Oct. 19, 2011
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — With the end of the season looming, every game is big for the fifth-ranked New Mexico men’s soccer team. This weekend is especially pivotal, and the team has much on the line headed into its final road trip of the season.
The Lobos (11-0-2/5-0-0 in the Mountain Division of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) are riding a season-high, seven-game win streak, as well as a program record 13-game unbeaten streak. They’re ranked as high as third nationally by Top Drawer Soccer and lead the Mountain Division — and the MPSF in general — with their untarnished 5-0-0 record for 15 points.
With No. 1-ranked Connecticut (13-1-1/4-1-1) losing Tuesday evening at West Virginia in Big East action, New Mexico is the only team left in the nation yet to suffer a loss.
The UNM Soccer Complex will be the venue for the final three games of the season, but before coming back to a Lobo faithful crowd, the team will face the Seattle Redhawks and the Roadrunners of Cal State Bakersfield on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
Friday’s game against Seattle is slated for 4:30 p.m. Mountain time. The Redhawks are coming off their second win of the season, a 2-0 triumph over Sacramento State. The team’s only other win was a 2-1 double overtime bout with Cal Poly. This will be the third meeting between the two teams, with New Mexico holding a 2-0 series edge over Seattle. The Redhawks are last in the Pacific Division of the MPSF.
A live blog will be available for Friday’s game against Seattle; it can be accessed at goseattleu.com.
Sunday’s game against No. 22 Cal State Bakersfield is arguably the most highly anticipated game of the conference season, as the two teams have led their respective divisions of the MPSF for the duration of conference play.
Bakersfield (8-1-4/4-1-0 MPSF Pacific Division) had a 12-game unbeaten streak of its own snapped by San Jose State on Sunday, the 2-1 loss being its first of the season. The 2 p.m. matinee will be the fourth meeting between UNM and CSUB, and a decisive one at that. The series stands at an even 1-1-1 with the last meeting ending in a scoreless draw.
CSUB leads the Pacific Division of the MPSF with 12 points. The Roadrunners are paced by Gyasi Zardes, a redshirt sophomore out of Hawthorne, Calif., who ranks second in the nation in total goals with 14.
Devon Sandoval and Blake Smith are fueling the Lobo offense with seven goals apiece. Victor Rodriguez, Top Drawer Soccer’s National Goalkeeper of the Week, anchors the back line for UNM with a 0.61 goals-against-average and a shutout streak of two games running.
Livestats and webstreaming for the game are available at the following links: New Mexico vs. CSUB LiveStats, Webstream.
With three of the four teams ahead of New Mexico in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top-25 poll shouldering losses this week, a winning weekend could put the Lobos as high as No. 1 or 2 in the nation in next Tuesday’s poll. In addition to West Virgina’s upset over UConn, No. 4 Akron fell to Michigan in a 1-0 overtime battle, and No. 2 North Carolina lost 1-0 to Davidson. Third-ranked Maryland will play at North Carolina on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time.