ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team is excited to welcome a pair of exciting transfers to the Lobo roster, Colin Brezniak from Pitt and Matthew Puig from Tulsa. Both Brezniak and Puig are proven goal scorers at the collegiate level and will join the Lobos for the 2018 spring season.
“We are really excited to have Colin and Matt join our program this spring,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “Colin and Matt bring experience, desire, ambition and attacking ability to our program. They’re wonderful young men who are going to contribute to our community and our future success.”
Colin Brezniak – 5-10 – Attacking Midfielder – Hanover, Pa.
Brezniak, nicknamed “Brez,” transfers to UNM from the University of Pittsburgh with three years of eligibility remaining. During his freshman season at Pitt in 2017, Brezniak made the National Freshman Top-100 list and helped the school to its best season in program history. He finished his freshman season the third-highest scorer on the team with three goals following his introductory spring season during which he led the squad with four at just 17 years of age.
Brezniak competed at the club level for both the Philadelphia Union and DC United MLS academies, training with DC United’s professional squad on a regular basis. He led his U14 Philadelphia Union squad with 17 goals, his DC United U16 team with 14 goals and scored five goals for his U18 DC United team before departing early for Pitt.
Coach Fishbein on Brezniak: “I love Colin’s tenacity and desire for excellence. From my first conversation with Colin I knew this was a kid I wanted to coach. He’s passionate about the game, knows who he is as a young man and is going to be an incredible teammate. He is a handful around the goal and his skill and work rate will lead to goals and assists. A proven scorer, he is also going to bring out the best in his teammates.”
Matthew Puig – 6-2 – Forward – Edmond, Okla.
Puig comes to UNM from Tulsa University where he was a standout during his lone season with the Golden Hurricanes in 2016. The forward was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Rookie and All-Conference teams following a pair of AAC Rookie of the Week honors. He started in 15 of the team’s 20 games, leading the squad in points (17), goals (8), shots (45) and shots on goal (27). Puig also finished his freshman season fourth in the AAC in shots, goals and gamewinners (3) and was ranked fifth in points.
With three years of collegiate eligibility remaining, Puig also excelled in club play prior to his time with Tulsa, helping lead Oklahoma FC “A” to four-straight state championships from 2011 to 2014. In those four years, he tallied 95 points on 33 goals and 29 assists.
In high school, Puig amassed 66 goals and 42 assists for 174 points at Deer Creek High School leading his team to a Class 5A State Championship and earning DCHS’s Golden Boot Award all four years.
Coach Fishbein on Puig: “Matt is a natural center forward. He has all of the qualities you look for in a forward: intelligence, creativity, skill, athleticism and a nose for the goal. He’s demonstrated that he can score big goals at the collegiate level and he has fit seamlessly into our style of play. His work ethic and desire to score goals are going to make us a much more dynamic attacking team.”
Both Brezniak and Puig will don Lobo uniforms in March as the Lobos begin their 2018 spring schedule. UNM will kick off on the road against Phoenix Rising FC (a USL professional team) on March 10 before hosting a pair of matches including the UNM Alumni Game on March 31 and a contest against Air Force on April 7. The Lobos will finish up with three road games including Denver (April 14), UC Irvine (April 21) and San Diego State (April 22).