ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— After seven non-conference matches, the focus turns to conference play and earning points towards the standings, starting with San José State at 7 p.m. Thursday night at home.
Admission is free, and for those unable to attend, the match will be streamed on MW+ with live stats also available.
UNM enters the match 3-2-2 following two 1-1 draws, while the Spartans are 1-4-2 on the season and coming off of a 2-0 win over Sacramento State.
CONFERENCE OPENERS
The Lobos are 16-6-5 in MW openers, 10-2-1 when opening conference at home. UNM opened conference with a 3-2 win over Colorado College last season.
UNM last opened conference with San José State in 2023, a 1-1 draw in San Jose.
Thursday will be the third time opening conference against the Spartans, the last in 2023. UNM won 2-1 at home in 2013 and tied 1-1 on the road in 2023.
SERIES VS. THE SPARTANS
Thursday will be the 20th match in the series with the Spartans with the Lobos 3-8-8 all-time, 1-3-3 at home.
The last five matches have ended in a tie, four by 1-1 scores and one that was scoreless. The last three have ended in 1-1 decisions.
In addition, seven have been decided by one goal, with UNM winning in two of them.
UNM’s last win in the series was Sept. 27, 2013, 2-1 at home.
CAN’T GET MUCH MORE EVEN THAN THAT
Through UNM’s non-conference schedule, the Lobos and their opponents have been statistically even. How even? Both the Lobos and their opponents have scored 12 goals on 97 shot attempts, scoring and allowing 1.71 goals per match, taking 13.9 shots per match and shooting .124.
Further, of the 97 shots, UNM has had a slight edge in shots on goal over its opponents at 49-47 with UNM’s SOG percentage .505.
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.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
The Spartans enter conference play with a win over Sacramento State, ties with CSUN (0-0) and Cal State Fullerton (2-2) and loses to Santa Clara (2-0), UC Santa Barbara (1-0), Cal Poly (3-0) and Saint Mary’s (2-0).
SJSU has been outscored 10-4 and 105-65 in shots, with Abigail Peterman accounting for half of the goals. Four different Spartans have assisted on a goal.
Two different Spartans have spent time in net, led by Paige Fry who has started six matches and appeared in all seven. Fry has allowed seven goals with 38 saves with Kelsie Luquin allowing three goals with six saves in the lone match she started in against Cal Poly.
The Spartans were picked 11th in the MW preseason poll, receiving 23 points.
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.