SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The University of New Mexico women’s soccer team hits the pitch to open the 2015 Mountain West Tournament at 5 p.m. Mountain Time today, facing the No. 6 seed UNLV Rebels. The match will be played at the SDSU Sports Deck in San Diego, California.
New Mexico is the No. 3 seed, having finished 9-8-1 overall but 7-3-1 in the Mountain West. One of those three losses for UNM was to UNLV, dropping a 3-1 decision back on October 4. Madisyn Olguin scored UNM’s lone goal in the opening minutes of that game, but UNM couldn’t hold on, suffering at the time its first conference loss of the year.
A win on Tuesday afternoon would move the Lobos into the semifinals where San Jose State awaits. That game would be on Thursday at 5 p.m. Mountain Time.
All-time the Lobos are 11-12-3 in the Mountain West Tournament. The Lobos are also 3-2 as the No. 3 seed, which they have only been twice before. UNM went 2-1 and got to the finals as the No. 3 seed in 2002, and then lost last year in overtime in the semifinals. The Lobos are 3-0 all-time in the tournament vs. the No. 6 seed (defeating Air Force 1-0 in 2002, Nevada 1-0 in 2012 and Boise State 2-1 in 2014).
Madisyn Olguin, the leading scorer for The University of New Mexico Lobos, was named First Team All-Mountain West as the conference released its postseason women’s soccer honors. Cassie Ulrich and Maddie Irwin were both named to the Second Team, and Dylann O’Connor and Emily Chavez were both Honorable Mention.
Colorado College senior Sarah Schweiss was tabbed the Offensive Player of the Year, while San Jos States Zoe Makrigiannis and Leah Pruitt of San Diego State garnered Defensive and Freshman of the Year honors, respectively. San Jos State head coach Lauren Hanson was named the Coach of the Year. The individual awards and All-MW teams were selected by the Leagues 12 head coaches.
Olguin becomes the first Lobo to earn First Team honors since Rachel Montoya in 2012, and the first forward to earn First Team honors since Jen Williams in 2011. Aenior from Perris, California, Olguin led the team with six goals and two assists, including five in conference play. She had four game-winning goals on the season including road winners at Air Force and Boise State, and her five points against Air Force were the most in a single game by any Mountain West player this season.
Ulrich earned Second Team All-Mountain West honors for the second straight year. The senior from Rio Rancho, N.M. went 9-8-1 overall, and 7-3-1 in conference play. She posted five shutouts and a 1.02 goals against average with 61 saves. She moved into third on the UNM career wins chart with 27.
Irwin earned Second Team All-Mountain West honors for the first time. The junior from Tucson, Arizona scored three goals on the season and was one of the league’s top players in the air. Irwin was also instrument as center mid in establishing new coach Heather Dyche’s offensive and defensive schemes.
O’Connor and Chavez, both Second Team a year ago, were both named Honorable Mention. O’Connor, a senior from West Hills, California scored one goal and had a team-leading five assists on the season. Chavez, a sophomore from Albuquerque, N.M. had an assist but played a key role for UNM at center back. Chavez was UNM’s only Mountain West Player of the Week award winner, and she became just the third player in league history to earn both offensive and defensive awards in her career.
Lobos vs. UNLV
The Lobos and the Rebels will be playing each other for the 23rd time, with UNM holding an 11-10-1 lead. The Lobos and Rebels played back on October 4, and UNLV handed UNM a 3-1 defeat. That was UNM’s first loss of the season after a 3-0 conference start, and it was UNLV’s first win after an 0-3 conference start.