UNM Women’s Soccer
This Week: Vs. Marquette (1-3), Friday, 1 p.m.; vs. Weber State (2-1-1), Sunday, 10:30 a.m.
Location: Colorado Springs (Colorado College Invitational)
Live streaming (both games): http://www.cctigers.com/watch/
Live stats: Lobostats.com
The University of New Mexico women’s soccer team embarks on the 2014 season with a challenging road trip in Colorado Springs.
The Lobos will take on defending Big East champion Marquette (1-3) on Friday at the Colorado College Invitational. It’s the latest season opener in UNM school history (eclipsing the Sept. 4 start for the team during its inaugural season in 1993).
“We’re excited to finally get going,” 14th-year head coach Kit Vela said. “We have a lot of dynamics we didn’t have last year – some exciting players that have developed and some new players that are going to come in and help us right away. We’re looking for our chemistry and cohesiveness. There’s going to be some nerves.”
The Golden Eagles were the preseason No. 15 team in the country, and more importantly, possess something that the Lobos do not yet have – actual game experience. UNM has only an exhibition match at Arizona to fall back on, while Marquette already has some cohesion four games into the season.
“They’ll be a hungry team,” 14th-year UNM coach Kit Vela says of the Golden Eagles. “They’re very, very good; the three losses have all been to good teams. We expect them to be hungry, physical and athletic. We just need to try to match that and try to find ourselves. It’s one of those things where you go into Friday night saying, ‘OK, let’s see how fast we can put it all together.”
UNM then takes on Weber State (2-1-1), which won the Big Sky tournament in 2013 and advanced along with Marquette to the NCAA Women’s College Cup.
“Weber State has annually been a very good team in their conference,” Vela said.
The young Lobos come into the season with just one senior, midfielder and co-captain Alexis Leyba, on the squad. UNM’s top two scorers in juniors Lindsey Guice (five goals, one assist in 2014) and Dylann O’Connor (four goals, three assists) return, as does junior goalkeeper and co-captain Cassie Ulrich (0.85 goals allowed per game in 2013).
Ulrich played every minute of the Lobos 2013 season in goal. Sophomore defender Savannah Viola also returns to bolster the defense.
The Lobos’ home opener takes place on Sept. 12 vs. Loyola-Chicago at 7 p.m. at the Lobo Soccer Complex. Florida, currently the No. 8 team in the country, will visit UNM on Sept. 14 at 11 a.m.