Lobos take on No. 2-seed Old Dominion in C-USA Tournament
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| No. 7-Seed NEW MEXICO LOBOS 4-11-1 (2-5-1 C-USA) |
No. 2-Seed OLD DOMINION MONARCHS 10-4-2 (6-2-0 C-USA) |
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018 | 2:30 p.m. (MT) |
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vs. Old Dominion
Series Record: 3-4-0
When Old Dominion is Ranked: 1-1-0
In Overtime: 0-0-0
At C-USA Tournament: 0-1-0
Last Meeting: The Lobos and Monarchs are meeting for the second time this season with the first coming back in mid-September in Albuquerque. ODU won that game 2-1 thanks to a pair of goals by Max Wilchery. UNM true freshman Omar Grey scored the Lobos’ lone goal in that game. It was also Grey’s fifth goal of the season. That mark still stands as tops on the team.
Scouting Old Dominion
The Old Dominion Monarchs ended their regular season with a 10-4-2 overall record and a 6-2-0 mark in Conference USA play. Their conference record tied the Monarchs for second in the league with Charlotte, but a 2-1 win over the 49ers in early September gave ODU the tiebreaker and No. 2-seed in the tournament. ODU is coming off a regular season loss to No. 3 Kentucky. Prior to that, ODU did not lose a game in the month of October, posting a 5-0-1 record. Max Wilschrey leads the team in points after tallying 11 goals and six assists this season. Defensively, Mertcan Akar has 40 saves this season in goal.
New Season In Sight
At the end of regular season, the Lobos are the No. 7-seed and are set to face No. 2-seed Old Dominion in the opening round of the C-USA Tournament. This is the Lobos’ 10-straight appearance in a conference tournament and the 12th overall under head coach Jeremy Fishbein (the MPSF did not hold a conference tournament from 2004-08). The winner of UNM and ODU will advance the semifinals and take on the winner of No. 3 Charlotte and No. 6 UAB on Friday.
All–Academic All-Star
Senior midfielder Simon Spangenberg has been named to the C-USA All-Academic team for the second year in a row with a GPA of 4.2. Spangenberg is a native of Brussels, Belgium and is currently double majoring in computer science and applied mathematics with a minor in psychology. He has played in 61 games, made 28 starts with four career goals and two assists.
Senior Trio
The 2018 University of New Mexico men’s soccer team features a trio of seniors with two that have played all four years here at UNM. Matt Dorsey and Simon Spangenberg have been Lobos since their freshman season while Antoine Vial joined the program last year as a junior. Combined, the trio have scored 14 career goals and six assists to total 34 points. In their combined time at UNM, the Lobos have won 32 games and they have logged over 7,000 minutes of play.
Dorsey Shines on Senior Night
Senior night was special for Matt Dorsey as he played a huge role in the 2-2 tie with Marshall. Dorsey had a foot in both goals by the Lobos, starting with an assist to Nick Taylor which put the team at a 1-0 advantage in the first half. Four minutes later, Dorsey scored his own goal, after weaving his way past multiple defenders to put the Lobos up 2-0 before halftime. It was the first-time Dorsey had ever posted a goal and an assist in the same game as a Lobo.
Youth Movement
With only three seniors on this year’s squad, the Lobos have not relied solely on their veteran leadership in terms of offense. In fact, the top three scorers on the team are underclassmen, as two sophomores and one freshmen lead the pack. The top-scoring player on this year’s team is sophomore Nick Taylor who has four goals and five assists for a total of 13 points. One point behind is freshman Omar Grey who has five goals and two assists for a total of 12 points. The third top-scoring athlete in this group is sophomore Matt Puig who has found the back of the net four times this season and has assisted in three goals for a total of 11 points
GOAL!!!! New Mexico!
Entering play this weekend, the Lobos have scored 22 goals in 16 games. Freshman Omar Grey currently leads the team with five goals, followed by sophomores Matt Puig and Nick Taylor with four. Senior Antoine Vial is third on the team with three. Seniors Simon Spangenberg and Matt Dorsey have two goals each. Redshirt sophomores Billy Jones and Grayson Dupont account for the remaining goals with one apiece.