Nov. 10, 2011
DENVER, Colo. — The nation’s top-ranked New Mexico Lobo men’s soccer team is set to kick off postseason play in Denver, Colo. as the Pioneers host the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament today-Sunday.
Having clinched the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the tournament, the Lobos will play their first of two potential games on Friday in the semifinal round, facing the lowest remaining seed following Thursday’s quarterfinal contests.
Possible opponents include the fourth-seeded Sacramento State Hornets and the fifth-seeded San Jose State Spartans. Those two teams, which played each other in the final game of the regular season, will make the quick turnaround for a rematch in game one on Thursday at 5 p.m., with the winner advancing to the semifinals.
With the 3-2 regular-season victory in overtime over the Spartans, Sacramento State moved into the four-spot in postseason rankings. The back-to-back defending tournament champion Hornets placed second in the Pacific division with 16 points, finishing with a 9-7-2 record overall, 5-4-1 in conference play.
Chris Bettencourt’s 20 points ties for fourth in the MPSF, while his eight goals tie for third. Bettencourt also earned a spot on the first-team all-MPSF list. The Hornets will be looking for their third victory over San Jose State this season, having taken both regular-season games by one goal. In the only other contest between New Mexico and Sacramento State this season, the Lobos came away with a 2-0 victory and pushed the series record to 11-3-3 in their favor.
The Spartans placed third in the Pacific Division, and are seeded fifth by virtue of collecting 15 conference points en route to a 8-7-3/5-5-0 regular season record.
Steve Sanchez owns 16 points, while Nick Cashmere is right behind with 15. Both earned spots on the all-conference teams — Sanchez on the second team and Cashmere on the third — both hold top-10 spots in respective MPSF scoring categories, and both scored six goals on the season. Goalkeeper Jonathan Lester, another (first-team) all-MPSF honoree, leads the conference in saves by a substantial margin with 96, while carrying a 1.12 goals-against-average.
The Lobos defeated SJSU (1-0) on Oct. 30 to break thire previous program record of 10 straight wins, set in 2005. New Mexico owns the 13-6-1 series record over the Spartans.
The host Denver Pioneers could shake up the bracket as the No. 6 seed. If they beat No. 3-seeded Air Force, they could step in and play the Lobos. Christian Volesky leads the Denver offense with six goals and two assists, tying for sixth and ranking eighth in the MPSF respectively. Jarod Stigall (second-team all-MPSF) has dished five assists, tying for fifth.
Denver is the only potential Friday opponent that the Lobos have already faced twice this season. New Mexico delivered a 3-2 loss to the Pioneers in Denver on Oct. 6, and racked up a 6-0 victory a week later when the Pioneers visited Albuquerque. The lifetime series sits at 15-12-3 in favor of New Mexico.
If New Mexico is to face Sacramento State or San Jose State, it will be in Friday’s first semifinal game at 5 p.m. If Denver upsets Air Force, the Lobos will play the host team in the night game slated for 7:30 p.m.
Heading into postseason play, the Lobos have a strong group of talented players on both ends of the field and will be led by the 2011 MPSF Coach of the Year, Jeremy Fishbein. Nine Lobos received postseason honors along with Fishbein.
Senior Lance Rozeboom, juniors Blake Smith and Devon Sandoval, and sophomore Kyle Venter were each named first-team all-MPSF. Senior Michael Green and juniors Victor Rodriguez and Travis Campbell owned the three second-team spots, while true freshmen Mathew Gibbons and James Rogers snagged two third-team all-MPSF spots.