ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The 2026 season officially begins at home on Thursday as the Lobos host Northern Arizona at 7 p.m. at UNM Soccer Complex. Thursday is the first of three home matches to open the season, with the Lobos also hosting Gonzaga on Sunday and Cal State Northridge on Aug. 30.
Admission for the match is free, and for those unable to attend, will be streamed on the MW+.
While this is UNM’s first match, albeit two exhibitions, NAU is 1-0 following a 2-0 win at UC Riverside.
NEW ERA WITH NELSON
Karley Nelson was named head coach on Nov. 12, 2025, becoming the fifth head coach in program history.
During her tenure as an associate coach with the Lobos, Nelson helped guide New Mexico to a 94-52-28 overall record and a 59-32-19 mark in Mountain West play, highlighted by four regular-season titles and the 2021 Mountain West Tournament Championship, which was the program’s first in a decade.
Under her leadership in the defensive unit, the Lobos set a program record for consecutive shutout minutes (602:51) in 2022 and posted their lowest goals-against average (0.82) since 2011.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
New Mexico was voted third in the Mountain West Preseason Coaches’ Poll, received 82 points behind two first-place votes, the second-most first-place votes among the 11 MW teams, of which four received at least one first-place vote. UNM finished one point behind Wyoming, with the Cowgirls receiving one first-place vote, with Air Force selected as the preseason favorite with seven first-place votes and 96 points.
Fiona Jenkins, Nicole Anderson and Alysa Whelchel represented the Lobos on the MW Preseason Watch List. The trio are entering their fourth season with the Lobos and are coming off of productive 2025 seasons.
A forward from San Diego, California, Anderson has appeared in 53 matches with 43 starts in her first three seasons at UNM. Last season, she started 18 matches and led the Lobos with 19 points behind eight goals and three assists, tying for the team lead in goals and tied for third in assists. Against MW opponents, Anderson recorded four goals, also a team high, and tied for the team high with three assists, for a team-high 11 points. She led the Lobos with 40 shots, 16 on goal, and recorded a brace against Nevada which also included the game-winning goal. Anderson earned Mountain West All-Conference Second Team last season.
A constant on defense, Jenkins has appeared in 49 matches with 46 starts in her first three seasons. The Fort Collins, Colorado native played the full time eight times last season and played 80 or more minutes in 12 of the 15 matches she appeared in. In the 2025 season opener, Jenkins set the program record for most assists in a match with three and registered an assist in five of the first six matches of the season.
From Torrance, California, Whelchel anchors the midfielder group with an appearance in 51 matches and 36 starts over the previous three seasons including starting all 19 matches in 2025. Whelchel had her best season last season with six goals and 15 points and scored the game-winning goal against Grand Canyon. Her 15 points was third on the team as was her six goals, while her three assists had her tied for third.
COACHING DEBUTS
UNM Head Coach Karley Nelson is the fifth head coach in program history, and in the previous four head coaching debuts, only one has won in their first match.
Amy Allman won in her first match as a head coach, also the first game in Lobo Soccer history, a 1-0 win over Regis on Sept. 4, 1993. Both John DeWitt and Heather Dyche lost their first matches as Lobo head coaches and Kit Vela tied 1-1 in her first match as the Lobo leader.
SEASON OPENERS
The Lobos are 10-17-6 all-time in season openers and 5-5-4 when starting the season at home.
UNM won 8-0 in its season opener last season behind a hat trick from
Nicole Anderson and three assists by Fiona Jenkins. UNM tallied 21 points, the most in a match by a Lobo team since UNM had 22 against Central Arkansas on Sept. 28, 2008. The eight goals were the most scored in a season opener in program history, with the previous seven goals scored against Montana in 2010, and the most in a game since the Lobos scored nine against Troy on Sept. 29, 2002. It was also the first shutout in a season opener since 2019, a 1-0 win over No. 22 Texas Tech.
Savanah Sanchez opened the 2025 season with a goal in the seventh minute of the season opener and scored three goals in the first 13
minutes with five different Lobos scoring a goal in the match.
Thursday will be the first time opening up the season against Northern Arizona.
LATE START
With the exception of the COVID year when the season was played in the spring, UNM’s match against Northern Arizona is the latest start for the Lobos since 2019, when UNM opened up against Texas Tech on Aug. 26.
LOOK AT THE LOBOS
UNM returns 21 players from a season ago while adding eight newcomers with 10 underclassmen and 19 upperclassmen on the roster.
Of the eight newcomers, UNM added a transfer goalkeeper from Creighton in Madison London, a defender from Arizona Western in Alison Peralta, a defender from Baylor in Angelina Moschetti and five freshmen.
The Lobos return eight starting field players and a goalkeeper from last season, including Nicole Anderson, who tied for the team lead in goals and led in points, and Fiona Jenkins, who led with eight assists.
Alyson Campbell returns in net after starting 12 matches last season and appearing in 14, finishing her first season as a Lobo with four shutouts and a combined shutout.
SOCCER IS AN INTERNATIONAL GAME
UNM features five players from international countries, including three from Canada (Jessica Darby, Madison London, Laiken van Rooyen), Samantha Corrie (England) and Alison Peralta (Mexico).
The Lobos also have players from six different states with California and New Mexico the most represented at six each, followed by Colorado (five), Washington (four), Utah (two) and Nevada (one).
CHANGING ROLES
UNM had six players change positions between the 2025 and 2026 season, most notably Jasmin Gonzalez-Rutt who went from goalkeeper to midfielder after starting in seven matches and appearing in eight matches last season.
In addition, Kennedy Brown moved to solely being a midfielder, Sherry Diep moved from forward to midfielder, Gabby Beaudry moved from midfielder to defender, Alexa Campos moved from forward to defender and Samantha Corrie is now listed as both a defender and a midfielder after being a defender last season.
SUPER SENIORS
The Lobos have the luxury of a pair of fifth-year players in Kennedy Brown and Presley Devey.
Brown has appeared in 52 matches with 51 starts in her time as a Lobo, and has started every match the last two years. The Albuquerque native scored two goals last season, scoring her first collegiate goal against the Colorado School of Mines and a goal against Grand Canyon.
Devey missed 2025 due to injury, but has played in 42 matches with 20 starts in the prior three years. The Utah native started 18 matches in 2024 with eight goals and three assists. Devey led the team with eight goals and 19 points, had a team-high four game-winning goals and took a team-high 22 shots on goal.
PRIDE OF NEW MEXICO
The roster features six players from The Land of Enchantment, with half local Lobos from Albuquerque (Kennedy Brown, Ayla Dils, Savanah Sanchez).
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Northern Arizona scored in the fifth minute and again in the 85th minute in its season opener at UC Riverside on Aug. 12.
As a team, the Lumberjacks were picked fourth in the Big Sky preseason poll with 60 points with Micala Boex named the 2026 Big Sky Preseason Most Valuable Player. Boex led NAU with eight goals and six assists for a team-high 22 points in 2025 and scored the second goal in NAU’s match against UC Riverside.
HOW TO WATCH
The match, as well as all home and MW matches will be streamed on the MW+ this season, while admission to home matches will be free. Fans can sign up for MW+ at https://golobos.com/watch.