KANSAS CITY, MO. — The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team will kick off the 2017 season ranked No. 20 in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, the association announced Friday. The Lobos, who earned their 12th trip to the NCAA postseason in 16 years in 2016, will kick off the 2017 regular season on Friday, August 25.
United Soccer Coaches Preseason Rankings
“Being ranked 20th in the country heading into the season is a good starting point,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “But it is not where we want to be at the end of the season. We’ve got an exciting, competitive schedule this year, our guys are ready and we’re excited to get started!”
The United Soccer Coaches (formerly the NSCAA) officially released the association’s national preseason rankings on Friday morning. Last season, the Lobos ranked as high as 22nd in the NSCAA poll.
UNM is one of just two squads in the Conference USA to earn a spot in the top 25, the other goes to Charlotte which ranks No. 15 heading into this season. The Lobos will face Charlotte in conference play on Oct. 28 at home but will also compete against three other top-25 teams including Denver (No. 3), Washington (No. 11) and UCLA (No. 21).
The Lobos are returning 14 players from last year’s squad including senior goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu who racked up eight shutouts and posted a 0.87 goals against average last season.
New Mexico will host three exhibition games at the UNM Soccer Complex prior to kicking off the 2017 regular season. UNM will face Air Force at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 12, Colorado School of Mines on Thursday, August 17th at 7 p.m. and Grand Canyon on Saturday, August 19 at 7 p.m.