Game Notes for Grange & Ashwill Memorial Invitational
Live Steam vs. San Diego
Live Stream vs. UCSB
Lobo Soccer- at UNM Soccer Complex (6,200) in Grange & Ashwill Memorial Invitational
When: Friday at 7 p.m. (MT) vs. No. 18 University of San Diego; Sunday at 6 p.m. (MT) vs. No. 13 UC Santa Barbara
Who: No. 18 San Diego, No. 13 UC Santa Barbara, and Denver (neutral)
GoLobos.com: Live stats, box score, live stream, postgame recap
Video: Live stream on Mountain West Network available at GoLobos.com
Weather Forecast: 83 degrees, partly cloudy on Friday; 86 degrees, clear on Sunday
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Lobo men’s soccer team opens its home schedule this weekend with a pair of matches against top 20 opponents in the Grange & Ashwill Memorial Invitational. UNM will face No. 18 San Diego Friday at 7 p.m. and No. 13 UCSB on Sunday night at 6. That marks three straight games against top quality teams to start the year for one of the youngest squads in the country.
“We’re off to an exciting start in the sense that we’re getting tested and playing some great opponents,” UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “I like where our team is. It’s a constant learning process, but I think we’re getting a better and better idea of who we are and what it’s going to take to be successful.”
The Lobos opened with a tough 1-0 loss at No. 1 UCLA last weekend despite a roster that features 15 freshmen and 19 total underclassmen. Four Lobos — sophomore Lucas Seligman, redshirt freshmen Patrick Khouri and Matt Dorsey, and freshman Aaron Herrera — made their first career start, and two other freshmen — Francesco Casucci and Kasper Kajermo — saw their first collegiate action.
“When you look at (who we started) I think it’s very promising moving forward,” said Fishbein. “There’s just a small margin for error, and with the opponents we’re playing there’s hardly any margin for error.”
USD comes in at No. 18 in Top Drawer Soccer’s poll after a pair of 3-0 shutouts, including one to start its season over then-No. 16 Cal. UC Santa Barbara faced off against No. 5 Stanford at home and edged the Cardinal with a 1-0 victory.
“We’ll see where we’re at after this weekend against two very tough programs,” Fishbein said.
Series Record vs. San Diego: 4-3-1
Home: 0-0-1; Road: 3-2-0; Neutral: 1-1-0
Last meeting: The Lobos defeated USD 2-0 in San Diego last season, but have faced them just once in Albuquerque, back in 1985.
Series Record vs. UCSB: 6-3-2
Home: 4-0-1; Road: 2-3-0; Neutral: 0-0-1
Last meeting: The Lobos defeated UCSB 1-0 on the road in 2013. The last home matchup was a 1-1 draw back in 2010.
Up Next: UNM returns to California for road matches at CSUN and LMU next Friday and Sunday, respectively.
SCOUTING USD … The Toreros are coming off back-to-back 3-0 shutouts of then-No. 16 Cal in its season opener and then UC Riverside. So far USD has had six different goal scorers and has outshot its opponents 25-19. Last season’s WCC Freshman of the Year, keeper Thomas Olsen, has made five saves to earn a pair of shutouts. The wins vaulted the Toreros to No. 18 in Top Drawer Soccer’s rankings.
SCOUTING UCSB … Like San Diego, the Gauchos also started strong with a home win over then-No. 5 Stanford. Nick DePuy, last year’s Big West Offensive Player of the Year, notched the game’s only tally. Junior midfielder Seo-In Kim, a transfer from Duke, picked up an assist on the goal with a good cross. Freshman keeper Justin Vom Steeg, son of head coach Tim Vom Steeg, earned the shutout in his first collegiate action, but he will miss the tournament after being called up to the USMNT U20 squad. Sophomore Brandon Berke, who went 8-4-2 with a 1.10 GAA and a .692 save percentage last season, will start in his place.
SCOUTING DENVER … The Pioneers and Lobos drew 0-0 in an exhibition match two weeks ago. They defeated Bakersfield 4-0 in their season opener behind two goals from Brazilian freshman Andre Shinyashiki. They are receiving votes in College Soccer News’ weekly poll.
ABOUT THE GRANGE & ASHWILL MEMORIAL INVITATIONAL … Pat Grange and Ben Ashwill both played for the Lobos from ’03-’04 and ’02-’05, respectively. Grange finished his career with 12 goals and 29 points, including a pair of goals against Portland in the NCAA Tournament in 2004. He passed away due to complications from ALS in April 2012. Ashwill is among the UNM career leaders in several offensive categories. He’s third all-time in games played (83), tied for most points in a single season (27, 2002), and has the second most goals in a single season (12, 2002). He was also a three-time Academic All-American. He was killed in a car accident in January 2010.
Denver and UCSB will play Friday afternoon at 4 to start the tournament ahead of UNM’s match vs. San Diego. Denver will then play the Toreros on Sunday at noon.
BEAULIEU C-USA DEF. PoW … Sophomore goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 31 for his performance against No. 1 UCLA in the season opener. He made six saves, which was the second most he’d ever made in a single match, and posted an .857 save percentage. It was the first such honor of his career.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING … Four Lobos made their first career start in UNM’s loss at UCLA on Aug. 29: sophomore Lucas Selgiman, true freshman Aaron Herrera, and redshirt freshmen Matt Dorsey and Patrick Khouri. Herrera and Khouri went on to play all 90 minutes. Two other true freshmen, Francesco Casucci and Kasper Kajermo, both made their collegiate debuts as substitutes.
YOUNG BUT SAME EXPECTATIONS … The Lobos are one of the youngest teams in the nation this year with 15 freshmen and four sophomores. Their total of 19 underclassmen is the 10th most in the country, and the highest in C-USA. Despite the youth, though, head coach Jeremy Fishbein expects the youngsters to play like veterans. Only Tulsa, Radford, East Tennessee, Bradley, Milwaukee, Xavier, Northeastern, Indiana and Seton Hall have more underclassmen than the Lobos.
A LEADER AMONG LEADERS … Head Coach Jeremy Fishbein continues to build his coaching legacy at New Mexico. The 2015 season will be Fishbein’s 14th at the helm of Lobo Soccer. His UNM record of 179-60-29 makes him the program’s all-time winningest coach. Furthermore, Fishbein has cemented himself among the best in the nation. His 153 wins since 2004 are third in the nation among all active NCAA Division I head coaches.
NCAA Active Win Leaders Since 2004
1st – Sasho Cirovski (Maryland) – 183 wins
2nd – Elmar Bolowich (Creighton) – 155 wins
3rd – Jeremy Fishbein (New Mexico) – 153 wins
T-4th – Jay Vicovich (Wake Forest) – 152 wins
T-4th – Tim Vom Steeg (UC Santa Barbara) – 152 wins
6th – Ray Reid (UConn) – 150 wins
7th – George Gelnovatch (Virginia) – 148 wins
8th – Jorge Salcedo (UCLA) – 144 wins
LOBO SOCCER: A MILE HIGH AND LOUDER THAN … The UNM Soccer Complex is building a reputation as one of the nation’s toughest venues to play in. In addition to being “a mile high and louder than…”, New Mexico has turned Albuquerque into one of the hottest tickets in college soccer. The Lobos have ranked in the top 15 in attendance nationally every season since the NCAA began keeping those statistics in 2001. It was first in attendance nationally in 2005 and has ranked in the top ten in every season since 2009.
MORE THAN AN INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR … While the diversity of the team roster is obvious, many Lobos have some serious international credentials. Two have represented their country in top-level international competition: Adrian Mora Delgado (Costa Rica U-17), Patrick Khouri (USA U-14, U-15 and Jamaica U-23). Most recently, Niko Hansen was invited to USA’s U-23 college ID camp in preparation for 2016 Summer Olympic qualifying.
PRESEASON HONORS … The Lobos were picked to finish second in Conference USA as voted on by the league’s coaches. UNM received one first-place vote and finished behind Charlotte. Chris Wehan and Niko Hansen were both voted onto the Presason All-Conference Team. Wehan was also named to the MAC Hermann Trophy preseason watch list.