Sept. 27, 2006
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Up Next: The 12th-ranked University of New Mexico men’s soccer team will begin its defense of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title this weekend against its two oldest rivals when it opens conference play at Denver and Air Force. New Mexico (5-2-2) takes on the Pioneers on Friday, Sept. 29 at 4:00 p.m. (M.D.T.) and Air Force on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 1:00 p.m. (M.D.T.). UNM was picked to win its third straight MPSF title in the preseason coaches poll.
The Lobos’ game against Denver will put the top two teams in the MPSF against each other. UNM and DU are the only MPSF teams with winning records at this point in the season. Denver is 4-3-1 with wins over Temple, Oregon State, Stony Brook and Alabama A&M. The Pioneers dropped their last match 2-1 to No. 25 Memphis on Sept. 17 and are coming off a bye week to prepare for the Lobos.
Both Denver and New Mexico have faced the College of Charleston this season. DU dropped a 2-1 decision to the Cougars in double-overtime on Sept. 8 in Wilmington, N.C. The Lobos defeated Charleston 3-2 last weekend in Albuquerque. Denver’s other loss was to UC Irvine 4-1 in the season opener, while its lone tie was a scoreless draw against Marquette on Aug. 27.
UNM follows up the Denver game with a trip down the road to Colorado Springs and a match against Air Force. The Falcons have struggled to start this season, going winless in their first seven matches. However, Air Force showed it is a dangerous team last weekend, defeating No. 23 Creighton on the Jays’ home pitch, 1-0 in overtime. Air Force sits at 1-6-1 on the year and is looking for the upset when the Lobos come to town.
Both Air Force and New Mexico have played at Portland this season. The Lobos tied the Pilots 0-0 in the season opener while the Falcons dropped a 2-1 decision to Portland on Sept. 3.
The only team UNM has faced more times in school history than Denver is Air Force. The Lobos hold a thin 10-9-1 advantage against the Pioneers that include two 1-0 shutouts last season. Overall, New Mexico has won three straight against Denver and six of the last seven.
Air Force has dominated the all-time series with UNM, holding a 16-9-1 advantage. However, the Lobos have not lost to the Falcons since the 2003 season and are 4-0-1 against the Academy in their last five meetings. Air Force has not scored against New Mexico in the last four matches, including a 1-0 shutout win last year that clinched the MPSF title for UNM on Nov. 13, 2005.
Denver Pioneers (4-3-1, 0-0-0 MPSF)
Location: Denver, Colo.
Conference: Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
Head Coach: Chad Ashton (North Carolina `90)
Record at Denver: 77-83-13 (10th year)
Career Record: same
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Starters Returning/Lost: 7/4
2005 Record: 7-10-1
2005 Conference Record: 3-6-0 (5th)
UNM vs. Denver: 10-9-1
Top Goal Scorer: Collin Audley (2)
Top Assists: Joey Mathot (4)
Top Goalie: Matt Bredehoft (1.40 gaa)
Notes: The Pioneers have hit the back of the net nine times in their first eight games this season. They have also allowed nine goals on the year. Matt Bredehoft has been DU’s starting keeper for the past two seasons, but has been pushed this year by freshman Joe Willis. Willis has two shutouts in three games and owns a miniscule 0.59 g.a.a.
Web Site: www.DenverPioneers.com
Air Force Falcons (1-6-1)
Location: Colorado Springs, Colo.
Conference: Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
Head Coach: Luis Sagastume (San Francisco `68)
Record at Air Force: 278-182-43 (28th year)
Career Record: 299-189-43 (30th year)
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Starters Returning/Lost: 5/6
2005 Record: 8-9-2
2005 Conference Record: 6-3-1 (3rd)
UNM vs. Air Force: 9-16-1
Top Goal Scorer: Josh Rynard (3)
Top Assists: Andy Nigro (2)
Top Goalie: Brian Guyette (2.55 gaa)
Notes: After going winless in its first seven matches of the season Air Force traveled to Creighton and shocked the No. 23 Jays on their home field 1-0 in double-overtime. The Falcons have managed to score just nine goals on the season and have given up 19 strikes on defense. Josh Rynard (3) and Chris Matthews (2) are the only Falcons with more than one goal on the year.
Web Site: www.GoAirForceFalcons.com
Lobos Sweep NMYSA Classic: The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team netted a 1-0 win in overtime against American and a 3-2 win over the College of Charleston to win the NMYSA Classic at the UNM Soccer Complex last weekend. Senior Lars Loeseth score on a PK in overtime to give New Mexico the 1-0 win over American. Sophomore Brandon Barklage exploded for a goal and two assists in UNM’s 3-2 win over the College of Charleston. Senior Andrew Boyens also added a goal and an assist against the Cougars.
Four Lobos Named All-tournament: Four members of the University of New Mexico men’s soccer team were named to the New Mexico Youth Soccer Association Classic All-Tournament team this weekend. Senior defender Andrew Boyens, sophomore midfielder Jack Smithson, freshman midfielder Stephen Brown and freshman defender Simon Ejdemyr all took home all-tourney recognition. It was the second-straight all-tourney honors for Ejdemyr and Brown.
Starting to Streak: After beginning the season with two wins, two losses and two draws, the Lobos have put together a nice three-game winning streak. The Lobos are unbeaten in their last five matches with their last loss coming against UCLA 2-0 in the home opener on Sept. 8.
Barklage Stepping Up: Sophomore midfielder Brandon Barklage stepped-up his game against the College of Charleston last weekend, scoring a goal and two assists in the match. He now leads the Lobos in scoring with six points on two goals and two assists.
Ejdemyr Getting Noticed: Freshman defender Simon Ejdemyr has made a big impact on the Lobo backline early in his career. His strong play has helped New Mexico record five shutouts on the year and a 0.63 g.a.a., ranking 19th in the NCAA. He was named the MPSF Player of the Week and was on Soccer America’s National Team of the Week for his efforts against SMU and Tulsa in Week 4. Ejdemyr’s emergence as a dependable stopper has allowed senior defender Andrew Boyens to periodically join the attack in the Lobo midfield.
Graczyk Leads a Stingy Defense: Just nine games into the 2006 season, the Lobos have already posted five shutouts. UNM has an MPSF leading 0.63 goals-against-average and is ranked 19th in the NCAA in that category. Junior keeper Mike Graczyk also leads the MPSF and is 19th in the NCAA in both shutouts (5) and g.a.a. (0.63) having played every minute in goal for New Mexico. Graczyk is the only Lobo to be on the field every minute of every game for UNM this season.
UNM Against NO. 1: The Lobos scored a 1-1 tie against SMU at the UNM Soccer Complex on Sept. 15 in the TLC Plumbing & Utility Invitational. UNM faced a top-ranked team for the fourth straight season after facing the Mustangs in a hard fought draw. Here is a look at UNM’s games against No. 1 ranked foes:
SMU L, 0-2 Nov. 25, 2001 NCAA Tournament 2nd Round Dallas, Texas
UCLA L, 0-1 Oct. 9, 2003 Los Angeles, Calif.
Indiana W, 1-0 (2OT) Sept. 19, 2004 Albuquerque, N.M.
Maryland L, 0-1 Dec. 11, 2005 NCAA College Cup Finals Cary, N.C.
SMU T, 1-1 Sept. 15, 2006 Albuquerque, N.M.
Lobos in the Rankings: UNM is currently No. 128 in this week’s CollegeSoccerNews.com’s Top-30, No. 13 in the Soccer America Top-25 and No. 14 in the Soccer Times Top-25. The Lobos have been ranked for 32 consecutive weeks, dating back to the start of the 2004 season.
Boyens Named to Hermann Watch List: Senior All-American Andrew Boyens is one of 25 players named to the 2006 MAC Hermann trophy Watch List. The Hermann trophy is the top honor for Division I college soccer. Boyens is just the second Lobo to be nominated for the Hermann. Jeff Rowland was a finalist in 2005. Boyens was also named 1st Team Preseason All-American by CollegeSoccerNews.com and a preseason All-American by Soccer America magazine. So far this season he has one goal and an assist from the backline.
Non-Conference Home Unbeaten Streak Snapped: UNM’s 2-0 loss to No. 10 UCLA last week marked the first time the Lobos lost a non-conference home game under head coach Jeremy Fishbein, posting an 12-1-2 record over the last four years at home. The previous 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.
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.
Undefeated Non-Conference Streak Broken: With a 1-0 loss at Michigan State in week 2, the Lobos snapped their 15-match non-conference undefeated streak. UNM posted an 8-0-0 record in regular season non-conference action in 2005. It was the second straight year the Lobos went 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 had lost a non-conference game prior to this weekend was at No. 20 UC-Santa Barbara on October 12, 2003.
Reed Out for The Season: Freshman All-American and 2005 New Mexico Player of the Year Michael Reed suffered a knee injury during practice prior to the Lobos’ season opener against Portland and will be out for the rest of the season. Reed was expected to be an impact player, starting the Fort Lewis exhibition game in the midfield.
Two Lobos Led 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).
Home Field Advantage: New Mexico finished the 2005 season with an 8-1-1 record at the UNM Soccer Complex and a 2-1-1 at home in 2006. The Lobos are now 33-3-4 at home in the last five 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.
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.
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.
Fishbein Inducted Into the FLC Athletic Hall of Fame: University of New Mexico men’s soccer coach Jeremy Fishbein was inducted into the Fort Lewis College Athletic Hall of Fame on Aug. 19, 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).
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.
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.