Open Announce

Women's Soccer Selected Third in MW Preseason Coaches Poll

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The University of New Mexico women’s soccer team is predicted to finish third, with one first-place vote, in the 2020-21 Preseason Women’s Soccer Coaches Poll, the Mountain West Conference announced Thursday.

New Mexico received a total of 97 points and one first-place vote in the rankings, as voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches. Due to COVID restrictions, the team will play ten games on the season, all within the Mountain West Conference. The Lobos will host a total of five home games and are allowed to play in-state, per the announcement from New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday. The statement indicated that The University of New Mexico can host outdoor sporting events with limited fan capacity.

Both Boise State and San Diego State are tied for first place, earning 106 points with seven and three first-place votes, respectively. The two programs shared the 2019 regular-season title and played against each other in the championship game, where the Broncos edged out the Aztecs 2-0.

2021 SPRING MW PRESEASON WOMEN’S SOCCER COACHES’ POLL
Pl.  Team (first place votes) Points
1 Boise State (7) 106
San Diego State (3) 106
3 New Mexico (1) 97
4 Fresno State 78
5 San José State 74
6 Colorado State (1) 73
7 Wyoming 57
8 Colorado College 53
9 UNLV 47
10 Utah State 41
11 Air Force 37
12 Nevada 23

New Mexico’s Roster

The Lobos will return 21 players, 19 of them letter winners, and welcome four transfers and eleven newcomers to the 2021 squad. In 2019, the Lobos advanced to the Mountain West Tournament semifinals, where they fell 6-0 to Boise State. Prior to the 2019 season, the Lobos had made an appearance in three-straight MW Championship games.

Of note in the returning squad is senior Leilani Baker, who finished second on the team with 16 points on seven goals and two assists in the 2019 season. Baker scored a golden goal in the 2019 MW Tournament Quarterfinals, earning the Lobos a 1-0 win over San Jose State and advancing the team to the Semifinals. The New Mexico native finished tied for fifth in the Mountain West in goals (7) and finished the season with a team-best 61 percent shot on goal percentage. For her efforts on and off the field, Baker was named to the 2019 Academic All-Mountain West Team and was ranked 24th in the nation in shot accuracy (0.61).

Another returning letter-winner is junior Jadyn Edwards, who played a total of 1,788 minutes last season, playing in 22 games and starting in all but one. In 2019, Edwards tallied six goals on 16 shots on goal, including her first collegiate hat trick versus San Diego State, the first hat trick in the conference since 2017. Edwards let the team with 18 points on the season.

Red-shirt senior Emily Johnson and red-shirt junior Malia Vanisi both return as goalkeepers this season. Johnson started the first two matches of the 2019 season before sitting the remainder due to injury. Vanisi then took the helm, finishing the season with 93 saves and an 80.2 save percentage. The now-red-shirt junior posted six shutouts and registered 1.25 goals-against average, allowing just 23 goals, and is tied for eighth in program history with ten wins in a single season.

The Lobos will open the 2020-21 season on the road, facing Colorado State on March 5 at 2 p.m. in Fort Collins, Colo. The first home game for the Lobos will be March 19 versus Colorado College, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. Fans will be allowed at home matches in a limited capacity.