May 18, 2007
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University of New Mexico men’s soccer head coach Jeremy Fishbein announced the 2007 regular season schedule today. The Lobos will play a challenging 18-game slate that includes nine contests at the UNM Soccer Complex. The Lobos’ home lineup is highlighted by a Sept. 16 match against defending NCAA Champion UC Santa Barbara.
UNM starts the season with a pair of exhibition contests against two of the best teams in the country, Notre Dame and Indiana. These matches will be played in Fort Wayne, Ind. on Aug. 23 & 25. Both schools were NCAA Tournament teams in 2006 with Indiana advancing to the Sweet 16 and Notre Dame one win away from the College Cup.
The regular season begins on Friday, Aug. 31, at Akron. The Zips barely missed the NCAA Tournament last season, tying for the regular season Mid American Conference title and posting a 13-5-1 overall mark. UNM will also take on Hartwick in Akron, Ohio, on Sunday, Sept. 2. The Hawks were 8-10-2 overall in 2006, including a 3-2-1 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Seven of UNM’s eight upcoming non-conference opponents posted winning records in 2006. Four of those squads also secured a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Lobos’ home opener is set for Friday, Sept. 7, against Loyola Marymount at 7:30 p.m. (M.D.T.) on the opening night of the TLC Plumbing & Utility Invitational. The Lions, 9-8-2 in 2006, finished fourth in the West Coast Conference. Central Florida faces Cincinnati in the earlier match. The Lobo women will also be in action that night with a 5:00 p.m. game against Long Island University. New Mexico goes against the Bearcats on Sunday, Sept. 7, at 1:00 p.m. with the neutral match between UCF and LMU kicking off at 10:30 a.m. Cincinnati posted an 11-6-2 mark in 2006, winning the Big East Red Division and making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
New Mexico continues a four-game home stand the following weekend with the Crescent Financial Solutions Invitational. Action begins on Friday, Sept. 14, with UC Santa Barbara taking on SMU at 4:30 p.m. (M.D.T.). The Lobos face Washington in the second match at 7:00 p.m. The Huskies are coming off a 13-7-1 campaign in 2006 that included a second round appearance in the NCAAs. UW was ranked 20th in the final NSCAA poll in 2006. With the Mustangs as the neutral team, the Crescent Financial Solutions Invitational is one of the top tournaments in the nation for the 2007 regular season. SMU was 17-2-4 and won the Conference-USA title before falling to the Gauchos in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year. The Mustangs were ranked No. 11 in the final NSCAA Top-25. SMU also faces Washington on Sunday, Sept. 16, at 12:30 p.m. The Lobos take on UC Santa Barbara at 3:00 p.m. in the tournament finale. UC Santa Barbara went 17-7-1 in 2006, winning the Big West title before making an unseeded run to the national championship. The match against UCSB will be “Stuff the Stadium” with all tickets going for $2.
UNM concludes non-conference action with a California road trip Sept. 20-22. The Lobos visit Cal State Northridge for a 5:00 p.m. (M.D.T.) match on Thursday, Sept. 20. UNM has faced the Matadors in each of the last four seasons, winning three-straight. The Lobos will have a rematch of last year’s NCAA first round game when they travel to San Francisco on Saturday, Sept. 24., for an 8:00 p.m. kick-off. UNM defeated the Dons 1-0 with a late goal in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Despite dominating the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for the last three seasons, UNM has needed a win in the final game of the season the last two years to win the conference title. New Mexico is 34-6-4 in MPSF action under Fishbein, winning four of the last five conference trophies. However, with two new coaches in the six-team league, the MPSF could have a different look in 2007. New Mexico opens conference play at home with matches against Denver and Air Force on Oct. 5 & 7. UNM then travels to San Jose State and Sacramento State on Oct. 12 & 14 before hosting UNLV on Oct. 20 to finish the first half of the MPSF season. The Lobos travel to UNLV on Nov. 3 before returning for the final home games of the season against Sacramento State and San Jose State on Nov. 9 & 11. New Mexico will end the regular season on the road at Air Force and Denver on Nov. 16 & 18.
“We are excited about our upcoming schedule,” stated Fishbein. “We have got a good balance of tough games at home and on the road against some of the best competition in the country. We are still working hard to become one of the top programs in the nation and to do that, you have to play the top teams. This schedule includes some of those high-caliber programs.”
All nine of UNM’s home games will once again feature Live Video and GameTracker on GoLobos.com in 2007. Season tickets can be purchased through the UNM Ticket Office at The Pit, or by calling (505) 925-LOBO. For season ticket information, click here.