UNM Closes Homestand with UTEP Sunday
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The Lobos close their five-match homestand on Sunday with an afternoon match against UTEP at 1:30 p.m. on the Mountain West Network.
UNM enters the contest unbeaten in its last four matches (three wins, one tie), while UTEP is 2-1-2 following a tie and a win in its last two matches.
Not only does Sunday mark the end of the homestand, it is also the last match for the Lobos until Sept. 19, when the Lobos travel to Northern Arizona and the last home match until Sept. 26 when the Lobos open conference play against UNLV.
WHAT’S TRENDING
Presley Devey has scored a goal in three of the last four matches, with her goals being the game-winners in each of the three matches.
Natalie DeGagne has recorded an assist in three of the last four matches and has a point in four matches this season with a goal in the season opener and has started the last 31 matches.
The Lobos have used the same lineup in three of the last four matches.
Fiona Jenkins has played all 450 minutes this season as has Callie Droitsch in goal.
UNM had four field players play the fulltime last match: Jenkins, Morgan Juran, Taryn Robles and DeGagne, with Droitsch also going the length of the match in net.
HOME HAS BEEN GOOD TO THE LOBOS
UNM is nearing the end of a five-match homestand and is 3-0-1 at home after defeating UC Riverside on Aug. 22 1-0, Oregon 3-1 on Aug. 25, San Diego 1-0 on Sept. 1 and a 0-0 draw against UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 5.
During the homestand, the Lobos have outscored their opponents 5-1, taking a 24-7 advantage in shots on goal and a 61-28 advantage in shots (15.3 per match/ 7.0 per match).
The stretch is the longest period at home of the season.
The five matches comprise half of UNM’s total home matches this season.
UNM is 47-21-12 at home under Coach Heather Dyche.
THE WINNING RECIPE
In UNM’s three wins, the Lobos have scored first in the match and have held a lead at the break.
In addition, the Lobos have outshot opponents 24-7 in the first 45 minutes.
UNM led for 79:08 in the match against UCR, 84:12 in the match against Oregon and 84:38 against San Diego, for a total of 247:58.
In both the Oregon and San Diego matches, the Lobos scored in the first six minutes with Alysa Whelchel scoring at 5:48 against the Ducks and Presley Devey scoring the fastest goal this season at 5:22 against USD. Devey also added another goal against Oregon at 9:10 and a goal against UC Riverside at 10:52, meaning four of the five goals scored happened in the first 11 minutes of the matches.
Callie Droitsch has allowed one goal in the last four matches for three clean sheets, making six saves.
UNM has had three goal scorers, led by Presley Devey with three goals and one each from Alysa Whelchel and Nicole Anderson. Natalie DeGagne has assisted on three of the five goals with Kennedy Brown and Devey also credited with an assist.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
On a windy Thursday evening, the Lobos battled to a scoreless contest with UC Santa Barbara. UNM outshot UCSB 15-6 with a 5-3 edge in shots on goal behind Logan Nicholson’s two shots on goal and one each from Presley Devey, Fiona Jenkins and Ellie Robinson.
With the result, it is the second match this season that Callie Droitsch has made two saves, and the third time in her career, as well as the fifth match on the season with the Lobos taking more shots than their opponent and the fourth consecutive match having the advantage in shots on goal. It is also the third match that UNM has taken 15 or more shots.
For UTEP, the Miners scored three goals in the second half for a 3-0 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday. UTEP shares one common opponent to date with the Lobos in UC Riverside, with UTEP losing 1-0. The Miners have outscored their opponents 5-2, taking 56 shots and 19 on goal.
SERIES vs. UTEP
This will be the first meeting between the two programs since 2018, a 2-1 Lobo win at home on Sept. 7. UNM is 5-5-1 all-time against UTEP and 2-2-0 at home in the series.
UNM has won the last two and are unbeaten against the Miners in the last four meetings (three wins and one tie) dating back to 2006. The goals have been nearly even in the series, with the Miners scoring a combined 21 goals to UNM’s 20 with six matches determined by one goal. UNM is 3-3 in those instances.
JURAN, JENKINS AND ROBLES WILL DEFEND YOU
UNM defenders Fiona Jenkins, Morgan Juran and Taryn Robles have been a solid and steady presence on the pitch with Jenkins playing all 450 minutes this season, followed by 434 minutes for Robles who has started all four matches, and Juran at 386 minutes and has started the last four matches.
Juran, Jenkins and Robles played all 90 minutes against San Diego and UCSB and Juran and Jenkins played all 90 minutes against Oregon.
The Lobo defense didn’t allow a shot by UC Riverside until the 55th minute and just one shot on goal, and allowed just one shot on goal again against San Diego.
In the last four matches, the Lobos have held opponents to 28 shots, seven on goal, and has allowed one goal. In the first half of the last four matches, opponents have taken a total of 10 shots, while the Lobo offense has outscored opponents 4-1. UNM has also shutout its last four opponents in the final 45 minutes.