Lobos Remain on Road to Face Oregon State Sunday
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The Lobos remain in The Beaver State to face Oregon State on Sunday at 1 p.m. MT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available.
Entering the match, the Lobos are 2-0-2, while OSU is 0-1-2. Historically, UNM is 0-5-0 against the Beavers, 0-3-0 on the road. The two teams last met on Aug. 29, 2021, a 3-0 loss in Albuquerque.
LAST TIME OUT
Alèjandra Puerto provided the lone goal of the match at Oregon in the 68th minute with Lobo keeper Jasmin Gonzalez-Rutt facing 13 shots, three of which were on goal, to record her second shutout of the season.
As a team, UNM took 12 shots, six on goal, with six shots and three on goal in each half.
The Lobos ended the 0-0 stalemate on their 12th shot of the night and with 67:53 on the clock as Puerto scored her third goal of the season, aided by Savanah Sanchez and Fiona Jenkins on the play. For Sanchez, it was her first collegiate assist.
The win marked the second win over Oregon in as many seasons and the fourth Power 5 win for Head Coach Heather Dyche, as well as the 29th win over a Power conference opponent in program history.
Additionally, almost 10 years to the day she earned her first win as the head coach of The University of New Mexico soccer program (also a 1-0 win), Dyche earned her 100th win at UNM on Thursday night.
THE CENTURY MARK
Following the season-opening win over Texas Southern and Thursday’s win at Oregon, Head Coach Heather Dyche earned her 100th win at UNM. The New Mexico native’s first win came on Aug. 26, 2015 vs. New Mexico State and her 50th win Oct. 4, 2019 vs. Nevada. She is just the second coach at UNM to reach 100 wins, joining Kit Vela, who finished with 122 wins after coaching the Lobos from 2001-14.
FIONA HERE TO ASSIST YOU
Through four matches, junior Fiona Jenkins has been credited with five assists, with at least one in three matches. Jenkins opened the season with a career- and program-high three against Texas Southern, added one against Colorado School of Mines and assisted on the game-winning goal at Oregon.
Her five to date is half of the program season record for assists, last done by Jael Fanning in 2011. Laurie Hegedorn also had 10 in the 1997 season.
Nationally, the Lobo ranks fourth in assists per game (1.25) and tied for fourth in total assists. Jenkins leads the Mountain West.
In her career, Jenkins has six assists (one in 2024).
WHERE THEY STAND
As a team and individually, the Lobos rank amongst the best in the Mountain West and the NCAA in several statistical categories. Through the first four matches, UNM is 16th in the NCAA in scoring offense (3.25), 18th in shots on goal per game (9.25) and total goals (13), 20th in points per game (9.0), 22nd in goal differential (9), 28th in total points (36), 34th in shots per game (18.25), 36th in assists per game (2.5) and 42nd in total assists (10).
On an individual level, Fiona Jenkins is fourth in assists per game (1.25) and tied for fourth in total assists (5). Nicole Anderson is 17th in goals per game (1.00), 23rd in total goals (4), 45th in points per game (2.00), 37th in shots on goal per game (2.00), 46th in total points (8) and 50th in shots per game (3.75). Jasmin Gonzalez-Rutt is 23rd in shutouts (2).
UNM is first in the MW in points (36), goals (13), goals per game (3.25), assists (10) and assists per game (2.5), as well as in shots (73) and shots per game (18.25).
Anderson is tied for the conference lead in goals (4) and goals per game (1.0) and is second in shots (15), shots per game (3.75).She is tied for second in the MW in points (8) and points per game (2.0). Jenkins leads the conference in assists (5) and assists per game (1.25) with Frenz tied for third in assists (2) and assists per game (0.50).
THROUGH THE FIRST FOUR
UNM has scored 13 goals through its first four matches, with UNM needing nine matches last season to match that total (Sept. 28 vs. Nevada). The 13 goals are the most by a Lobo team since UNM scored 13 goals through its first four matches in 2020.
The 2-0-2 record to start the season is the second time in three years that the Lobos have gone unbeaten in their first four games to start the season (2023, UNM also went 2-0-2).
UNM is outshooting opponents 73-33 and 37-9 in shots on goal. The Lobos have had the edge in shots in three of the four matches (Oregon exception), but in on goal in all four.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Oregon State is 0-1-2 with a season-opening draw at Washington (1-1), a 3-2 loss to Weber State and a 1-1 draw against Idaho State.
OSU has scored four goals, led by two from Nathalie Lewis, with Carly Carraher assisting on a team-high two of the goals. Of the four goals, three have been scored in the first half, while opponents are outscoring them 4-1 in the second half.
Opponents are outshooting the Beavers 48-31 and 19-8 in shots on goal.