Lobos Travel for Regular-Season Finale Friday
New Mexico at (RV) Old Dominion
Friday, Nov. 3 – 5 p.m. (MT)
Norfolk, Va. | ODU Soccer Complex (4,000)
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS | IN-MATCH UPDATES @UNMLoboMSoccer
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team, coming off of a pair of 0-0 home shutout ties this past week, is set to complete its regular season on the road on Friday at Old Dominion. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT.
Following Friday’s match, the Lobos will enter the 2017 Conference USA Tournament as the defending champions. Currently, the Lobos are fourth in the C-USA standings with 11 points. With ODU in second place with 15 points, followed by Kentucky with 13, UNM has a chance to finish the regular season third with a win. Regardless, the Lobos have clinched a spot in the tournament.
Series Record vs. Old Dominion
3-2-0
When ODU Ranked: 1-1-0
In Overtime: N/A
Last Meeting: The Lobos faced Old Dominion just once in 2016, claiming a 2-0 shutout victory at home at the UNM Soccer Complex on Nov. 4. Like this year, UNM and ODU were the final matchup before the Conference USA Tournament, which the Lobos went on to win.
Scouting Old Dominion
Old Dominion enters Friday night’s matchup second in the Conference USA standings with 15 points. With the Lobos following in fourth with 11 points, a win for UNM would put the Lobos in third, just one point behind Old Dominion, heading into the C-USA Tournament.
Offensively, Old Dominion is led by freshman Brandon Perdue who has collected 16 points on a team-best six goals and four assists. Two other Monarchs have accumulated double-digit points including Max Wilschrey (13 points, 6 goals, 1 assist) and Niko Klosterhalfen (10 points, 4 goals, 2 assists).
On the defensive side, keeper Mertcan Akar has played all minutes in net for the Monarchs, accumulating 70 saves and a .745 save percentage. In addition, he posts a 1.54 goals against average and five shutouts on the season.
Last Time Out – UNM vs Charlotte
The Lobos posted their second double-overtime draw in four days on Saturday night at the UNM Soccer Complex. The Lobos tied Charlotte 0-0 shortly after arriving at the same outcome against visiting Denver on Wednesday. On the plus side, senior Jason Beaulieu notched his fourth and fifth shutouts of the season in the matches.
Beaulieu – 2x Defensive Player of the Week
Senior Jason Beaulieu earned his fourth and fifth shutouts of the season on Wednesday and Saturday this week. He did not allow a goal through 220 minutes of play in the Lobos’ back-to-back double-overtime matches against Denver and Charlotte, spending every minute between the posts. He has now accumulated 22 clean sheets in his career, ranked third in UNM history.
Beaulieu finished the week with 14 saves and is currently ranked 21st in the nation in total saves (73), second in the conference. In addition, he is ranked 19th in the country in save percentage (0.820), also second in the league.
On his career, Beaulieu is now ranked in the top five in program history in four major statistical categories. He has collected 34 wins (5th), 22 shutouts (3rd), 236 saves (4th) and, with the Lobos’ last match, surpassed current associate head coach Mike Graczyk in career appearances with 67. Graczyk was ranked second with 66, Beaulieu now takes second in the category.
Officially Clinched
As the Lobos near the end of the season, they are officially a step closer to the end goal. UNM has officially clinched a spot in the 2017 Conference USA Tournament, currently sitting in fourth place in the league standings with just one game left.
RPI Ranking
The Lobos currently rank 55th in the nation in RPI – an assessment which takes into account not only current record, but also strength of schedule and a multitude of other factors.
First is Best
The Lobos are 6-0-1 when scoring first this season. Under coach Fishbein, UNM is 171-14-22 when scoring first.
Scoring Drought
While the Lobos have held their last two opponents scoreless over 220 minutes, the UNM offense has not produced a goal since Oct. 18, when the Lobos tied UCLA 1-1. The goal was junior Aaron Herrera’s impressive shot from midfield.
Fishbein’s 300: COMPLETE
In his 25th season as head coach, coach Fishbein reached the 300 milestone with UNM’s victory over LMU on Oct. 4. He clinched the triple-century win and had all the credit to give to his guys. “I’m just glad I get to share it with this group,” – Coach Fishbein
Fishbein surpassed 200 wins at UNM with the Lobos’ 3-0 victory over UNLV at the UNM Soccer Complex on Sept. 1. He is the program’s all-time winningest coach and entered the season ranked 17th in the nation among NCAA DI active head coaches.
Preseason Honors
The reigning C-USA Tournament Champion Lobos were picked to finish second in Conference USA behind Charlotte in 2017. In addition, sophomores Tom Smart and Matthew Constant were named to the C-USA Preseason Team.
As a team, the Lobos have been ranked in the preseason by two organizations. The United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll notched the Lobos 20th while Top Drawer Soccer ranked UNM 19th.
Junior Aaron Herrera also earned Top Drawer Soccer Best XI Second Team honors heading into the season.
It’s A Hard-Knock Schedule
The Lobos are no stranger to tough competition, but this season UNM will take on eight squads that competed in the NCAA Tournament last season including three C-USA opponents. Those teams include No. 11 Washington, (RV) UNLV, CSUN, No. 13/17 Kentucky, South Carolina, UCLA, Denver and Charlotte.*
*Note: Teams that have already been faced have locked in rankings, other are updated.
A Whole New Offense
After a successful run to the 2016 NCAA postseason, the Lobos lost five key seniors from the squad and a pair of dominating attackers including Niko Hansen and Chris Wehan. Hansen was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2017 MLS Superdraft to the Columbus Crew SC while Wehan has been racking up the accolades as a member of Reno 1868 FC, a USL team. The pair combined for 61.8 percent of the Lobos’ goals last season.
Offensively, the Lobos will need to replace the dynamic duo in the attacking third and have added 13 new players to the 2017 roster in effort to replenish the squad. Of UNM’s 20 points in exhibition matches this season, 10 came from new players. The other 10 came from a trio of returners (Aaron Herrera, Sam Gleadle and Luke Lawrence) and a redshirt freshman (Noah Bushey).
The newcomers that scored included freshman Nick Taylor, who led UNM with two goals, as well as freshman Alex Vedamanikam, junior transfer Antoine Vial and redshirt junior transfer Wedner Delmonte who posted one goal apiece.
Defensively, the Boys are Back
While the Lobo offense will look very different, the UNM defense returns the majority of an experienced and solid back line that helped lead the Lobos to nine shutouts in 2016.
First, senior Jason Beaulieu returns between the posts. He started all 22 games for UNM in 2016 racking up 2,072 minutes. He posted eight shutouts which ranks seventh in Lobo history for most shutouts in a single season. Last season he also tied for ninth in UNM history in single-season wins (12). For his career, Beaulieu heads into the season ranking tied for third in shutouts with 17, sixth in saves with 163, seventh in wins with 26 and sixth in appearances with 51.
Junior Aaron Herrera will help anchor the back line for UNM after competing with the U-20 World Cup over the summer. He started all 22 games for the Lobos last season totaling 2,050 minutes and registering six points (two goals, two assists). In addition, Herrera was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Best XI Second Team recognizing him as one of the projected top players in the country this season.
Sophomores Tom Smart and Matthew Constant also return to the Lobo defense. The pair both started all season in 2016, Smart earning 22 starts and Constant starting 20 matches, missing two to play with the Canadian U-20 Team. Smart and Constant were also the only two Lobos to earn Conference USA Preseason honors.
Lobo Soccer: A Mile High and Louder Than …
The UNM Soccer Complex is building a reputation as one of the nation’s toughest venues to play in. In addition to being “a mile high and louder than…”, New Mexico has turned Albuquerque into one of the hottest tickets in college soccer. The Lobos have ranked in the top 25 in attendance nationally every season since the NCAA began keeping those statistics in 2001.
International Pride
While the diversity of the team roster is obvious, many Lobos have some serious international credentials. Four have represented their country in top-level international competition: Aaron Herrera (US U20); Matthew Constant (US U17 National team, Canada U20 National team); Billy Jones (captained New Zealand U17 in select World Cup qualifying matches) and Aaron Scott (U15, U16, U17 Scottish National Team).
Excelling Off The Pitch
Lobo Soccer has a rich tradition of academic success. During the Fishbein era (2002 to present), UNM has had 20 Academic All-Americans – more than any other men’s soccer program in the country among all divisions. In addition, the Lobos have garnered 91 Academic All-Conference honorees and 20 NSCAA Scholar All-Americans under Fishbein’s tutelage. As a team, the Lobos have earned the NSCAA Academic Team Award in 13 of the last 14 seasons.