Nov. 16, 2010
New Mexico at #17 Creighton Match Notes
Lobo Men’s Soccer — At NCAA College Cup
When/Where: 6 p.m.(MT), Thursday – at Creighton – Omaha, Neb.
GoLobos.com: Recap, Stats, LoboTV
GoCreighton.com: Video (no audio)
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
It’s an NCAA bid that goes down as the resurrection of a team, the rebirth of a season, but mostly the recognition of a team, a season and a program.
The Jeremy Fishbein Lobos are an outstanding soccer program and the team Fishbein fielded in 2010 is very good and worthy of a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos have that spot.
It came as kind of a surprise, but it doesn’t matter if you win the Kentucky Derby by a nose or five lengths and it doesn’t matter all that much if you slip into an NCAA bracket by the front door with an automatic bid, or slip in the back door as an at-large guest. You are one of the 48!
The Lobos slipped in the back door and Fishbein is honest in saying that the door that cracked open to a first-round game at Creighton is a door Fish thought was locked and sealed.
“We have been given something we believe we deserved, but something we didn’t expect,” said Fishbein. “I thought we were a win away from going.
“You aren’t often rewarded for being a good team. We have been given some good fortune and we have to take advantage of it.”
As it turns out, the Lobos were one loss away from not going. That makes you look back at a special and key stretch of the Lobos 2010 schedule. It was a rugged path that included ten games decided by a single point or fewer. It was a challenging trek that included three 0-0 ties.
It was a run that ended with UNM dropping a 2-0 game to Cal State Bakersfield in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament. The Lobos thought that ended it: That the two MPSF finalists would dance on and Lobos would turn in their gear.
“We’re alive after being dead for a few days,” said UNM senior Michael Reed. “I feel like we have been unlucky and somehow luck came and helped us out.”
The resurrection of this team and season came Monday when the NCAA Selection Committee picked the Top 48 teams in the nation and included Lobos on the list. UNM joins a few monster teams of the 2010 season including No. 1 seed Louisville (16-0-3), No. 2 Maryland (17-2-1), No. 3 Akron (18-1-1), No. 4 North Carolina (16-3-1) and No. 5 SMU (15-2-0).
The UNM/Creighton winner gets to visit SMU at 6 p.m. (MT) on Sunday. The national semifinals are Dec. 10 and the championship game is Dec. 12 in the College Cup’s Final Four set for Santa Barbara, Calif. The Lobos played in the Final Four and the championship game in 2005, losing to Maryland in the finals.
Fishbein says he believes his Lobos will go into this year’s tournament relaxed, but focused.
“We have been kind of tight the last nine games or so,” he said. “We played really good soccer, but we were a good team that fell into a stretch where we weren’t scoring goals. The guys put a lot of pressure on themselves. These guys expect to play in the NCAAs and there is pressure that comes with those expectations.
“I think the attacking guys were putting too much pressure on themselves to score goals. We need them to score, but they have to go out there relaxed, take their shots, and see what happens.”
The Lobos played in the NCAA tourney in 2009 and were given a home game. They were stunned 2-1 in overtime by Portland. In 2008, the Lobos appeared to be dancing on the NCAA bubble, but failed to get an at-large bid. The Lobos thought they were going to go in 2008. They didn’t have the same feeling this week.
“I’ve never felt this way in the years I’ve been here,” said Reed. “It was a shocking feeling. This is amazing to us.”
Said Michael Green: “It’s kind of crazy. It still hasn’t hit me. I’m still in disbelief. It’s a great feeling. We’ll follow in the footsteps that other teams set down in the past.If we are on top of our game, I’m sure we’ll be successful.”
New Mexico has gone to the NCAA soccer dance eight of the past ten seasons. Creighton has been 18 times in 19 seasons. They are not NCAA pushovers.
The Bluejays enter the NCAA bracket with a 12-5-1 mark and won the Missouri Valley Conference with a 5-1-1 record. The Jays are led by MVC Player of The Year, Ethan Finlay, who has 12 goals and 28 points. Creighton’s three non-conference losses came to No. 3 seed Akron, No. 5 SMU and No. 8 Indiana.
The Jays are 22-16-3 all-time in the NCAA tourney and reached the finals in 1996, 2002 and 2002. They have reached the quarterfinals in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2008. They are 6-1-0 in NCAA play at Morrison Stadium, where they will play the Lobos on Thursday. They are 58-13-12 (.771) all-time at Morrison.
“We know it’s tough to play there, but we feel we are one of the best teams in the nation,” said Fishbein. “Now, we have to take care of business, but this is where we expect to be (NCAAs). I’m excited for another challenge and we’ll see where it goes.”
Lobo Connections: Creighton assistant coach Jeff Rowland played at New Mexico. Creighton head coach Jamie Clark was an assistant at New Mexico from 2002-05. Volunteer assistant coach Robbie C’deBaca, an Albuquerque native, started his collegiate career at New Mexico.