Lobos Headed to Utah for NCAA Tournament First Round Matchup with BYU
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – After a 2-1 overtime win over Boise State in the Mountain West championship round on Nov. 6, New Mexico won the Mountain West Tournament and became automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Tournament. The First Round match will be hosted by BYU in Provo, Utah, on Saturday at 5 p.m. at South Field.
The NCAA Selection Show was on Monday and the Lobos were paired with No. 4 seed/WCC Champion BYU in the First Round. Clemson and Alabama are also in the bracket and the winner of this match will face the winner of that match in the second round next weekend.
New Mexico went to the NCAA Tournament in the 2020 season, which was held in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In that season, the Lobos faced Navy in the first round, advancing on penalty kicks, 4-2. The team then fell to TCU, 6-2, in the second round. The Lobos have a 0-3-1 record in NCAA Tournament play. They went to the First Round in the 2010, 2011 and 2020 seasons and advanced to the Second Round in the 2020 season.
New Mexico has something to prove, as they have never won a match in the NCAA Tournament. They advanced to the Second Round last season on PK’s over Navy, but it does not count as a win. The Lobos are hoping to make program history against former conference opponent BYU. The Cougars were in the Mountain West Conference from 1991 to 2011, facing the Lobos 21 times during that span.
BYU was a member of the Mountain West Conference from 1999 to 2011, facing the Lobos 21 times before the Cougars’ departure to the West Coast Conference. The Cougars have a 15-4-2 advantage over the Lobos in the all-time series. On the road in Provo, New Mexico has a 2-8-0 record against BYU.
No. 4 seed BYU (13-4-1, 8-1 WCC) earned another automatic qualification into the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 double overtime win over Pepperdine in the West Coast Conference Championships last week. The Cougars have some of the best offense in DI Soccer, led by Mikayla Colohan who has recorded 106 shots, 13 goals and 13 assists this season.
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Hear from head coach Heather Dyche and women’s soccer student-athletes.