May 10, 2011
2011 Lobo Men’s Soccer Schedule
Albuquerque, N.M. — The cliché is in order to be the best, you have to beat the best. The New Mexico men’s soccer team will certainly get that opportunity, as a date with the 2010 NCAA national champion Akron Zips will serve as the anchor to a challenging 2011 schedule that will also feature 11 home dates and eight games against NCAA postseason teams from last year.
The schedule is designed to once again return the Lobos to the NCAA College Cup, a place UNM has visited in each of the last two seasons, and eight of the last 10, seven of those under head coach Jeremy Fishbein, who will enter his 10th season at the helm of the program in 2011.
The Lobos will open with a pair of exhibition games at UNM soccer complex, two of 11 home dates, and both will test Fishbein’s squad early. Grand Canyon got to the round of 16 in the Division II College Cup last year in going 15-3-2, and they will serve as the opening exhibition opponent on August 18. Two days later UNM will host Tulsa in a second exhibition match. Tulsa lost 5-1 in the second round of the College Cup to Indiana and went 12-7-2 overall.
The regular season kicks off on Friday with a match against Towson University before hitting the road for games at Cal Poly and Santa Clara. The Broncos were also an NCAA College Cup team, losing in the opening round to fellow Mountain Pacific Sports Federation member Sacramento State in the tournament.
Speaking of tournaments, the annual TLC Heating, Plumbing, and Cooling Lobo Classic will take place September 9 and 11th. New Mexico will face off against Columbia and Cal State Northridge, with Missouri State serving as the fourth opponent.
|
“Our goal is to always play against the best teams in the country and allow our players to test themselves against the nation’s best.” –head coach Jeremy Fishbein |
However, the non-conference match of the season for the Lobos will take place in Ohio on Friday, September 16 with the Lobos take on defending champion Akron. The Zips went 22-1-2 last year, heading Louisville their only loss of the season. The Lobos will remain in Akron to take on the Big East’s Syracuse Orange on Sunday.
New Mexico’s final non-conference matchup is September 23rd against Loyola Marymount, and that game will serve as one of four home doubleheaders with the Lobo women’s soccer team.
MPSF play begins in difficult fashion for the Lobos with three straight road games to open the slate. The Lobos start out with three divisional road trips to UNLV, Denver and Air Force in the first nine days of the season before a home doubleheader weekend October 14 and 16 with Air Force and Denver. Both of those games will be played after women’s conference home games.
UNM then hits the road again to start cross divisional play, heading to Seattle and Cal State Bakersfield before hosting three straight to close out the regular season. UNM hosts Sacramento State on October 28 in the last of four doubleheaders with the women’s team, and then UNM closes with San Jose State and UNLV on November 5 on senior night.
The MPSF Tournament is Nov. 10-13 in Denver, and the NCAA College Cup begins in earnest with 48 teams looking for a national title on November 17.
With three matches against College Cup teams in MPSF play (Denver twice and Sacramento State), plus three others in the regular season, plus two exhibitions, the schedule once again is shaping up to be a challenging one for the Lobos and Fishbein, but it certainly will play a part in the end-game for UNM; a College Cup berth in 2011.
“We are really excited about the schedule. Our goal is to always play against the best teams in the country and allow our players to test themselves against the nation’s best,” said Fishbein. “We have accomplished this playing eight matches against NCAA tournament teams from 2010, highlighted by a game with last year’s national champion Akron.”
The schedule has teams for four times zones, showcasing UNM’s willingness to not just travel anywhere to play, but the fact that opponents want to experience the once-in-a-lifetime environment of playing at the UNM Soccer Complex. The Lobos have finished in the top 15 in attendance in each of the last 10 seasons.
“We are playing top teams from the east coast, Midwest, and west coast. Our fans will get to see some great games at the UNM soccer complex and our players will experience some of the best environments when on the road,” said Fishbein.