New Mexico men’s soccer season opener
Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament – Aug. 26-28
Game 1: Lobos vs. #13 Indiana
Friday, August 26 at 3 p.m. (MT)
South Bend, Ind. – Alumni Stadium (2,500 cap.)
GAME NOTES
LIVE STATS
IN-GAME UPDATES ON @LoboMensSoccer
Game 2: Lobos vs. #9 Notre Dame
Sunday, August 28 at 12 p.m.
South Bend, Ind. – Alumni Stadium (2,500 cap.)
GAME NOTES
VIDEO
LIVE STATS
IN-GAME UPDATES ON @LoboMensSoccer
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team is set to officially kick off its 2016 season this weekend at the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament hosted by Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. The Lobos will face #13 Indiana on Friday, Aug. 26 at 3 p.m. (MT) before taking on #9 Notre Dame on Sunday, Aug. 28 at 12 p.m. (MT).
The Lobos are no strangers to facing ranked teams. Last season, UNM played seven teams ranked in the top 25 in the nation and emerged with a 3-2-2 record. Both Indiana and Notre Dame advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the 2015 NCAA Tournament last season while the Lobos have experienced a two-year drought in NCAA Tournament play. The last time the Lobos saw the Fighting Irish was at the 2013 NCAA Final Four when UNM fell 2-0, allowing Notre Dame to advance to the Championship and claim the title.
New Mexico returns 18 players including eight key starters from the young Lobo 2015 squad. With the returning experience, the Lobos look to make a run at the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Scouting Indiana
Indiana enters the 2016 season coming off of its 29th straight season reaching the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers fell to Wake Forest in the third round of the NCAA Tournament to end the season. Indiana, which has not lost a season opener since 2009, also boasts two MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List members in senior midfielder Tanner Thompson and junior defender Grant Lillard. Thompson and Lillard were named unanimous preseason All-America selections while Lillard was also named the top defender in the nation in a preseason poll conducted by Top Drawer Soccer of the nation’s head coaches. The Hoosiers return nine starters from last year’s squad that made the Sweet Sixteen.
Scouting Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish enter 2016 also coming off of an NCAA Tournament appearance. Notre Dame advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to Maryland by a score of 2-1. The team returns eight starters including Jon Gallagher who tallied 21 points on nine goals and three assists in 2015 and was named to the NSCAA All-Region Second Team and ACC Third Team for his efforts. Notre dame also returns goalkeeper Chris Hubbard who posted a record of 11-5-6 with a 0.82 goals against average and eight shutouts.
Last Time Out
The Lobos posted three straight shutouts in exhibition play, the most recent in a 1-0 victory over Washington at the UNM Soccer Complex on Aug. 20. UNM kicked off its exhibition contests with a 3-0 win over UNLV and followed it up with a 4-0 shutout over Fort Lewis prior to the Washington win.
Hansen Hot Streak
Senior Niko Hansen has kicked off his final campaign with an impressive four goals in the Lobos’ three exhibition matches in 2016. His goals also include two gamewinners and total more goals than he scored thoughout his entire junior season.
A Leader Among the Leaders
Head Coach Jeremy Fishbein continues to build his coaching legacy at New Mexico. The 2016 season will be Fishbein’s 15th at the helm of Lobo Soccer. His UNM record of 187-66-33 makes him the program’s all-time winningest coach. Furthermore, Fishbein has cemented himself among the best in the nation. His .673 career win percentage ranks him 16th in the nation among NCAA DI active head coaches while his 282 career wins ranks him 21st in the country.
Experience Returns
Rebounding from a young team in 2015, the Lobos return eight key starters from last season including leading goal scorer Chris Wehan. The senior racked up a team-best 10 goals and two assists for 22 points in 2015. He also notched four gamewinners and went two-for-two in penalty kick opportunities.
Senior Niko Hansen is also back for his final season. The senior totaled nine points on three goals and three assists last season to rank third on the team as a junior. He has opened the 2016 campaign with more goals in the Lobos’ three exhibition matches than he scored in his entire season last year, netting four goals and two game winners prior to the official 2016 season kickoff.
Senior Josh Goss also adds experience to the Lobo midfield. As a junior, Goss started all 18 matches to total 1,624 minutes on the field while posting five points on five assists. Goss will be joined by redshirt sophomore Patrick Khouri at the midfield position, who also started all 18 games last season for 1,438 minutes on the pitch.
Defensively, the Lobos return junior goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu who saw 1719:46 in net for New Mexico in 2015. He registered 75 saves for a .806 save percentage while also tallying four shutouts for the Lobos. He has posted three shutouts so far in 2016 in the three exhibition matchups alone leading up to the official season opener vs. Indiana.
The Lobo defense looks strong this year, anchored by Beaulieu and fellow seniors Nick Rochowski and Chris Gurule. The pair started each of UNM’s 18 games in 2015 for a total of 3,405 minutes. Rochowski also finished the season fourth on the team in goals with two. The veteran pair will be joined on the back line by sophomore Aaron Herrera who saw action in 15 games as a freshman, starting 14 to total 1,332 minutes. Herrera also notched an assist for one point in his inaugural campaign.
Stacking up against C-USA in 2015
Several Lobos finished the 2015 season ranked among the top 10 in Conference USA:
Chris Wehan
1st in shots (3.44 average per game)
3rd in points (22, 1.22 per game)
2nd in goals per game (.556)
3rd in total goals (10)
T-3rd in gamewinners (4, .222 per game)
Josh Goss
8th in assists per game (.278)
T-7th in total assists (5)
Jason Beaulieu
4th goals against avg (0.94)
4th in save percentage (.806)
4th in saves per game (4.17)
5th in shutouts per game (.222)
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 ranked in the top 10 from 2009-2014. In 2015, the Lobos continued the streak among the nation’s attendance leaders hosting 16,918 fans (1,691 per game average) for 15th overall in the country.
International Pride
While the diversity of the team roster is obvious, many Lobos have some serious international credentials. Five have represented their country in top-level international competition: Patrick Khouri (Jamaica U20 World Cup qualifier, US U15), Aaron Herrera (US U20 – currently preparing for U20 World Cup qualification); Matthew Constant (US U17 National team, preparing to go to canada to compete with U20 National team); Billy Jones (captained New Zealand U17 in select World Cup quailfying matches); Rafa Jimenez (Australian U20 World Cup quaifying team).
Excelling Off the Pitch
Lobo Soccer has a rich tradition of academic success. During the Fishbein era (2002 to present), UNM has had 19 Academic All-Americans – more than any other men’s soccer program in the country among all divisions. In addition, the Lobos have garnered 89 Academic All-Conference honorees and 12 NSCAA Scholar All-Americans under Fishbein’s tutelage. As a team, the Lobos have earned the NSCAA Academic Team Award in 12 of the last 13 seasons.
Preseason Honors
The Lobos were picked to finish tied for fourth in Conference USA with South Carolina as voted on by the league’s coaches. In addition, seniors Chris Wehan and Niko Hansen were selected to the 2016 Preseason All-Conference USA Team. Wehan was also named to the MAC Hermann Trophy preseason watch list for the second straight season.