No. 24 New Mexico vs. Denver
Wednesday, Oct. 25 – 7 p.m. (MT)
Albuquerque, N.M. | UNM Soccer Complex (6,200)
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | IN-MATCH UPDATES @UNMLoboMSoccer
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team returns home on Wednesday following a touch Conference USA outing at FIU on Saturday. The Lobos are set to host 2016 NCAA Tournament qualifying Denver as the Pioneers return to the UNM Soccer Complex for the second time this season.
Denver served as the neutral squad in the 2017 Grange and Ashwill Invitational in September where both coaching staffs got a good look at the competition, despite not having played one another. Speaking of coaching staffs, former Lobo standout Levi Rossi is an assistant coach for Denver and will return to his old stomping grounds Wednesday.
Series Record vs. Denver
20-13-3
When Denver Ranked: 2-1-0
In Overtime: 2-2-3
Last Meeting: The Lobos fell to Denver on the road last season in double overtime against the then fifth-ranked team in the nation. Denver got on top just after halftime at the 51:45 mark and led 1-0 until the final minutes. Former senior Nick Rochowski scored just 1:07 before the end of regulation to tie it and send the game to overtime. It looked to be headed for a tie until, with eight seconds left in double overtime, Denver scored for the win.
Scouting Denver
Denver is one of the eight squads the Lobos will/have faced this season that entered the 2017 slate coming off of a 2016 NCAA Tournament berth. Despite dropping both matches in the Grange and Ashwill Invitational, Denver is 3-1 in its last four matches, 4-2 in its last six, and remains undefeated in Summit League play.
Offensively the Pioneers are led by Andre Shinyashiki who has collected 20 points on eight goals and four assists with two gamewinners. He has scored almost a third of Denver’s points on the season as the squad has totaled 61.
Defensively Nick Gardner is the only goalie to have seen minutes so far this season, posting a .647 save percentage and an 8-6-0 record. Despite the nearly 500 record, Gardner has collected five shutouts on the season.
Lobo Standout Returns Home
Denver assistant coach and former Lobo standout Levi Rossi returns to the UNM Soccer Complex to face his alma mater on Wednesday in what is sure to be an exciting matchup between the squads. Rossi was a two-time Academic All-American that played for UNM from 2009-12. In his time as a Lobo, Rossi accumulated 4,615 minutes tallying 19 points on six goals and seven assists.
Last time out – UNM vs FIU
The Lobos suffered a disappointing 4-0 loss on Saturday at Conference-USA leader Florida International. FIU entered the matchup ranked No. 11 in the nation while also leading the country in scoring offense. UNM held on in the first half, going down just 1-0 on a penalty kick, but the second half didn’t prove as kind. FIU found the back of the net three more times in the run of play to effectively neutralize the Lobos.
Notables
UNM’s loss to FIU marked just the second time this season that the Lobos were outshot by their opponent and just the 16th time the squad has let up more than three goals under Coach Fishbein. The Loss also effectively squelched a six-game unbeaten streak that included four-straight wins and a pair of ties against South Carolina and UCLA.
Remaining Fourth
The Lobos had a chance to claim the top spot in League play with a victory over FIU but with the loss, FIU remains in the lead with 16 points. Currently in second is Old Dominion (15) followed by Kentucky (12) and UNM (10). With the top seven teams making it to the C-USA Tournament, the last few games of the conference season will be crucial.
RPI Ranking
The Lobos currently rank 51st in the nation in RPI – an assessment which takes into account not only current record, but also strength of schedule and a multitude of other factors.
Beaulieu – Defensive Player of the Week
Senior Jason Beaulieu earned his fourth career Conference USA Player of the Week honor Oct. 9 as he was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week for his performances vs LMU and FAU. He registered his 19th career shutout against LMU before helping lead the Lobos to a 3-1 victory over FAU on Saturday and a 2-0 clean sheet a week later vs UAB, notching his 20th career shutout.
Beaulieu remains ranked third in program history in shutouts behind second-place Andrew Weber who posted 25 from 2001-04. The program leader in career shutouts is current UNM associate head coach Mike Graczyk, who racked up 30 from 2004-07.
First is Best
The Lobos are 6-0-1 when scoring first this season. Under coach Fishbein, UNM is 171-14-22 when scoring first.
Second-Half Explosion
Since the Grange & Ashwill Invitational on Sept. 8, the Lobos have netted all but three goals in the second half of play, scoring 14 of 17 in the second frame following UNM’s outing against UCLA. Of those 14 goals, six have been gamewinners and one tied up the match with 1:17 left. Prior to Sept. 8, the Lobos had scored only three of nine goals in the second half.
Fishbein’s 300: COMPLETE
In his 25th season as head coach, coach Fishbein reached the 300 milestone with UNM’s victory over LMU on Oct. 4. He clinched the triple-century win and had all the credit to give to his guys. “I’m just glad I get to share it with this group,” – Coach Fishbein
Fishbein surpassed 200 wins at UNM with the Lobos’ 3-0 victory over UNLV at the UNM Soccer Complex on Sept. 1. He is the program’s all-time winningest coach and entered the season ranked 17th in the nation among NCAA DI active head coaches.
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, UCLA, Denver and 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. Four 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) and Aaron Scott (U15, U16, U17 Scottish 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.