ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The Lobos close out the non-conference portion of their schedule with a pair of road matches in California, starting with UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night. The scheduled start time is 7 p.m. PT/ 8 p.m. MT on ESPN+.
Heading into Thursday’s match, the Lobos are 4-0-2 with the Gauchos 5-1-1. The 4-0-2 start is the best start to the season for the Lobos since 2010, when UNM also went 4-0-2. UCSB has won their last four matches, which includes wins over Mountain West teams San José State (1-0) and Fresno State (2-0).
Historically, UNM is 1-2-1 against UCSB, with the last meeting a scoreless draw in Albuquerque in 2024. UNM is 1-1-0 in Santa Barbara, with the last meeting in 2011, a 1-0 Lobo victory.
CLEAN SHEET STREAK
UNM has recorded a clean sheet in the last three matches and have held opponents scoreless the last 276:37.
The Lobos went 2-0 on their Oregon road trip with two clean sheets, defeating Oregon and Oregon State by scores of 1-0. The followed up with a 4-0 win against New Mexico State on Sunday.
Alèjandra Puerto provided the lone goal 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.
Against Oregon State, a corner kick set up the goal. Fiona Jenkins sent it into the box with Gabby Beaudry getting her right foot on it and sending it to the bottom right of the net for the goal 5:40 in. The Beavers outshot the Lobos 17-12 with each team finishing with six shots on goal, and OSU also held the edge in corner kicks at 11-7.
UNM had three different goal scorers against NMSU with Savanah Sanchez leading with two goals, Alysa Whelchel and Puerto with one each. Mercedes Morris led with two assists, with Allie Anderson and Jenkins with one each.
In the three wins, UNM was outshot 45-37 but outshot its opponents 18-17 in shots on goal.
Puerto and Sanchez have scored two goals each between the three matches with Sanchez leading with five points. In net, Gonzalez-Rutt made nine saves in the three matches, with a season-high seven against NMSU, while Alyson Campbell made a season-high six saves against Oregon State, and two going down as team saves.
Of note, it was the first win against Oregon State in program history (previously 0-5-0) and the Lobos moved to 2-0-0 against Oregon.
FIONA HERE TO ASSIST YOU
Through six matches, junior Fiona Jenkins has been credited with seven assists, with at least one in five matches and one assist in each of the last four.
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 goals at Oregon and Oregon State. She added one against the Aggies off of a corner kick.
Her seven to date is on pace for the program season record for assists (10), last done by Jael Fanning in 2011. Laurie Hegedorn also had 10 in the 1997 season.
She is currently tied for sixth all-time in assists in a single season in program history and the most assists in a season since Jadyn Edwards had nine in 2021.
Nationally, the Lobo ranks tied for second in assists per game (1.2) and in total assists, one of three players with seven. She ranks behind Amelia Swinarski (Louisville, 9) and is tied with Macy Blackburn (Texas Tech) and Lilly Yordy (Northern Kentucky),
Jenkins leads the Mountain West, with the second-highest player at four assists.
In her career, Jenkins has eight 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 six matches, UNM is tied for: 15th in scoring offense (3.0), 16th in points per match (8.5), 17th in goal differential (14), 21st in total goals (18), 23rd in total points (51), 26th in assists per match (2.5), 31st shots on goal per match (8.2), 41st in total assists (15), 51st in GAA (.667) and 65th in save % (.826).
On an individual level, Fiona Jenkins is tied for second in assists per match (1.2) and total assists (7), while Savanah Sanchez is tied for 30th in GWG (2). Nicole Anderson is 32nd in goals per match (0.8) and tied for 20th in SOG (2.0). Alejandra Puerto and Anderson are tied for 67th in total goals (4) and Jasmin Gonzalez-Rutt is 73rd in GAA (.786) and tied for 74th in shutouts (2).
UNM is first in the MW in points (51), goals (18), goals per game (3.0), goal differential (14), assists (15) and assists per game (2.5), as well as in shots (98) and shots per game (16.33). UNM has eight more goals than the next MW team (Colorado State) and is tied with CSU in shutouts (4).
Anderson is tied with Puerto for second in goals (4), and is second in shots (19) and second in shots per game (3.8). She is tied for fourth in the MW in points (8) with Puerto and third in points per game (1.6). Jenkins leads the conference in assists (7) and assists per game (1.2) with Frenz and Mercedes Morris tied for fourth in assists (2). Gonzalez-Rutt is third in GAA and fifth in save percentage (.786).
DEFENDERS GO THE DISTANCE
The Lobo defense has been a display of stamina, with five defenders playing the full 90 minutes multiple times this season.
Morgan Juran has played 90’ in five matches, including the last three, and Kennedy Brown has played 90’ in the last five matches this season. Fiona Jenkins and Allie Anderson have played 90’ four times and Ashley Moody has played 90’ in the last three matches.
Juran (521), Jenkins (517) and Brown (511) have all played over 94% of the minutes this season, with Juran leading and playing in over 96% of the minutes.
THROUGH THE FIRST SIX
UNM has scored 18 goals through its first six matches, with UNM needing 14 matches last season to reach that total (Oct. 17 vs. Fresno State).
The 18 goals are five shy of the total goals scored last season (23).
The Lobos are unbeaten through their first six matches (4-0-2) with the last time the Lobos achieved this back in 2010 (4-0-2).
Their 2-0-2 record through the first four matches of the season was 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 98-65 and 49-23 in shots on goal. The Lobos have had the edge in shots in three of the matches, but in on goal in four.
As a defensive unit, the Lobos are allowing 10.8 shots a match, 23 shots on goal (3.8 per match), shutting out opponents in four matches, including the last three.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
The Gauchos are outscoring their opponents 12-4 with Hayden Halscheid leading the team with four goals and nine points. UCSB has had seven different players score a goal, with 12 goals on 48 shots on goal. In net, Maddie Buckley has started five matches and played 450 minutes, allowing four goals and making 15 saves. Kate Willmering has started in two matches and 180 minutes, and has made four saves without allowing a goal. As a unit, UCSB has recorded four clean sheets.
UCSB was picked second in the Big West preseason poll with three first-place votes and 84 points. The Gauchos won the Big West tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and return 24 players from a season ago.