The Grange & Ashwill Memorial Invitational – Friday, Sept. 9 – Sunday, Sept. 11
TOURNAMENT NOTES
Lobos vs. CSU Bakersfield
Friday, September 9 at 7 p.m. (MT)
Albuquerque, N.M. – UNM Soccer Complex [6,200 cap.]
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
IN-GAME UPDATES @LoboMen’sSoccer
Lobos vs. Grand Canyon
Sunday, September 11 at 6 p.m. (MT)
Albuquerque, N.M. – UNM Soccer Complex [6,200 cap.]
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
IN-GAME UPDATES @LoboMen’sSoccer
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Following two home shutout victories last weekend at the TLC Plumbing and Utility Invitational, the University of New Mexico men’s soccer team will host its second straight tournament, the Grange & Ashwll Memorial Invitational, this weekend on Friday, Sept. 9 through Sunday, Sept. 11. The Lobos have yet to allow a goal in the run of play this season.
“I thought we had some really good defensive efforts [this past weekend],” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “It felt good to validate what we felt about our team after a tough opening weekend against two teams that are currently in the top 10.”
New Mexico (2-2-0) will face CSU Bakersfield (1-2-0) on Friday, Sept. 9 before taking on Grand Canyon (1-1-0) on Sunday at 6 p.m.
“Much like last weekend, these are good teams and you can’t ever be overconfident,” Fishbein added in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. “Our focus up until today has been recovering from two, two-game weekends but I think they’ll have their legs back under them tomorrow. We’re excited to play, there’s just a good energy right now amongst the team, they want to get out there and they want to compete.”
Tournament Schedule:
Friday, 9/9 – Grand Canyon vs. Missouri State – 4 p.m.
Friday, 9/9 – CSU Bakersfield at New Mexico – 7 p.m.
Sunday, 9/11 – CSU Bakersfield vs. Missouri State – 12 p.m.
Sunday, 9/11 – Grand Canyon at New Mexico – 6 p.m.
The Lobos enter the weekend on a two-win streaked capped by successful performances by several Lobos including two who posted their first career goals – redshirt-freshman Devin Boyce and sophomore Aaron Herrera. Four Lobos also earned All-Tournament honors including junior Jason Beaulieu, redshirt-freshman Tom Smart and seniors Chris Wehan and Niko Hansen. Wehan, a MAC Hermann Trophy preseason watch list honoree, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player while Hansen earned Offensive Most Valuable Player honors and Beaulieu notched the Defensive Most Valuable Player award.
Scouting CSU Bakersfield
The Roadrunners enter this weekend’s tournament with a 1-2 overall record and a two-game loss streak. CSU Bakersfield fell to San Francisco on Thursday, Sept. 1, following a 1-0 overtime loss against Drake on Aug. 28. The Roadrunners return six starters from last year’s squad which finished with a 7-6-6 overall record, 4-3-3 in the WAC (5th). The team also returns nine letterwinners and welcomes 14 newcomers including two redshirt players. CSUB has scored four goals so far this season, two of which came from redshirt-junior Julian Zamora in the Roadrunners’ season opener agaist Sacramento State.
Scouting Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon comes into this weekend’s tournament coming off of a narrow 1-0 loss to UC Irvine after opening the season with a 4-2 victory at home against UCF. Junior midfielder Khadim Seye scored twice in the Lopes’ opener while two other players have earned pre-season honors. Senior defender Amer Sasivarevic was named to the Preseason All-WAC Team while freshman Hector Montalvo, who helped FC Dallas win the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Championship, was named to TopDrawerSoccer’s Freshman First Team as one of the two best center-backs in the country. In head coach Schellas Hyndman’s second season with the Lopes’ he returns eight starters while bringing 11 newcomers to the roster.
Series Records
vs. CSU Bakersfield
Series Record: 3-1-2
Last Meeting: The last time the Lobos met the Roadrunners was on Oct. 21, 2012 when UNM shut out CSUB 2-0. The win marked the third in an eventual seven-win streak that season en route to New Mexico’s NCAA Tournament berth and Sweet 16 appearance. In addition, UNM limited the Roadrunners, includng one of the nation’s leading scorers, to just two total shots and the shutout marked the seventh of the season for the Lobos.
vs. Grand Canyon
Series Record: 3-2-1
Last Meeting: It has been 11 years since the Lobos and the Lopes faced off. UNM hosted Grand Canyon on Oct. 26, 1995 in Albuquerque, where the Lobos were shut out 2-0. The contest was the second-to-last of the season that saw UNM finish 8-11-0 overall.
Last Time Out
The Lobos earned two shutout victories last weekend at the TLC Plumbing and Utility Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., both by scores of 2-0. UNM topped CSU Northridge on Friday before defeating Cal Poly on Sunday. Senior Niko Hansen scored his first goal of the regular season against CSUN at the 22-minute mark before redshirt-freshman Devin Boyce scored his first career goal in the 69th minute of play. On Sunday, sophomore Aaron Herrera scored in the 24th minute to give the Lobos a 1-0 lead before senior Chris Wehan added the insurance goal with less than four minutes left in regulation. After falling in their first two games of the season, the Lobos are now on a two-win streak headed into this weekend’s competition.
TLC All-Tournament Selections
After emerging as the overall winning team of the 2016 TLC Plumbing and Utility Invitational, the Lobos boasted four players on the All-Tournament Team: junior Jason Beaulieu, redshirt-freshman Tom Smart and seniors Chris Wehan and Niko Hansen. In addition to All-Tournament honors, Beaulieu was named Defensive MVP, Hansen was named Offensive MVP and Wehan was named the tournament’s overall Most Valuable Player.
First Time is the Charm
Of the four Lobos to score last weekend, two notched their first career tally. Sophomore defender Aaron Herrera scored his first career goal, the gamewinner, in the 24th minute of the Lobos’ 2-0 win over Cal Poly while redshirt-freshman Devin Boyce scored in the 69th minute of UNM’s victory over CSU Northridge on Friday for an insurance goal.
It’s All About the Shutout
The Lobo defense has entered the 2016 scene in stellar fashion, not allowing a single goal in the run of play. Junior goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu has tallied 10 saves in net for a .833 save percentage while posting two straight shutouts. Beaulieu has spent all 360 minutes in net this season and has been near perfect between the posts with the exception of two penalty-kick goals.
“Clean” Sheet Record
Not only did the Lobos post two clean sheets this weekend, preventing both opponents from finding the back of the net in 180 minutes of play, but UNM also tied the record for cleanest game in the history of the program. New Mexico committed just three fouls in Friday night’s 2-0 shutout victory over CSU Northridge to tie the record for least fouls in a single game in UNM history. The last time the Lobos committed just three fouls was on Nov. 5, 2011 when they topped UNLV 3-0 at home en route to an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
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.
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 and Canada 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.