GAME NOTES | IN-GAME UPDATES ON @NMLOBOWSOCCER
New Mexico women’s soccer (5-5-2, 1-3-0) at Nevada (4-7-0, 1-3-0)
Friday, Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m. (MST)
Reno, Nevada
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New Mexico women’s soccer at UNLV (10-3-0, 3-1-0)
Sunday, Oct. 9 at 2 p.m. (MST)
Las Vegas, Nevada
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LIVE STATS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In a Mountain West season thus far where parity reigns supreme, The University of New Mexico women’s soccer team looks to gain some traction with a pair of road games this week at Nevada (Friday) and at UNLV (Sunday).
Every team in the Mountain West has at least one win and one loss in conference play just four games in with the Lobos sitting at 1-3, still just two games back of first place and a game back of being in one of the top six spots that secures a place in the Mountain West Tournament.
The Lobos are coming off a 1-1 weekend in California where they knocked off defending Mountain West Tournament champs San Jose State 3-1 (behind three second-half goals) to hand the Spartans their first loss in conference before falling to Fresno State 3-0 on Sunday for the Bulldogs’ first win in conference play.
Since Nevada – UNM’s opponent Friday – moved to .500 on the season with a 1-0 win over Fresno State to open Mountain West play on Sept. 23, it has dropped three straight conference contests to fall to 4-7-0 on the season and 1-3-0 in the Mountain West. Nevada fell to San Jose State at home 3-1 (Sept. 25), to Colorado State on the road 1-0 in overtime (Friday) and at Wyoming 2-0 on Sunday. The Wolf Pack are tied for last in the conference in goals per game (0.73), but are third in the conference in goals against average (1.07).
As for UNLV – the Lobos’ opponent Sunday – it heads into this week’s action one of four teams tied for the top spot in the Mountain West at 3-1, and the Rebels’ 10-3 mark on the season makes them the only school in the conference with more than seven wins. UNLV, which plays San Diego State on Friday, has won three straight contests since falling to San Jose State 2-1 to start conference play. The Rebels defeated Colorado State 2-0 Sunday, Wyoming 3-1 on Friday and Fresno State 4-1 on Sept. 25.
NOTES HEADING INTO FRIDAY:
- With her two goals Friday, Claire Lynch moved into fifth place on the Lobo all-time goal list with 15 – moving past Kristine Sweat (2003-06) and Alexis Ball (2007-09), who each had 14 goals in their career. Two more goals will tie her for fourth with Lana Melendres (1996-99) with 17 goals. Laurie Hegedorn (1994-97) owns the all-time UNM record with 61. Lynch is also tied for fourth in game-winning goals in program history with six.
- Since Nevada joined the Mountain West in 2012, the Lobos haven’t lost to the Wolf Pack – winning five straight contests (UNM defeated Nevada twice in 2012 – once during the Mountain West Tournament). The Lobos are 5-1-1 all-time against Nevada with the tie coming in 2006 at home (0-0) and the loss coming in 2005 in Reno (2-0). The Lobos defeated the Wolf Pack last season 1-0 in Albuquerque on a Ruth Bruciaga goal.
- Though New Mexico lost 3-1 to UNLV in the regular season last year, the Lobos won the game that counted the most as UNM defeated the Rebels 2-0 at the Mountain West Tournament to advance to the semifinals. Since 2008 the Lobos are 7-2-1 against UNLV, outscoring the Rebels 15-7 over that stretch. Overall the Lobos are 12-10-1 against the Rebels, including 4-5-0 in Las Vegas.
- The Lobos were winless in three tries in San Jose against the Spartans before rallying for a 3-1 victory on Friday. On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, New Mexico hadn’t lost to Fresno State in Fresno (1-0-1) before falling to the Bulldogs on Sunday.
- The Lobos sport two of the top five goal scorers in the Mountain West in Claire Lynch and Maddie Irwin. With her two goals on Friday, Lynch now has six on the season – tied for second in the MW and just a goal back of the leader. Irwin also scored on Friday, giving her five goals in 2016 which is good for a tie for fifth in the conference. UNLV’s Lily Sender leads the MW with seven goals.
- UNM goalkeeper Tayler Hammack has been busy as the junior is tied for second in the Mountain West with 49 saves (4.3 per game). Her three shutouts this season is tied for sixth in the conference.
- Though the Lobos started the season with seven straight road games, they were welcomed back to Albuquerque in a big way in their home opener as 2,012 people came to UNM Soccer Complex for UNM’s win over New Mexico State on Sept. 16. The Lobos followed that up with strong crowd showings against Colorado College and Air Force and are averaging a Mountain West-best 1,226 people per game (their 3,678 in total attendance is third in the conference despite being having the fewest home games this season in the Mountain West thus far with three).
Follow the UNM women’s soccer team on Twitter (@nmlobowsoccer) or on Instagram (@lobo_womens_soccer) for updates and information on your Lobos!