New Mexico vs. (RV) Old Dominion
Saturday, September 15, 2018 – 7 p.m.
UNM Soccer Complex (Capacity 6,200)
UNM NOTES | LIVE STATS | WATCH
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – After a challenging beginning of the 2018 season with five of the first six games coming against ranked opponents, The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team is set to open up their Conference USA slate this Saturday night as the Lobos welcome in (RV) Old Dominion to the UNM Soccer Complex.
The Lobos (2-4-0) will be looking to snap a two-game skid that began last Friday at No. 23 Tulsa and carried over to this past Tuesday as UNM was upended by UC-Santa Barbara 2-1.
Old Dominion is receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top-25 poll. The Monarchs (3-1-1, 1-0-0) have already kicked off their C-USA season as they picked up a win last Friday at home against Charlotte.
Lobos vs. Old Dominion
Series Record: 3-3-0
When Old Dominion Ranked: 1-1-0
In Overtime: 0-0-0
Last Meeting: UNM and Old Dominion last met in Virginia in the regular season finale a year ago. In that final game prior to the C-USA Tournament, ODU upended the Lobos 1-0. The lone goal in the contest occurred early as ODU’s Sebastien Hauret found the back of the net in the 6th minute.
Conference openers under Fishbein
UNM head men’s soccer coach Jeremy Fishbein is in his 17th season in charge of the Lobos. In his time, the Lobos have had mixed results when it comes to conference openers overall going 7-8-1, but in their first conference game at home, the Lobos are 9-5-2 under Fishbein.
Schedule Full of Ranked Teams
Four of UNM’s first five matchups of the season have been against ranked squads at the time of the game including No. 22 Seattle, No. 24 Washington, No. 30 Cal State Fullerton and No. 23 Tulsa. Half of those ranked matchups came at home with the Lobos hosting Seattle and Washington in consecutive games. UNM went 1-1 against those opponents and is also 1-1 against ranked teams on the road.
In their victories against Seattle and Cal State Fullerton, the Lobos scored a combined nine goals with five coming against Cal State Fullerton. CSUN was also ranked at one point this season, making the first five squads the Lobos have taken on, be top-30 teams in 2018. Another opponent may join those ranks as Old Dominion enters the game on Saturday night receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top-25 poll.
Offense on Fire – Leading C-USA
In the first six games, the Lobos have racked up 33 points on 11 goals and 11 assists to lead Conference USA in all three categories.
Freshman Phenom
Freshman midfielder Omar Grey has gotten his collegiate career off to a resounding start. The Seattle, Wash. native has not started a game yet for UNM, but has played in all six games thus far. Despite not being a starter, Grey has come off the bench and sparked the Lobos’ offense as he currently leads the team with four goals. Three of those have come in consecutive games.