Aug. 27, 2008
Complete Release in .pdf Format
LMU Fall Classic Central
Purchase Your Olympic Sports Pass Here
UP NEXT: The 19th-ranked University of New Mexico men’s soccer team kicks off the 2008 season on the road in the LMU Fall Classic at Loyola Marymount this weekend. The Lobos take on the host Lions on Friday, Aug. 29, at 5:00 p.m. (M.D.T.). New Mexico then faces San Diego on Sunday, Aug. 31, at 12:30 p.m. (M.D.T.). GameTracker is available on GoLobos.com for both matches while the LMU game will have a live audio broadcast on LMULions.com.
New Mexico will be looking for revenge against the Lions who posted a 1-0 win over the Lobos at the UNM Soccer Complex last season. LMU junior Brad Stisser connected on a free kick in the ninth minute for the only score of the game. It is still only one of only five losses the Lobos have suffered at home in head coach Jeremy Fishbein’s six-year tenure.
The Lions return 18 lettermen and six starters from their 3-16-1 squad last season. They finished seventh in the West Coast Conference with a 1-11-0 mark and are picked fifth in the league in 2008. Sophomore Rafael Baca is their top returning scorer, posting two goals and five assists last season. Sophomore Patrick Lane started 16 games in goal as a freshman, including a five-save shutout against the Lobos, and had a 1.66 goals-against-average.
The University of San Diego has been picked to finish second in the WCC in 2008, exactly where they finished last season. The Toreros wrapped up 2007 11-8-1 overall and 8-3-1 in conference play.
USD will be returning nine starters and 16 letterwinners from last year. San Diego returns two of the top defenders in the WCC in senior Sam Reeder and junior Tim Grey, as both players earned All-WCC second team honors last season. This is New Mexico’s first match-up with the Toreros since dropping a 1-0 decision in Las Vegas in 2001. UNM has never beaten USD, posting a 0-4-1 all-time mark against San Diego.
Loyola Marymount Lions
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Conference: West Coast
Head Coach: Paul Krumpe (UCLA `86)
Record at Loyola Marymount: 90-85-20 (10)
Career Record: same
Starters Returning/Lost: 6/5
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 18/9
2007 Record: 3-16-1
2007 Conference Record: 1-11-0 (7th WCC)
UNM vs. Loyola Marymount: 3-1-0
Last Time: Loyola Marymount won 1-0 (9-7-07) at the UNM Soccer Complex
Notes: Last season, LMU upset No. 17 New Mexico 1-0 in the Lobos’ home opener on Sept. 7, 2007 at the UNM Soccer Complex. New Mexico had won the three previous meetings between the two teams, outscoring LMU 11-3 in their first three matches. UNM downed LMU 3-0 in Northridge, Calif., in 2004 in the only other meeting between these two teams in head coach Jeremy Fishbein’s tenure.
Web Site: www.LMULions.com.
Live Audio for LMU Game: The Lobos-Lions match will broadcast live on LMULions.com. Links to the audio broadcast are available through the Lobo men’s soccer schedule on GoLobos.com. This broadcast is produced and originated by Loyola Marymount.
San Diego Toreros
Location: San Diego, Calif.
Conference: West Coast
Head Coach: Seamus McFadden
Record at San Diego: 294-210-44 (27)
Career Record: same
Starters Returning/Lost: 7/4
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 14/5
2007 Record: 11-8-1
2007 Conference Record: 8-3-1 (2nd WCC)
UNM vs. San Diego: 0-4-1
Last Time: No. 20 USD won 1-0 (9/7/01) in Las Vegas, Nev.
Notes: The Lobos are looking for their first career win in school history against USD. These two teams have face each other five times with the Lobos posting a 0-4-1 record in those meetings. The lone tie came in 1985 and UNM has dropped the last four matches in the series. The Toreros have outscored UNM 12-4 in the five meetings.
Web Site: www.USDToreros.com
Lobos in Season Openers: The Lobos are 16-7-2 in season openers all-time, but have not won their first match of the season since 2005. New Mexico is 4-1-1 in season openers in Jeremy Fishbein’s six years as head coach. UNM is 2-2-1 when opening with a true road match, including 1-1-1 under Fishbein.
WRIGHT NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN: Lobo senior Chris Wright was named preseason 2nd Team All-American by CollegeSoccerNews.com. Wright, a 6-5 forward from Fair Oaks, Calif., was the 2007 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year and the league’s leading scorer with 12 goals and four assists. Wright is listed as a midfielder on CollegeSoccerNews.com’s list, but will primarily fill the forward spot for the Lobos’ this season. His 20 career goals are currently tied for seventh place. He needs three more to pass Lance Watson (2002-05) for sixth and tie Mario Picazo (1983-85) for fifth all-time at UNM.
LOBOS ADVANCEd TO NCAA TOURNAMENT FOR SIXTH TIME: UNM made its sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history last season. All of UNM’s postseason bids have come since the 2001 campaign. UNM fell at UCLA 1-0 in the first round, marking UNM’s first opening round exit in six trips to the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos are now 7-4-2 in NCAA Tournament action.
UNM WINS SIXTH LEAGUE TITLE IN PROGRAM HISTORY: Posting a 7-1-2 mark in MPSF action, the Lobos won their sixth league title in school history in 2007. All of UNM’s league trophies have come since the 2001 season. UNM is 41-7-6 in MPSF action in six seasons under current head coach Jeremy Fishbein.
LOBOS BOAST HIGHEST WINNING % SINCE 2004: The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team boasts the highest winning percentage in Division I over the last three years. The Lobos are 61-12-11 (.795) since the start of 2004. Only UC Santa Barbara (65-20-9), Maryland (62-18-10) and Wake Forest (67-18-10) have more wins than the Lobos over the last four years. Here is a look at the top teams in the nation based on winning percentage since 2004.
New Mexico – 61-12-10 – .795
Akron – 59-15-10 – .762
Wake Forest – 67-18-10 – .758
Indiana – 60-15-15 – .750
Maryland – 62-18-10 – .744
UC Santa Barbara – 65-20-9 – .739
SMU – 61-19-10 – .733
Virginia – 59-22-7 – .710
Three All-Region, Five ALL-MPSF and Eight Starters Return in 2008: The Lobos return eight starters and 14 lettermen for the 2008 campagin. Highlighting this list is senior forward Chris Wright, the 2007 MPSF Player of the Year. Wright led the league in scoring with 12 points and four assists. He was also a member of the All-Far West Region second team. Juniors Zach Tierney and Simon Ejdemyr were also on the All-Far West Region team, as well as first team All-MPSF honorees. Senior Jack Smithson and junior Stephen Brown return from the All-MPSF squad while senior Mike Porter, junior Justin Davis and sophomore Ryan Farquharson are all returning starters.
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN STREAK CONTINUES: Chris Wright and sophomore Simon Ejdemyr both earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American honors last season. Wright earned a spot on the first team while Ejdemyr was named to the third team. The Lobos have now had at least one representative on the squad each year since 2003. Only Maryland has had at least one student-athlete honored each year during that same stretch.
LOBOS TOUGH AT HOME UNDER FISHBEIN: The Lobo men’s soccer team has posted a 24-2-1 mark in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action at the UNM Soccer Complex under head coach Jeremy Fishbein. The only two losses at home under Fishbein came against UNLV (2-0 on Oct. 18, 2003) and San Jose State (3-2 (OT) on Oct. 16, 2005). UNM has won 86% of their matches overall in six years under Fishbein at the UNM Soccer Complex, posting a 45-5-5 mark in his tenure.
IN THE RANKINGS: The Lobos are ranked No. 19 in the preseason CollegeSoccerNews.com Top-30 and the Soccer America Preseason Top-25. They are 24th in the Soccer Times Top-25 preseason poll. New Mexico has now been ranked for 52 consecutive weeks, dating back to the start of 2004. The Lobos are also receiving votes in the NSCAA Preseason Top-25.
New Mexico is Strong with a Lead: The Lobos are tough to beat when scoring first or leading at the half. In head coach Jeremy Fishbein’s tenure, New Mexico is 75-3-7 when finding the back of the net first and 47-1-2 when holding a halftime lead. The last time UNM surrendered a lead and lost the match was at UNLV on Nov. 3, 2007, in a 2-1 OT loss to the Rebels. The only time the Lobos lost a match when leading at the half was a 3-2 loss to the Spartans in the finals of the 2003 MPSF Tournament Nov. 16, in Sacramento, Calif.
NEW MEXICO NINTH IN THE NCAA IN HOME ATTENDANCE: UNM averaged 2,080 fans per game at the UNM Soccer Complex in the 2007 season. A total of 18,723 spun the turnstiles in nine home games this season, ranking ninth in average attendance in the NCAA. The Lobos were 6-2-1 in the nin home games in 2007. UNM has ranked in the top-15 in attendance each year since the 2001 season. The Lobos 3,629 average in 2005 is still a single-season NCAA record for average per game in a season.
LOBOS PICKED TO WIN MPSF TITLE…AGAIN: The coaches around the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation selected UNM as the preseason favorite to win the MPSF in 2008.
1. New Mexico
2. Denver
3T. San Jose State
3T. UNLV
5. Sacramento State
6. Air Force
RECRUITING CLASS RANKED NO. 22: CollegeSoccerNews.com pegged the 2008 Lobo recruiting class as the 22nd best in the nation. It is the fifth year in a row New Mexico has had its recruiting class in the top-40 by CollegeSoccerNews.com. Highlighted by two NSCAA High School All-Americans, a transfer from NCAA Champ Wake Forest and an additional adidas ESP participant, the Lobos’ 2008 incoming class is loaded with talent. Topping the list of newcomers are midfielder Michael Green and goalkeeper Victor Rodriguez. Both players earned NSCAA High School All-American honors last season. A pair of new faces are already enrolled at UNM and are training with the team this spring. David Murphy has transferred from Wake Forest after helping the Demon Deacons to the 2007 NCAA title. He was a club teammate of Stephen Brown on the Dallas Texans squad that won three consecutive U.S.Y.S.A. national titles. Holden is also transferring to UNM after spending the last two seasons at UConn. Lance Rozeboom is a freshman who began his collegiate career in January after graduating early from Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Gal Yaar is a talented club player joining the Lobos from Israel. Four other high school players will join the Lobo program in the fall, including Travis Campbell, Justin Holmes, Masashi Shibuya and Gary Weisbaum.
2008 SPRING SEASON: The Lobos played six matches in the 2008 Spring season, posting a 4-1-1 mark.April 5 – 3-0 win over Air Force (Wright 2, Reed)
April 5 – 2-0 win over Fort Lewis (Wright, Rozeboom)
April 11 – 1-1 tie at Wake Forest (Davis)
April 13 – 1-0 win at Duke (Ejdemyr)
April 18 – 3-1 win at El Paso Patriots (Wilson 2, Tierney)
April 30 – 2-4 loss at Colorado Rapids (Smithson 2)
COMING AND GOING AFTER 2007: UNM will return eight starters and 14 lettermen to their line-up in 2008. Three starters and seven letterwinners total from 2007 will not be back in 2008. Seniors Mike Graczyk, David Gualdarama and Diego Barrera will be missing from the starting 11 next season while Joey Vitagliano and Blake Danaher are a pair of senior reserves who will not return after exhausting their eligibility. Letterwinners sophomore Bryan Sajjadi and redshirt freshman Gardner Morrow transferred from UNM while sophomore Charles Conway and redshirt Ryan Lytle will also not return in 2008.