Nov. 9, 2011
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation released it’s 2011 All-Conference list on Wednesday, announcing Lobo men’s soccer head coach Jeremy Fishbein as the conference Coach of the Year. Nine UNM players also earned spots on all three all-MPSF teams.
Fishbein’s Lobos are ranked No. 1 in the nation across all three major national polls for the second consecutive week, and logged the first undefeated regular season in program history with a 16-0-2 record (10-0-0 MPSF). The team’s undefeated season was just the second amongst active programs every recorded at the University of New Mexico, and the fifth in university history.
New Mexico broke its previous program record of games unbeaten in a single season (11), extending it to 18 games while closing out the regular season on a program-high 12-game win streak. The Oct. 30 win over San Jose State gave the team 11 straight wins, breaking the previous record of 10 straight wins set in ’05.
The award marks the fifth Coach of the Year honor on Fishbein’s resume. He first snagged the award in 2002 with an 18-4-0 record and first-place finish in the conference. He shared the award in 2005 (18-2-3) and 2006 (14-4-3) before winning it outright again in 2011.
The Lobos also had five players named to eight national teams of the week over the course of the season, and three players earned MPSF Player of the Week honors. Four players were named first-team All-MPSF in senior Lance Rozeboom, juniors Blake Smith and Devon Sandoval, and sophomore Kyle Venter. Rozeboom – a midfielder from Walker, Iowa, logged 1,414 minutes of field time this season and buried all three of his attempted penalty kicks, recording three goals and two assists for eight points on the season. Rozeboom held the No. 37 spot on Top Drawer Soccer’s Top-100 Players list after week 10 of the season.
A midfielder out of Boerne, Texas, Smith leads the Lobos in goals and total points with nine and 23 respectively. This statistics puts him at 45th in the nation with an average of 1.28 points per game and tied at 33rd nationally in total points.
Twice this season, Smith has put together three-game scoring efforts and has one game-winner to his credit, having scored both goals in the Lobos’ 2-1 victory over Air Force on Oct. 9. He has started every game for New Mexico this season, tallying a total of 1,446 minutes of field time.
Smith was named MPSF Player of the Week and to both Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News’ National Teams of the Week following week seven of the season. He made another appearance on Top Drawer’s Week 10 team of the week after his Oct. 7-9 weekend in Colorado. Smith was also honored on CoSIDA’s first-team Academic All-District XV list, and is a candidate for the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-American award.
Sandoval follows Smith with seven goals and seven assists for 21 points on the year, also having started all 18 games for the Lobos as a forward. Devon was named MPSF Player of the Week following week three of the season, as well as to College Soccer News’ national team of the week. A native of Albuquerque, Sandoval leads the Lobos in assists and ranks 29th nationally in that category.
Kyle Venter was labeled a “team linchpin” by College Soccer News after his week five efforts, as well as to CSN’s team of the week. After redshirting his true freshman season, Venter has started every game at the centerback position for New Mexico. This season, he’s recorded four goals – three of which worked as game-tying goals – and one assist for nine points on the season.
Senior Michael Green and juniors Victor Rodriguez and Travis Campbell each earned spots on the second-team all-conference list. Green has posted two goals as a midfielder this season. A native of Strongsville, Ohio, he has been a key component in the Lobo attack, distributing from the midfield and fueling transition play. With three assists to his name, he has a total of seven points.
Rodriguez’s personal record matches the Lobos overall 16-0-2/10-0-0 mark. He has posted 10 shutouts manning the pipes for New Mexico this year, making a total of 49 saves and allowing just nine goals. The Las Cruces native has a goals-against-average of .51 that ranks fourth nationally, and his save percentage of .845 ranks 12th in NCAA Division I soccer.
Campbell joins Venter on the Lobo back line, helping to anchor the Lobo defense. Originally from Phoeniz, Ariz., Campbell has started 17 of 18 games for the Lobos and was named to the University of Akron All-Tournament team.
Two true freshmen in Mathew Gibbons and James Rogers round out the Lobo bunch, each earning a spot on the third-team list as a defender and forward respectively. Gibbons, an international player out of Rotorua, New Zealand, is the only true freshman to have started every game this season. He has made an immediate impact for the Lobos as a left-back, and has a goal and an assist to his name this season. He also joined Campbell on the UA All-Tournament list.
Rogers, a forward born in Sierra Leone, ranks third on the team in total points with 11 off of three goals and five assists. He grabbed the No. 20 spot on Top Drawer Soccer’s Top-100 freshmen list, and was named to the TLC Invitational All-Tournament team.
The Lobos head to Denver on Thursday and commence post-season play on Friday, Nov. 11 in the MPSF Conference Tournament. New Mexico will take on the lowest remaining seed following Thursday’s quarterfinal round. Potential opponents include Sacramento State, San Jose State and the host team Denver.
The full All-MPSF list is as follows:
Player of the Year: Gyasi Zardes, RS-SO, F, Cal State Bakersfield
Newcomer of the Year: Salvador Bernal, FR, F, UNLV
Coach of the Year: Jeremy Fishbein, 10th season, New Mexico
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First-team All-MPSF: Gyasi Zardes, RS-SO, F, Cal State Bakersfield Lance Rozeboom, SR, MF, New Mexico Chuy Sanchez, JR, MF, Cal State Bakersfield Blake Smith, JR, MF, New Mexico Kevin Durr, JR, MF, Air Force Kyle Venter, SO, D, New Mexico Chris Bettencourt, SR, MF, Sacramento State Jonathan Lester, SR, GK, San Jose State Drew Beckie, JR, D, Denver Salvador Bernal, FR, F, UNLV Devon Sandoval, JR, F, New Mexico |
Second-team All-MPSF: Michael Green, SR, MF, New Mexico Victor Rodriguez, JR, GK, New Mexico Travis Campbell, RS-JR, D, New Mexico Kory Kindle, JR, D, Cal State Bakersfield Richard Menjivar, SR, MF, Cal State Bakersfield Caleb Downey, SO, MF, Air Force Garrett Getschow, JR, F, Air Force Max Alvarez, JR, F, Sacramento State Alex Lopez, JR, MF, Sacramento State Steve Sanchez, JR, F, San Jose State Jarod Stigall, JR, MF, Denver Jonny Espinoza, JR, MF, UNLV Michael Ramos, JR, F, Seattle U |
Third-team All-MPSF: Mathew Gibbons, FR, D, New Mexico James Rogers, FR, F, New Mexico Eric Shannon, JR, GK, Cal State Bakersfield Chris Widdy, SR, D, Cal State Bakersfield Matt Underwood, JR, GK, Air Force Eric Tise, JR, D, Air Force Casey Barnard, JR, D, Sacramento State Adam Bettencourt, SR, MF, Sacramento State Nick Cashmere, SR, F, San Jose State Mark Weigand, JR, MF, Denver Nick Marshall, JR, F, UNLV Marshall Kosaka, RS-JR, F, Seattle U |