbein was also the 2002 MPSF Coach of the Year and the 2004 Soccer America National Coach of the Year.
Loeseth Making a Mark on Lobo Athletics: Senior midfielder Lars Loeseth accomplished a rare feat in 2005, two NCAA runner-up trophies in two different sports in the same year. Not only was he a part of the Lobo soccer team’s amazing run in 2005, he also was an All-American member of the second place UNM ski team in 2006. The Olso, Norway, native came to UNM in 2004 as a member of the Lobo Ski Team. He led New Mexico to the 2004 NCAA Skiing Championship, the school’s only NCAA title in any sport, behind All-American performances in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events. Loeseth trained with the soccer squad in the 2005 spring semester. He was so impressive that he was put on a soccer scholarship for the 2005-06 school year. The three-time All-American has been a part of three of the four most successful teams in school history.
Overtime: The Lobos played in 10 overtime games in 2005, Including three in the postseason. UNM posted a 6-1-3 record in overtime games and came out on top in all three of their OT contests in the NCAA Tournament. They tied Wisconsin-Milwaukee 2-2 in double overtime in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but advanced on penalty kicks, 5-3. New Mexico then defeated Cal-State Northridge 1-0 in overtime in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos downed Cal 1-0 in overtime in their last game to advance to the College Cup.