UNM Women’s Soccer (6-5-2, 4-2-2, fifth in MW)
This Week: Vs. Colorado State (4-12-0, 2-6 MW), Friday, 7 p.m.; vs. Wyoming (9-6-1, 7-1-0), Sunday, 1 p.m.
Location: UNM Soccer Complex
Live streaming (both games): GoLobos.com
Live stats: lobos.statbroadcast.com
Game Promotions
Friday: Kick or Treat — $3 tickets for fans that come to the game in costumes.
Sunday: Lobos Love Pink — $3 tickets for fans who dress in pink with $1 cotton candy; Senior Day to honor midfielder Alexis Leyba.
Time has flown by for Alexis Leyba.
The senior midfielder from Long Beach, Calif., suddenly finds herself playing the last home games of her collegiate career, starting with the University of New Mexico women’s soccer team’s game Friday night against Colorado State (4-12, 2-6 Mountain West) at 7 p.m. at the UNM Soccer Complex.
The Lobos (6-5-2, 4-2-2) will celebrate Senior Day and honor their lone senior on the 2014 team when they take on conference co-leader Wyoming (9-6-1, 7-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
“I’m not even thinking about it,” Leyba said, referring to her last home games at the complex. “I’m just trying to think that these are just the next games on the schedule.”
The team captain has played in a program-leading 61 games and 3,985 minutes during her Lobo career. Alexis has played in all but two minutes in her eligible games in 2014. She logged 1,936 minutes as a junior in 2013, the 10th most in a single season in school history. Leyba scored a goal her sophomore season against Air Force, giving UNM a 1-0 victory.
She is a two-time Academic All-Mountain West selection and a two-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete. Alexis is a three-time Lobo Scholar-Athlete.
“She’s had a great career here,” Lobo coach Kit Vela said. “She had two years where she was a tremendous role player coming off the bench. She played in the UCLA game that we lost 1-0 (in the 2011 NCAA Tournament). We’ll send off in fashion on Sunday.”
Before that, the Lobos face a Rams team just starting to build a foundation in their second year of existence.
“They’ve come a long way since their first year of intercollegiate action,” Vela said. “They’re having a good year.”
Junior Gianna Bertana leads CSU with four goals, and sophomore goalkeeper Jesse McGinley has given up an average of 1.69 goals per game.
Vela said her team can’t look past the Rams, even with the MW co-leading Cowgirls coming to town on Sunday, but that will be a big match for the Lobos to assess how they stand as the conference tournament looms in the beginning of November.
In fact, UNM will see the two best teams in the league back to back as it travels to the other MW co-leader San Diego State next week for its final regular-season game.
The Cowgirls come to the UNM Soccer Complex with a potent scoring offense led by freshman Kaitlyn Lomsnes’ nine goals. Wyoming is third in the league in scoring with an average of 1.75 goals per game and second in conference games with an average of 2.5 goals per game.
Senior Kasey Curtis and freshman Alisha Bass have combined for a 1.2 goals-against average per game.