Sept. 18, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
UP NEXT: The 24th ranked University of New Mexico men’s soccer team kicks off a four-game road swing with the Husky Classic in Seattle, Wash., this weekend. The Lobos will take on the Portland Pilots (2-2-1) on Friday, Sept. 19, at 5:30 p.m. (M.D.T.) and the host Washington Huskies (2-3-0) on Sunday, Sept. 21, at 2:30 p.m.
GameTracker will be available on GoLobos.com for both matches this weekend. Live video will broadcast on GoLobos.com for the UW match on Sunday. The video is free, but fans will have to sign up for the feed.
This weekend marks the final non-conference road trip of the season for the Lobos. UNM beings Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action on Friday, Oct. 3, at Denver.
Portland and Washington faced each other last weekend, with the Pilots taking a 3-1 win at home. Portland’s other win this season was against Fairleigh Dickinson (4-1). Both of their losses and one tie have come against ranked teams, including No. 10 Virginia Tech (2-2), No. 4 Creighton (0-3) and No. 23 Saint Louis (1-5).
The Pilots are led by sophomore midfielder Frankie Lopez’s 11 points on five goals and an assist. He is currently tied for 14th in the NCAA in scoring and tied for seventh in goals. Senior Leland Wright is the current West Coast Conference Player of the Week after netting the game-winner against Washington on Friday. Junior midfielder Collen Warner is on the preseason Hermann trophy Watch list.
Portland was picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference in the preseason poll behind Santa Clara and San Diego.
Washington has wins over the College of Charleston (4-0) and Furman (4-0) and losses to Portland (1-3), Fairleigh Dickinson (1-2) and Virginia Tech (1-2). The Huskies were picked to finish fourth in the Pac 10 behind Cal, UCLA and Stanford.
UW is led by freshman forward Brent Richards’ four goals on the year. Senior midfielder George John is on the Hermann trophy watch list and has a goal and an assist this season.
PORTLAND PILOTS (2-2-1)
Location: Portland, Ore.
Conference: West Coast
Head Coach: Bill Irwin (Portland `94)
Record at Portland: 48-44-14 (6th)
Career Record: same
Starters Returning/Lost: 9/2
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 19/7
2007 Record: 10-6-5 (NCAA 1st)
2007 Conference Record: 6-2-4 (3rd)
UNM vs. Portland: 1-0-1
Last Time: Tied 0-0 (8-26-06) at Portland
Top Goal Scorer: Frankie Lopez (5)
Top Assists: Collen Warner (2)
Top Keeper: Austin Guerro (2.14 g.a.a.)
Notes: This is the third meeting the series between these two teams and the first match on a neutral field. New Mexico thumped Portland 4-1 in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament in Albuquerque. They played again in the 2006 season opener in Portland, Ore. in a match that ended in a scoreless tie.
Web Site: <=”” href=”http://www.portlandpilots.com?DB_OEM_ID=26000″>www.PortlandPilots.com
WASHINGTON HUSKIES (2-3-0)
Location: Seattle, Wash.
Conference: Pac 10
Head Coach: Dean Wurzberger
Record at Washington: 198-94-32 (17th)
Career Record: 206-102-37 (18th)
Starters Returning/Lost: 9/4
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 14/6
2007 Record: 9-8-4 (NCAA 2nd)
2007 Conference Record: 3-4-3 (5th)
UNM vs. Washington: 0-1-0
Last Time: UW Won 1-0 (9-14-07) at Albuquerque
Top Goal Scorer: Brent Richards (4)
Top Assists: Dylan Tucker-Gangnes (2)
Top Keeper: Stephen Fung (2.00 g.a.a.)
Notes: The Lobos will be looking for some payback against Pac 10 foe Washington. The Huskies downed UNM 1-0 at home last season in the only other meeting between these two teams.
Web Site: www.GoHuskies.com
RECAPPING LAST WEEKEND: The Lobos split last weekend’s matches with No. 2 Akron and Cal Poly. UNM topped the second ranked Zips 1-0 on Friday night in the NIKE Classic at the UNM Soccer Complex. Justin Davis scored the game-winner in the 68th minute off a feed from freshman Michael Green to give the Lobos the win. New Mexico could not continue the momentum on Sunday, dropping a 2-1 contest to Cal Poly. The Lobos got behind 2-0 and Stephen Brown’s score in the 86th minute was too late to spark a comeback run.
DAVIS NAMED MPSF PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior Justin Davis was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation co-Player of the Week after netting the game-winner against No. 2 Akron on Friday, Sept. 12. Davis has a goal and two assists on the season. It is his first career player of the week honors.
LOBOS AGAINST THE TOP-5: New Mexico’s 1-0 win over No. 2 Akron was their fourth over a top-5 team in school history. UNM is 4-8-2 all-time against teams ranked in the top-5, including two wins and a tie against the last three that visited the UNM Soccer Complex. The Lobos are 2-3-2 in seven matches against the top-5 in head coach Jeremy Fishbein’s tenure.
Fishbein vs. The Top-5
No. 2 Akron – 1-0 win at home on Sept. 12, 2008
No. 1 SMU – 1-1 tie at home on Sept. 15, 2006
No. 1 Maryland – 0-1 loss in the College Cup finals in Cary, N.C., on Dec. 11, 2005
No. 4 Virginia – 1-1 tie in the NCAA 3rd round in Charlottesville, Va. on Nov. 27, 2004
No. 1 Indiana – 1-0 (2OT) win at home on Sept. 19, 2004
No. 1 UCLA – 0-1 loss at UCLA on Oct. 9, 2003
No. 1 SMU – 0-2 loss at SMU in the NCAA 2nd round on Nov. 25, 2001.
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 22 career goals are currently tied for sixth place all time at UNM. He needs one 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 64-14-12 (.775) since the start of 2004. Here is a look at the top teams in the nation based on winning percentage since 2004.
New Mexico – 64-14-13 – .775
Wake Forest – 72-18-10 – .770
Akron – 62-16-12 – .756
Maryland – 67-19-10 – .750
SMU – 66-19-11 – .745
Indiana – 63-16-17 – .745
UCSB – 68-22-9 – .732
THREE ALL-REGION, FIVE ALL-MPSF AND STARTERS RETURN IN 2008: The Lobos return eight starters and 14 lettermen for the 2008 campaign. 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. 24 in the CollegeSoccerNews.com Top-30. The Lobos are also receiving votes in the Soccer Times and NSCAA Top-25 and are No. 3 in the Far West Region.
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 75-4-7 when finding the back of the net first and 47-1-3 when holding a halftime lead. 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 nine 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. =””>