Aug. 19, 2011
Lobo Faithful:
The 2011 University of New Mexico Soccer Season has officially kicked off! Lobo Soccer faced its first outside competition (we’ve been kicking ourselves the past week) of the season last night in Grand Canyon University under the lights of the Lobo Soccer Complex. It was a beautiful evening with the threat of rain and lightning lingering throughout the match. The elements proved to be kind, the playing surface was a carpet and the atmosphere was tremendous for an exhibition game. It was the first of two exhibition matches prior to our season opener against Towson University on Aug. 26. Thursday was our ninth day together as a new team (pre-season camp kicked off on Aug. 10) and we displayed both great promise and early season challenges. As a coach, you have a clear vision of how you want to play, you have high expectations for your players and you want everything to go right from minute one. You quickly learn and realize that you only have limited control and things rarely go smoothly in the early goings. Twenty-one players (the three others rostered are currently resting minor injuries) saw the field last night, 10 making their debuts as Lobos. Everyone showed great promise and the ability to play at the highest level of Division I soccer. Our challenge is to find the best combination of players, maintain focus, keep everyone engaged and focused on continual development as young men and as a team. Its going to be an exciting season!
RECAP: AUGUST 18TH – NEW MEXICO LOBOS vs. GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY
I was very happy with the squad we put on the field to start the match: (back to front) Vic Rodriguez in the net, Kiwi freshman Mattie Gibbons on the left, Levi Rossi on the right and Kyle Venter and Travis Campbell filling out the center of our back line. Mike Green and Lance Rozeboom anchored the center of our midfield with Blake Smith and red-shirt freshman Javier Gomez on the flanks. Devon Sandoval played as the high striker with freshman James Rogers in behind. Three newcomers in Rogers, Gibbons and Gomez started the match and saw their first minutes as Lobos. We created several quality chances in the early going, but didn’t capitalize. GCU tightened up their defense, dropped their back line deep and really packed it in with a compact block of eight defenders. Any space behind or centrally located disappeared. The challenge was to remain patient, possess with rapid ball speed and not lose focus in allowing counter attacks or set piece opportunities. We had several great sequences throughout the half, but didn’t fill the net. In the later stages of the half, Lawrence Robledo, red-shirt freshman Carson Baldinger and red-shirt freshman Giovanni Rollie saw their first minutes of the season. We made some changes at the half, with red-shirt freshman Patrick Poblete manning the pipes in place of Rodriguez. Seven minutes into the second half, our efforts were rewarded. Great combination play from Blake Smith and Carson Baldinger with Blake Smith slotting the opening goal of our season. 1-0 Lobos. We really began to find our playing rhythm and moved the ball quickly and skillfully. Michael Kafari and freshman Adrian Mora Delgado “El Tico” took over the central midfield duties with Patrick Pacheco and Lawrence Robledo running the flanks. In the 74th minute, Lawrence Robledo put us up 2-0 with a splitting run and clinical finish. The final 16 minutes were action packed with dynamic attacking play from our boys. The ball was buzzing and GCU packed it in tighter and defended with their lives. Delgado rang the crossbar with a 20 yard blast, but the defense somehow held. We finished with a 2-0 final score and our supporters left the stadium excited by the promise of an action-packed season. Click the following link for the golobos.com game recap: Lobos Blank Grand Canyon in Opening Exhibition of 2011 Season.
Great match this Saturday night, August 20th at the Lobo Soccer Complex. #26 Lobos vs #15 ranked Tulsa Hurricanes: 7:00 pm. This will be the final exhibition prior to our season opener on the 26th. Tulsa is one of the most exciting attacking teams in the country…..lots of fire-power from both team in what should prove to be a tremendous match-up! Thanks for your support and GO LOBOS!
Jeremy Fishbein
Lobo Soccer