Lobo Soccer- at UNM Soccer Complex (6,200)
When: Sunday at 6 p.m. (MT)
Who: UAB Blazers
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Weather Forecast: 71 degrees and partly cloudy
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team welcomes Conference USA foe UAB and the C-USA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Freddy Ruiz to the UNM Soccer Complex this Sunday night at 6. The Lobos are still searching for not only their first win in conference play, but also a complete performance. They have yet to score in both halves of a game this season, but they hope to do so against a Blazers squad that has struggled defensively at times and does not have a single shutout ti its name this year. UAB figures to be well rested for this match as it has been off since a 4-3 come-from-behind win over FIU on Oct. 10.
Despite the presence of Ruiz, the Lobos will still field the most formidable offensive threat on either side in the form of Chris Wehan. The redshirt junior scored just 35 seconds into UNM’s match against Valparaiso on Wednesday and now has nine goals on the season and 22 in his career, which is good for a tie for eighth in Lobo history.
Wehan and the rest of the Lobos must be ready to take advantage of any defensive miscues committed by the Blazers. Their two goalies (Hunter Weber and Joe Kuzminsky) have combined to allow 2.16 goals per game and have saved just 63.6 percent of shots on goal. The Lobos will likely need multiple goals to win due to the skill the Blazers can employ. In addition to Ruiz (4 G, 2 A), UAB can delpoy six-foot-six defender Ian Svantesson (5 G, 1 A) on set pieces to wreak havoc on the Lobos’ backline. Rami Dajani (3 G, 1 A) and Karl Chester (2 G, 2 A) are other dangerous options UNM will be forced to contend with if the Lobos are going to earn their first conference win of the year.
Series Record: 2-1-0
Home: 2-0-0; Road: 0-1-0; Neutral: 0-0-0
Last meeting: UNM lost at UAB 3-2 last year, but is undefeated against the Blazers at home.
Up Next: The Lobos play at Marshall on Friday, Oct. 23.
SCOUTING UAB … The Blazers employ the Preseason C-USA Offensive Player of the Year in senior forward Freddy Ruiz, who is second on the team in scoring with four goals and two assists. The top scorer is 6-6 senior defender Ian Svantesson with five goals and one assist. He is coming off a two-goal, one-assist game in UAB’s comeback win over FIU, which includes a header as the game-winner. UAB has struggled on the defensive end and has yet to shut out an opponent this season. Redshirt junior Hunter Weber (1.81 GAA, .615 sv pct) recently took over goalkeeping duties for fellow redshirt junior Joe Kuzminsky (2.28 GAA, .642 sv pct). The team has allowed multiple goals in all but two games this season: Aug. 28 at Memphis (W, 3-1) and Sept. 18 vs. South Carolina (L, 1-0).
HERRERA CALLED UP TO U.S. U20 … Freshman defender Aaron Herrera was called up to the U.S. U20 team for the Four Nations Tournament in Germany and missed UNM’s loss at Old Dominion on Oct. 10.
RPI UPDATE … The Lobos checked in at No. 24 in the latest NCAA RPI update, while UAB is 82nd in the rankings.
WEHAN CLIMBS TOP 10 … Chris Wehan’s scored the 22nd goal of his career on Oct. 14 against Valparaiso. That moved him into an eighth-place tie in UNM history with James Rogers and Lance Watson. Mario Picazo is in seventh with 23.
NSCAA TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD … The Lobos earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award on Sept. 23, the fourth straight year they’ve accomplished that. It’s the 12th time under Coach Fishbein the Lobos have earned the award. Their 3.44 team GPA was the fourth highest among all Division I men’s soccer programs.
BACK-TO-BACK AWARD SWEEPS … UNM swept the Conference USA Player of the Week Awards for the second straight week. Niko Hansen and Nicholas Rochowski were named C-USA Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, on Sept. 21. The Lobos have won six of the eight awards handed out this season.
LOBOS SWEEP AWARDS … UNM swept the C-USA Players of the Week Awards on Sept. 14. Chris Wehan repeated as Offensive Player of the Week after scoring both game-winning goals for the Lobos. Jason Beaulieu earned his second Defensive Player of the Week award this year after earning his first shutout of the season on Sept. 12 and making eight saves during the weekend.
WEHAN CONSENSUS NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK … Chris Wehan swept the National Player of the Week awards by major publications following his back-to-back two-goal games against San Diego and UCSB Sept. 4 and 6. He earned the honor from College Soccer News, Top Drawer Soccer and the NSCAA.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING … Four Lobos made their first career start in UNM’s loss at No. 1 UCLA on Aug. 29: sophomore Lucas Seligman, 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. Simon Spangenberg, another true freshman, made his debut against San Diego on Sept. 4. Redshirt freshmen Olav Hovstad, Justin Hix and Gabriel Camera all appeared against San Francisco on Sept. 30 for their first action. Wayde Scibilia played 27 minutes against Valpo on Oct. 14 in his first career appearance.
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 11th 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.