Lobo women’s soccer announces 2023 schedule
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Announcing its 2023 fall schedule on Thursday, the New Mexico women’s soccer team unveiled its upcoming slate of 17 matches for the fall season.
The Lobos play 11 of their 17 games in Albuquerque at the UNM Soccer Complex, with a six-game non-conference slate preceding the 11-game Mountain West Conference schedule. “Every year we want to play the best and push ourselves to grow,” said UNM head coach Heather Dyche, who will begin her ninth season in charge of the program this fall. “Welcoming two Power 5 opponents and two conference champions to our field this fall will do just that. We are really looking forward to the fall and being back on Lobo Soccer Field with our fans.”
New Mexico starts the season with a bang, playing Texas Tech in the 2023 regular-season opener on August 17 under the lights at home. Other highlight matches of the non-conference schedule include a Sept. 7 home date against Colorado, and a Sept. 10 match against in-state rival New Mexico State. The contest against the Aggies will be the Lobos’ final non-conference affair before jumping into the Mountain West portion of the schedule.
The Lobos will play one road match among their six non-conference games, traveling to the West Coast for an Aug. 31 tilt at University of San Diego. UNM is also set to host Northern Arizona on Aug. 20 and Cal State Fullerton on Aug. 24.
The conference slate begins with a mighty test, as the Lobos square off against one of their co-regular season champions from a year ago at San Jose State on Sept. 21. The Spartans ended the Lobos’ 2022 campaign in dramatic fashion, winning a penalty-kick shootout in the Mountain West Championships after a match in which UNM out-shot SJSU 30-2 but drew 0-0.
New Mexico will get two of its five conference road games out of the way early, playing at Fresno State on Sept. 24. After that, UNM has a four-game home stand that covers Sept. 28-Oct. 8 as it will host Colorado College, Air Force, Utah State, and Boise State in that span.
The Lobos’ trip to Nevada begins in Reno on Oct. 12 at Nevada and concludes on Oct. 15 in Las Vegas with a match at UNLV. Senior Night will be on Oct. 19 against Colorado State, and UNM’s final home match of the year will follow on Oct. 22 against 2022 co-regular season champion Wyoming.
New Mexico finishes the regular-season schedule on the road with a match at San Diego State on Oct. 26. The Lobos will look to secure a top-six finish in the Mountain West regular-season standings, in order to earn a berth into the conference tournament. The event will be hosted by Wyoming this fall, and is set to run Oct. 29-Nov. 4 in Laramie, Wyo. The winner of the Mountain West Championships earns the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Regional Championships, which are set for Nov. 8-11.
In addition to its regular-season schedule of 17 matches, UNM will open the campaign with an exhibition contest against UTEP on Aug. 9 at home.
The Lobos went 7-3-9 overall in 2022, and captured a share of their third consecutive Mountain West regular-season title with a league record of 5-1-5. The Lobos were the lone Mountain West team last year to lose just one conference game.