Nov. 8, 2006
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Up Next: The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team is heading back to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year after clinching its third consecutive MPSF Title with a 3-0 win over No. 21 Denver on Sunday. The eighth-ranked Lobos travel to San Francisco (12-6-1, 7-5-0 West Coast) for their first round match with the Dons on Friday, Nov. 10, at 8:00 p.m. (M.S.T.). Fans call follow all of the action live via GameTracker on GoLobos.com and free live audio and video on USFDons.com.
The Lobos made a memorable run to the finals of the 2005 College Cup before losing to Maryland 1-0 in the national championship game. New Mexico defended its conference title and is back in the NCAA Tournament in 2006 despite losing nine seniors and seven starters from last year’s squad. UNM is currently starting six underclassmen with the top three scorers coming from its sophomore and freshman classes.
UNM boasts the sixth lowest goals-against-average in the NCAA, allowing a minuscule 0.55 goals in 2006. Led by 2006 Hermann Trophy Candidate Andrew Boyens, the Lobo back line is also very young. The senior Boyens and junior keeper Mike Graczyk are joined by three freshmen in the starting defense.
After starting the season 2-2-2, New Mexico is 11-1-1 in its last 13 matches, including three straight wins. UNM has also shutout its last two opponents.
UNM is 6-3-2 all-time in four appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos are 2-0 in first round games, both of which were played on the road. New Mexico had first round byes in its last two trips to the NCAA Tournament, but did not earn a seed this season despite a high ranking. UNM is the highest ranking team in both this week’s CollegeSoccerNews.com and Soccer America Top-25 to not earn a seed.
San Francisco, the West Coast Conference runner-up after capturing back-to-back league crowns from 2004-05, hosts its first NCAA match since 2004 when it hosted Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a 3-2 setback against the Panthers. The Dons dropped a 2-1 decision at eventual College Cup qualifier SMU in the opening round of the 2005 classic. USF is making its third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its 30th overall.
The Dons are led by senior forward Aaron Chandler’s 16 points on six goals and four assists. Junior forward Ardalan Attar is second on the team with five goals and two assists while senior keeper Geremy Uhl controls the defense in goal with a 0.82 g.a.a.
San Francisco Dons (12-6-1, 7-5-0 West Coast)
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Conference: West Coast
Head Coach: Erik Visser
Record at San Francisco: 63-45-8 (6th year)
Career Record: same
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 19/12
2005 Record: 11-6-4
2005 Conference Record: 6-3-3 (1st)
UNM vs. San Francisco: 1-2-0
Last Time: UNM won 2-1 (9-4-99) at Colorado Springs, Colo.
Top Goal Scorer: Aaron Chandler (6)
Top Assists: Rob Valentino (6)
Top Goalie: Geremy Uhl (0.82 gaa)
Notes: The Dons and Lobos have faced off three times in school history. USF won the first two matches – 2-0 on Sept. 28, 1986 in Colorado Springs, Colo. and 2-0 on Sept. 12, 1987, at USF – and New Mexico won the most previous contest – 2-1 on Sept. 4, 1999, in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Web Site: www.USFDons.com
Common Opponents: UNM and USF have four common opponents in the 2006 season, including San Jose State, UCLA, Cal State-Northridge and Portland.
San Jose State
New Mexico – WH 2-0 on Oct. 6; WA 3-1 on Nov. 29
San Francisco – WA 2-0 on Sept. 3
UCLA
New Mexico – LH 2-0 on Sept. 8
San Francisco – LA 2-0 on Sept. 17
Cal State-Northridge
New Mexico – WH 1-0 on Sept. 10
San Francisco – WA 2-1 on Sept. 15
Portland
New Mexico – TA 0-0 on Aug. 26
San Francisco – WH 3-2 (OT) on Oct. 1; LA 2-1 on Oct. 27
Lobos Clinch MPSF Title: Wins over Air Force (1-0) and No. 21 Denver (3-0) last weekend clinched the Lobos’ third straight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title. The trophy is the fourth in five years at UNM for head coach Jeremy Fishbein. It is also the fifth title in the last six seasons overall.
No Respect in Lobo Land: Despite being ranked in the top-10 this week and coming off an appearance in the NCAA College Cup finals in 2005, the MPSF Champion Lobos did not earn a seed, nor a first round home game, in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The Lobos are the highest ranking unseeded team in the Soccer America Top-25, Soccer Times Top-25 and CollegeSoccerNews.com Top-30. Even though UNM was the No. 2 seed last season, an honor they carried all the way to the national title game, the Lobos have had a rough road in some of its previous trips to the NCAA Tournament. In 2002, New Mexico finished the regular season with a 17-3-0 record, but were sent packing for a first round match at Bradley which they won 2-1. In 2004, UNM was the No. 1 team in the nation with a 16-1-1 mark, but were given an unexplainable 13th seed in the NCAA Tournament. They fell at Virginia on penalty kicks in the Sweet 16 that season.
Fishbein’s 100th Game as a Lobo: UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein coached his 100th game at the University of New Mexico in the 1-0 win over UNLV on Oct. 21. He has posted a 74-19-11 (.764) mark in over four years at UNM. Fishbein has a career record of 169-79-21 (.667) in over 13 years as a head coach. Below are some interesting notes on the Lobos in Fishbein’s tenure over the last five years:
40-3-4 at the UNM Soccer Complex
35-1-0 when scoring three or more goals
0-5-0 when allowing three or more goals
17-1-11 in overtime games
39-1-2 when leading at the half
2-11-2 when trailing at the half
Lobos in the Rankings – 38 Weeks in A Row: UNM is currently No. 8 in this week’s CollegeSoccerNews.com’s Top-30, No. 12 in the Soccer America Top-25, 13th in the Soccer Times Top-25 and No. 25 in the NSCAA Top-25. The Lobos have been ranked for 38 consecutive weeks, dating back to the start of the 2004 season.
Lobos in the NCAA Statistical Rankings: As a team UNM ranks in four categories in the NCAA top-30. The Lobos are:
6th in g.a.a (0.55)11th in W-L-T percentage (0.763)14th in save percentage (0.845)17th in shutout percentage (0.53)
Individually, junior keeper Mike Graczyk ranks eighth in goals-against with a 0.552 average and 14th with a 0.843 save percentage.
Wright Leads the MPSF in Points and Goals: Sophomore Chris Wright has 15 points on six goals and three assists in 2006. He leads the MPSF in scoring and goals against NCAA competition. The 6-5 forward from Fair Oaks, Calif., is also this week’s MPSF Player of the Week after scoring two goals and an assist in UNM’s 3-0 thumping of Denver on Sunday, Nov. 5. It was the third career multi-goal game and the first Player of the Week honor for Wright.
Graczyk Leads a Stingy Defense: The Lobos have posted 10 shutouts in 2006, including blanking their last two opponents. The Lobo defense not only leads the league with its 0.55 goals-against-average, but it is also ranked 6th in the nation in goals allowed and 17th in the country in shutouts. Junior keeper Mike Graczyk also leads the MPSF and is 8th in the NCAA with his 0.55 g.a.a., having played every minute in goal for New Mexico. He also leads the league with 10 shutouts on the year. Graczyk is the only Lobo to be on the field every minute of every game for UNM this season.
Sharing the Wealth: After having one of the most prolific scorers in the nation the last two years in 2005 Hermann Trophy Finalist Jeff Rowland, the Lobos have turned to a scoring-by-committee squad in 2006. Of the 17 active players, 15 have at least two points on the year and 13 of them have at least one goal. Even junior keeper Mike Graczyk has a pair of assists.
Tierney Helping Out: Freshman defender Zach Tierney leads the team and is third in the MPSF with five assists on the year. The former high school All American has started 16 games in the backline after missing games at San Jose State and Sacramento State with a concussion.
Five Lobos earn ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District: Five Lobos were named to the CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI. Seniors Andrew Boyens and Lars Loeseth, junior Joey Vitagliano and sophomores Mike Porter and Chris Wright all earned recognition for having over a 3.20 g.p.a. and being a significant contributor in 2006.
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 10 shutouts on the year and a 0.55 g.a.a., ranking 6th 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.
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.
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 two goals and three assists 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.
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.
Home Field Advantage: New Mexico finished the 2005 season with an 8-1-1 record at the UNM Soccer Complex and are 9-1-1 at home in 2006. The Lobos are now 40-3-4 at home in the last five years under head coach Jeremy Fishbein. The 3-2, overtime loss to San Jose State on Oct. 16, 2005, 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.