ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team recently concluded its spring season, and head coach Jeremy Fishbein was very pleased with the efforts and results of his squad. The Lobos finished the spring with four consecutive wins and improved in each match. UNM incorporated some new faces and also had continued development from its returners.
“We developed an identity as a new team,” Fishbein said. “You kind of assess the end result based on the five days of competition. The results were good, the play got better as the spring progressed, and from how we were able to test ourselves I thought we did well. We identified some areas we still have to get better at, but we’re on the way.”
UNM opened its spring season by facing AZ United FC of the USL on March 7. The Lobos fell 1-0 in a very well-played game.
“We played a fully professional team that featured a bunch of former Major League Soccer players,” Fishbein said. “We lost 1-0, but for our first game as a new team, I was real happy with our cohesiveness and our spirit. Individually there were lots of good performances, and it was the first collegiate performance for a lot of our guys. You never want to lose, but we got a lot out of the game. We found out what we need to work on as the spring goes on.”
Five Lobos saw their debut in that match: Wayde Scibilia, Matt Dorsey, Gabriel Camera, Olav Hovstad and junior college transfer Yuri Domiciano. Three of those players had a hand in UNM’s next match, a 4-2 win over Fort Lewis in the Lobos’ spring home-opener.
Domciano came forward from his left back position and started the attack that led to UNM’s first goal in the 21st minute. Then Scibilia and Hovstad hooked up late in the second half to give the Lobos the win. They each assisted on each other’s goal in the 87th and 88th minute as UNM defeated the Skyhawks 4-2.
“It was huge for their confidence, their ability to self-evaluate and for us to evaluate them,” Fishbein said of the young players getting extensive playing time. “I thought Matt Dorsey really stepped up. We asked a lot out of him this spring.”
UNM’s next match was at Robertson Field against Air Force, which has given the Lobos plenty of problems in recent years. The Lobos jumped out to an early lead, but the Falcons tied it on a set piece late in the first half. UNM then dominated possession and had the better chances in the second half but couldn’t connect on the winning goal, so the match went to overtime.
That’s when Chris Wehan and Niko Hansen, the two leading returning scorers from last season’s squad, put the game away. The duo worked down the center of the pitch with some nice precision passes before Hansen put home the decider in the 102nd minute.
The Lobos carried that momentum into their match against Denver the following weekend in Taos, N.M. UNM defeated the Pioneers 3-1 in a well-rounded team effort that saw offensive contributions from a number of different players.
Center back Chris Gurule helped the Lobos get off to a quick start when he played a long ball to Wehan, who opened the scoring in the third minute. Gurule later scored the second goal of the match when he headed home a perfect cross from Josh Goss off a set piece 30 minutes later.
One player Fishbein was very pleased with over the course of the spring was Nicholas Rochowski, who teamed up with Gurule to lock down the center back position and limit chances.
“I thought Nick really elevated his game while playing more of a central role,” Fishbein said.
UNM’s final goal in Taos came in the first minute of the second half when Sam Gleadle led an attack down the left flank and found Hansen in close for an easy goal.
“Sam Gleadle picked it up at the end of the season very well,” Fishbein said.
The Lobos’ fourth and final win of the spring came in Colorado against Nebraska-Omaha on April 18. The only goal came, once again, from the pair of Hansen and Wehan. In the 15th minute Goss got the play started near midfield. He connected with Hansen, who then fed it to Wehan. The rising redshirt junior tallied his fourth goal of the spring to give UNM a 1-0 victory.
“Niko and Wehan were really good (scoring goals),” Fishbein said, “and you have to expect that from them.”
The Lobos played this spring without two of their midfielders, Adrian Mora Delgado and Patrick Khouri, but both players should be ready to contribute in the fall.
“The unfortunate thing is we had two big players that were unable to play this spring in Adrian and Patrick,” said Fishbein. “They trained every day, but we’re anxious to see them against other competition, which we’ll get a chance to do in August. But I feel like we’re in a really good situation right now.”
UNM now has a chance to rest and re-energize over the summer before preparing for another season and, hopefully, a return trip to the NCAA Tournament and a deep postseason run.
“I’m excited,” Fishbein said. “It’s good to get a little break mentally, but pretty quickly we’ll be itching to get things going. I’m really happy with the team. First and foremost they’re great teammates, they’re good students, they care about the community, so it’s a really positive to be around them.”