ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— There will be plenty of emotion on Saturday night as New Mexico hosts Air Force at 7:30 p.m. on MW+. It will be Senior Day for 11 Lobos in addition to the final Mountain West match on the schedule with both the Lobos and the Falcons playing to secure their spot in the conference tournament. One point separates the Falcons and the Lobos in the standings with Wyoming one point behind the Lobos with two spots still to be determined.
UNM enters the match 8-4-4 on the season and 5-2-2 in conference with Air Force 11-5-1 and 6-3-0 in conference.
SERIES VS. AIR FORCE
UNM is 22-10-1 all-time against Air Force, 12-4-1 at home. The Lobos have won the last six matches in the series and the last four home matches.
UNM holds a 46-31 edge in goals scored in the series with 20 of the matches in the series a one-goal match. UNM is 15-5 in those instances.
The Lobos have won the last two matches by scores of 2-1 with Alysa Whelchel scoring the game-winning goal in the 88th minute the last time the two teams met in 2024 and Presley Devey assisting on UNM’s first goal. In the last match played in Albuquerque in 2023, UNM scored two goals in the second half with Nicole Anderson assisting on the tying goal in the 70th minute.
IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
The Lobos have one match left and are sitting in fourth place with 17 points with Air Force one point above them in the standings.
Colorado College and Hawai’i have clinched a spot in the Mountain West Championship with two spots left to claim. Wyoming is currently in fifth at 16 points and plays Hawai’i on Saturday.
SENIOR SENDOFF
Eleven players will be recognized on Saturday during Senior Day. Being recognized at the match will be Callie Droitsch, Alyson Campbell, Morgan Juran, Fiona Jenkins, Nicole Anderson, Angelina Moschetti, Kennedy Brown, Samantha Corrie, Alysa Whelchel, Presley Devey and Allie Anderson.
The seniors lead the Lobos in several categories: in goals with N. Anderson leading with nine goals and Devey with eight goals, with Whelchel leading the team with five assists, Campbell leading in saves with 66 and Juran in minutes at 1440.
LAST FIVE
The Lobos are 5-2-2 in conference and are undefeated in their last five matches with three wins and two draws. In those five matches, UNM has scored nine goals and allowed four with two shutouts.
Presley Devey has led the Lobos with a team-high eight points in the last five matches with three goals and two assists, including two game-winning goals.
HOME IS GOOD TO THE LOBOS
New Mexico is 6-1-1 at home, 4-0-0 in conference and undefeated in its last six matches with five wins and a draw.
The Lobos have outscored their opponents 19-9 at home with Nicole Anderson leading with seven goals. UNM is outscoring its opponents 6-4 in the first half and 13-5 in the second half.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Air Force has won five of its last six matches with its five-match win streak snapped at Wyoming on Nov. 1 after the Cowgirls scored two goals in the second half to win 2-1.
The Falcons are 6-3-0 in the Mountain West and 2-2-0 on the road with wins at UNLV and Nevada and losses to UTEP and Wyoming.
AFA has outscored its opponents 38-20 on the season with an identical 19-10 edge in goals in the first and second half. Annika Jost leads the team with nine goals and seven assists.
Against MW opponents, AFA has outscored its opponents 20-11 with a 14-2 edge in the first half and opponents outscoring the Falcons 9-6 in the second half. Jost leads the Falcons with five goals and five assists in conference play with seven different players scoring a goal and five with multiple goals. Nine different players have started all nine MW matches.
Air Force has a 66-47 edge in shots on goal with Chase Borntreger leading the team with 14 shots on goal followed by 11 from Jost.
Sydney Nelms has started all nine conference matches in net, allowing eight goals with 30 saves.
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.