UNM MATCH NOTES | UK Match Notes
New Mexico vs No. 13/17 Kentucky
Saturday, Sept. 16 – 7 p.m. (MT)
Albuquerque, N.M. | UNM Soccer Complex (6,200)
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team is set to open its 2017 Conference USA slate with a match against Kentucky at home on Saturday, Sept. 16. Last time the Lobos faced the Wildcats, UNM knocked UK out of the 2016 C-USA Tournament in the quarterfinals.
The Lobos (4-2-0) are riding a four-win streak heading into the match. Kentucky is 4-1-1 on the season, 1-0-0 in C-USA, and is 1-1-1 in their last three.
Series Record vs. Kentucky
1-3-1
When Kentucky Ranked: 0-0-1
In Overtime: 0-1-1
Last Meeting: The last time the Lobos met the Wildcats was in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Conference USA Tournament hosted by Marshall. The Lobos and the Wildcats played to a 2-2 draw in double overtime before the Lobos advanced to the semifinal round on PKs, 2-1.
Prior to that matchup, New Mexico traveled to Kentucky for the Lobos’ 2016 Conference USA opener at the UNM Soccer Complex where Kentucky claimed a 1-0 victory.
Conference USA Opener
Saturday’s matchup marks the 2017 Conference USA opener for the Lobos while Kentucky enters having opened C-USA play against UAB on Sept. 8. UAB visited then No. 19 Kentucky and fell by a final score of 1-0 after the Wildcats’ Mikkel Pederson netted the gamewinner in the 85th minute.
This is the second straight season that UNM has opened conference play against Kentucky.
Scouting No. 13/17 kentucky
The Wildcats are coming off of a 1-0 loss against Cincinnati, which Kentucky hosted on Sept. 12. While UK kicked off the season with a three-win streak, in its last three games, the team is 1-1-1.
Kentucky was selected to finish fourth in the league this season in the Preseason Coaches Poll and landed one player on the Preseason All-C-USA Team, senior defender Alex Bumpus.
UK’s freshman goalkeeper Enrique Facusse has been named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week each of the last two weeks while Mikkel Pederson is the reigning C-USA Offensive Player of the week.
Last Time Out
The Lobos claimed a pair of 2-1 victories in the Grange and Ashwill Invitational this past weekend against CSUN and UC Irvine. The squad emerged as the only team that did not suffer a loss in the tournament and earned the Grange and Ashwill Invitational Championship for its efforts. Both CSUN and UC Irvine shut out the tournament’s neutral team, then No. 8/9 Denver.
Junior Aaron Herrera was named Tournament MVP, senior keeper Jason Beaulieu earned Defensive MVP while redshirt-sophomore Devin Boyce and sophomore Matthew Constant were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
Streaking Lobos
The pair of wins on the week extends the UNM win streak to four which marks the longest in the Conference USA at this point in the season. The streak follows suit with last season when the Lobos opened 2016 with two straight losses before compiling a five-win streak that was snapped with the 1-0 loss at Kentucky in the C-USA opener.
Conference Leaders
The Lobos lead Conference USA in three categories including most goals (12), most assists (10) and most points (34). UNM’s 12 goals have been scored by eight different players.
Individually, junior Aaron Herrera and redshirt-sophomore Devin Boyce are tied for the lead in assists with three. The pair is tied with three other players in the league and are just three assists behind the national leaders.
National Rankings
Despite slipping out of the national rankings this week, the Lobos remain nationally ranked. UNM is currently ranked 15th in the nation in total goals (12), 24th in total points (34) and 27th in scoring offense (2.00).
Top Drawer Honors
After claiming the Grange and Ashwill Invitational Most Valuable Player honor this week, junior Aaron Herrera was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week. Herrera notched four points on a goal and two assists over the weekend.
In Pursuit of 300
Lobo head coach Jeremy Fishbein surpassed 200 wins at UNM with the Lobos’ 3-0 victory over UNLV at the UNM Soccer Complex on Sept. 1. However, Fishbein is also nearing another big milestone. Following UNM’s wins over CSUN and UC Irvine, coach Fishbein now boasts 298 career victories. He is just two away from reaching the 300 bench mark in his outstanding career.
Fishbein is the program’s all-time winningest coach and entered the season ranked 17th in the nation among NCAA DI active head coaches.
Unbeaten at Home
The Lobos enter Saturday’s Conference USA opener still undefeated at home since October 27, 2015 when UNM fell to Charlotte. Since that match, the Lobos are 12-0-2 at the UNM Soccer Complex.
Preseason Honors
The reigning C-USA Tournament Champion Lobos were picked to finish second in 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 organizations. 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, (RV) UNLV, CSUN, No. 13/17 Kentucky, South Carolina, (RV)UCLA, (RV) Denver and (RV) Charlotte.*
*Note: Teams that have already been faced have locked in rankings, other are updated.
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 led 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, Canada U20 National team); Billy Jones (captained New Zealand U17 in select World Cup qualifying 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.