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| NEW MEXICO LOBOS 10-5-2 (6-2-2 MW) |
SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS 6-9-3 (4-3-3 MW) |
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Friday, October 26 | 8 p.m. (MT) |
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – One final regular season game awaits the University of New Mexico women’s soccer team ahead of the upcoming Mountain West Conference Tournament that starts on Tuesday, October 30. The Lobos clinched a berth into the tournament last weekend with wins over Air Force and Colorado College. Currently, the Lobos are tied with Wyoming and San Jose State for second-place in the league standings. All three are also one game back of first-place Boise State.
Given how tight the standings are among the top-five in the standings, this final regular season game on Friday night carries an immense amount of weight in solidifying the final seeding of the six-team tournament.
Tourney-Bound
Thanks in part to a 4-0-2 month of October thus far, the University of New Mexico women’s soccer team has secured a berth into the upcoming Mountain West Tournament, which will be hosted by San Jose State. It is the 18th overall MW Tournament appearance for the Lobos in the league’s 20-year history.
Johnson Named MW Defensive Player of the Week
UNM Junior goalkeeper Emily Johnson was named as the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week on October 22. Johnson is the first MW Defensive Player of the Week for the Lobos since Emily Chavez in 2015, and the first goalkeeper since Cassie Ulrich in 2014.
Scoring From All Directions
The Lobos have scored 37 goals to this point of the season and now lead the Mountain West, three goals ahead of UNLV. Of those 37 goals scored, 13 different players have found the back of the net with 10 doing so on multiple occasions. Gwen Maly leads the team with seven goals, followed by Alesia Garcia with six goals. Jessie Hix and Cami Floth are tied for third on the team with four goals. Leilani Baker’s three goals are fourth-best on the team while Lexi Baca, Madi Hirschman, Makenna Havenor, Jill Olguin and Jennifer Munoz have all scored a pair of goals. Amelia Bierle, Jadyn Edwards, and Alexa Kirton have added one goal each, respectively.
In Goal
Emily Johnson and Malia Vanisi have shared time in goal for the Lobos this season. Johnson has started 15 of 17 games for the Lobos and Vanisi has come in relief in five games, while starting two. The duo keepers have combined to notch three shutouts and stopped 77% of shots on goal faced. Vanisi has two wins as a starter and two coming off the bench. Johnson has logged the most time in goal with 1249:05 minutes and has the lone solo shutout.
Who Scores First Matters
Through the 17 games of the season, a significant stat has emerged for the Lobo women’s soccer team and it has to do with who scores first in a game. Currently UNM is 8-1-1 when they score first in a game. Conversely, the Lobos are 2-4-1 when the opponent registers the first score of a game. That was 0-4-0 prior to two weekends ago as the Lobos rallied from early deficits to beat Utah State and draw with Boise State.
HOME SWEET HOME
The UNM Soccer Complex has been good the Lobos this year as all but two of their wins this season have come at home. Sporting am 8-1-1 record in the Duke City, the Lobos have also displayed a potent offense as they have scored 26 goals in their eight game at home, an average of 2.60 goals per game. The remaining game on the regular season slate is on the road and the upcoming Mountain West Tournament will also be played away from the UNM Soccer Complex.
Multiple Goals = Lobo Wins
Under Heather Dyche, the Lobos are 30-2-4 when scoring multiple goals in a game. The odd part of that stat is at one time UNM was 21-0-0. Then the oddities occurred. First, UNM lost on a free kick with seven seconds left in overtime in which the clock was stopped to allow the free kick to happen … that was a 4-3 loss. That was followed by a pair of come-from-behind 2-2 ties, one while playing with 10 players, the other without leading scorer Claire Lynch in the Mountain West Tournament. Since then, UNM is 9-2-4 in such games.