No. 20 New Mexico at Washington
Friday, August 25 – 9 p.m. (MT)
Seattle, Wash. | Husky Soccer Stadium (2,200)
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | IN-MATCH UPDATES @UNMLoboMSoccer
No. 20 New Mexico at Seattle
Sunday, August 27 – 7 p.m. (MT)
Seattle, Wash. | Championship Field Stadium
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | IN-MATCH UPDATES @UNMLoboMSoccer
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The No. 20 ranked University of New Mexico men’s soccer team is set to officially open its 2017 campaign on the road at No.11 Washington on Friday, August 25 at 9 p.m. MT. Following the 2016 NCAA Second Round rematch, the Lobos will take on Seattle on Sunday, August 27 at 7 p.m.
The Lobos earned a trio of home victories in exhibition play to kick off the season, topping Air Force and Colorado School of Mines 3-1 before earning a 2-0 shutout win over Grand Canyon.
vs. No. 11 Washington
Series Record: 1-3-0
When Washington Ranked: 1-2-0
In Overtime: 0-1-0
Last Meeting: The last matchup between the Lobos and the Huskies was last season in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Despite UNM scoring the first goal of the match in the 21st minute, Washington retaliated with four unanswered goals to claim a 4-1 victory and knock the Lobos out of the tournament. The squads met twice last season, once in exhibition play where UNM earned a 1-0 shutout victory at home at the UNM Soccer Complex.
vs. Seattle
Series Record: 4-0-0
In Overtime: N/A
Last Meeting: The Last time UNM faced Seattle dates back to Oct. 28, 2012 when the Lobos were ranked 10th in the nation. UNM earned a 3-0 victory over its MPSF conference foe en route to its NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
Scouting No. 11 Washington
The Huskies enter the 2017 season ranked No. 11 by the United Soccer Coaches (formerly the NSCAA) while the Lobos enter ranked No. 20 in the same poll. Washington was ranked No. 18 by Top Drawer Soccer however, just one spot above UNM in the TopDrawerSoccer.com release that showed UNM coming in at No. 19. Washington advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 for the fourth time in program history last season.
Offensively, Washington returns 53 percent of its scoring from last season, led by preseason All-Pac-12 selections junior Kyle Coffee and sophomore Handwalla Bwana, the 2016 Freshman of the Year. In addition, forwards Elijah Rice and Scott Menzies will also return for the Huskies.
Scouting Seattle
The Redhawks enter 2017 wth the longest active home winning streak in Division I (16 games) and were voted to finish third in the WAC Preseason Coaches Poll. All-WAC First Team selection and senior Alex Roldan will lead the senior class, coming off of an eight-goal season in 2016. He also scored six gamewinning goals in 2016, fourth-most in the nation. (UNM’s Niko Hansen had seven).
Also returning for Seattle is WAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Nathan Aune who helped the SU defense allow just one goal per game in 2016. He claimed All-WAC Second Team honors last season and has started all 41 games of his Redhawk career. Junior Sergio Rivas earned All-WAC First Team honors last season and looks to return to the midfield.
A Leader Among the Leaders
Head Coach Jeremy Fishbein continues to build his coaching legacy at New Mexico. The 2017 season will be Fishbein’s 16th at the helm of Lobo Soccer. His UNM record of 199-73-36 makes him the program’s all-time winningest coach. Furthermore, Fishbein has cemented himself among the best in the nation. His .670 career win percentage ranks him 17th in the nation among NCAA DI active head coaches while his 294 career wins ranks him 21st in the country.
199 and Counting…
Coach Fishbein is looking at opening the season with his 200th victory as head coach at UNM. A win over Washington or Seattle would reach the milestone and put him closer to an even bigger milestone – 300 career victories. Coach Fishbein currently boasts 294 career wins and has just six more to go.
Preseason Honors
The reigning C-USA Tournament Champion Lobos were picked to finish second in the Conference USA behind Charlotte in 2017. In addition, sophomores Tom Smart and Matthew Constant were named to the C-USA Preseason Team.
As a team, the Lobos have been ranked in the preseason by two orgaizations. The United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll notched the Lobos 20th while Top Drawer Soccer ranked UNM 19th.
Junior Aaron Herrera also earned Top Drawer Soccer Best XI Second Team honors heading into the season.
It’s A Hard-Knock Schedule
The Lobos are no stranger to tough competition, but this season UNM will take on eight squads that competed in the NCAA Tournament last season including three C-USA opponents. Those teams include No. 11 Washington, UNLV, CSUN, Kentucky, South Carolina, No. 21 UCLA, No. 3 Denver and No. 15 Charlotte.
A Whole New Offense
After a successful run to the 2016 NCAA postseason, the Lobos lost five key seniors from the squad and a pair of dominating attackers including Niko Hansen and Chris Wehan. Hansen was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2017 MLS Superdraft to the Columbus Crew SC while Wehan has been racking up the accolades as a member of Reno 1868 FC, a USL team. The pair combined for 61.8 percent of the Lobos’ goals last season.
Offensively, the Lobos will need to replace the dynamic duo in the attacking third and have added 13 new players to the 2017 roster in effort to replenish the squad. Of UNM’s 20 points in exhibition matches this season, 10 came from new players. The other 10 came from a trio of returners (Aaron Herrera, Sam Gleadle and Luke Lawrence) and a redshirt freshman (Noah Bushey).
The newcomers that scored included freshman Nick Taylor, who lead UNM with two goals, as well as freshman Alex Vedamanikam, junior transfer Antoine Vial and redshirt junior transfer Wedner Delmonte who posted one goal apiece.
Defensively, the Boys Are Back
While the Lobo offense will look very different, the UNM defense returns the majority of an experienced and solid back line that helped lead the Lobos to nine shutouts in 2016.
First, senior Jason Beaulieu returns between the posts. He started all 22 games for UNM in 2016 racking up 2,072 minutes. He posted eight shutouts which ranks seventh in Lobo history for most shutouts in a single season. Last season he also tied for ninth in UNM history in single-season wins (12). For his career, Beaulieu heads into the season ranking tied for third in shutouts with 17, sixth in saves with 163, seventh in wins with 26 and sixth in appearances with 51.
Junior Aaron Herrera will help anchor the back line for UNM after competing with the U-20 World Cup over the summer. He started all 22 games for the Lobos last season totaling 2,050 minutes and registering six points (two goals, two assists). In addition, Herrera was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Best XI Second Team recognizing him as one of the projected top players in the country this season.
Sophomores Tom Smart and Matthew Constant also return to the Lobo defense. The pair both started all season in 2016, Smart earning 22 starts and Constant starting 20 matches, missing two to play with the Canadian U-20 Team. Smart and Constant were also the only two Lobos to earn Conference USA Preseason honors.
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 25 in attendance nationally every season since the NCAA began keeping those statistics in 2001.
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: Aaron Herrera (US U20); Matthew Constant (US U17 National team, Canda U20 National team); Billy Jones (captained New Zealand U17 in select World Cup quailfying matches); Aaron Scott (U15, U16, U17 Scottish National Team) and Ingi Jónsson (U17 Icelandic National Team).
Excelling Off the Pitch
Lobo Soccer has a rich tradition of academic success. During the Fishbein era (2002 to present), UNM has had 20 Academic All-Americans – more than any other men’s soccer program in the country among all divisions. In addition, the Lobos have garnered 91 Academic All-Conference honorees and 20 NSCAA Scholar All-Americans under Fishbein’s tutelage. As a team, the Lobos have earned the NSCAA Academic Team Award in 13 of the last 14 seasons.