New Mexico at CSUN
Friday, August 31, 2018 – 8 p.m.
UNM NOTES | CSUN NOTES | LIVE STATS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After a pair of home matchups to officially open the 2018 season, The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team will hit the road on Friday, August 31 for its first road contest of the season at CSUN. The Lobos will kick off at 8 p.m. MT, the game will be available to follow via LIVE STATS, but will not have video streaming.
The Lobos are 13-4-1 all-time against CSUN including a 3-0-1 mark in overtime. The Lobos faced the Matadors last season at a home tournament at the UNM Soccer Complex, earning a 2-0 shutout victory. The Lobos are on a four-win streak over the Matadors in their last four meetings, the last two of which were in Albuquerque.
Scouting CSUN
CSUN (1-1) enters the match with the Lobos coming off of its first win of the season, a 1-0 victory over San José State on Sunday. The squad dropped its opener against San Francisco by a score of 3-2 after taking on No. 1 Stanford in exhibition on Saturday, August 18. The Matadors fell just 2-0 to the preseason top team in the country.
Puig Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week
Sophomore Matt Puig earned Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week this week after posting five points on two goals and an assist in UNM’s 4-2 season-opening victory over No. 22 Seattle at home. He opened the contest with an assist on the first goal of the season in just the 24th minute, dribbling solo up the right side of the field, passing defenders and then passing in for the goal to put UNM up 1-0.
He followed less than five minutes later with his first goal as a Lobo in the 30th minute, taking a header pass from the right side of the box and putting it away for a 2-0 lead. After Seattle narrowed the lead to one before the half, 2-1, Puig came out just 5:33 into the second half with his second goal of the game to put UNM back up by two, 3-1.
League Leaders – Accurate Strikers
The Lobos currently lead Conference USA in points per game (6.50), assists per game (2.50), total assists (5) and total goals (4) – all while ranking just eighth in shots per game (10.50). So while the Lobos may not be firing as much as the rest, when they do, they’re more likely to be on target.
Receiving Votes!
The Lobos are currently receiving votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches and College Soccer News polls after claiming a victory over No. 22 Seattle on Friday, August 24. In the United Soccer Coaches Poll, UNM tallied six votes.
National Stats
The Lobos opened the season with a fiery offense against No. 22 Seattle. Despite the tough game against No. 24 Washington, the Lobos are still highly ranked nationally in several categories:
15th – Total Assists (5)
20th – Assists per Game (2.50)
29th – Total Points (13)
30th – Total Goals (4)
34th – Scoring Offense (2.0)
Individually, sophomore Matt Puig and redshirt-junior Tom Smart are leading the Lobos on the national scale as Smart is currently 10th in the nation in assists (2) and 13th in the nation in assists per game (1.0). Puig is 21st in goals per game (1.0) and 28th in points per game (2.5).