Sept. 22, 2012

#5 Lobo Men's Soccer vs. Northern Illinois

• The Basics: Sunday, September 23 - 1 p.m. (MT) at The UNM Soccer Complex
• On The Air: Live streaming through GoLobos.com
• GoLobos.com LiveStat Links, Game Story, Stats

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The fifth-ranked University of New Mexico will host the Nike Lobo Invitational with a field that also includes Denver, Fairfield and Northern Illinois. In the final day of action the Lobos will face the Huskies of Northern Illinois.

#5 NEW MEXICO AT A GLANCE: The Lobos got defensive in their first match of the 2012 Nike Lobo Invitational. In the 2-0 victory over Fairfield, UNM held the Stags to just five shots as Victor Rodriguez only made one save in the shutout. New Mexico put two goals on the board courtesy of Devon Sandoval (fifth of 2012) and James Rogers (third of 2012).

NORTHERN ILLINOIS AT A GLANCE: NIU started the season poorly with a record of 0-3-2. They did take home a victory over Iona before coming out for the Nike Lobo Invitational. In Friday's action, the Huskies got down two goals in the first half to Denver. NIU rallied to tie the game to force two overtimes. They would lose the match to the Pioneers on a game winner with less than two minutes left in the second overtime.

COACH FISHBEIN: Jeremy Fishbein enters his eleventh season as head coach at New Mexico.  The program is 143-45-25 on his watch and has qualified for the NCAA Tournament eight out of his ten seasons in Albuquerque. Under Fishbein, the Lobos have a record of 75-31-16 (.678) against non-conference opponents in the regular season and the NCAA Tournament.

LOBOS TO WATCH: Devon Sandoval continued his scoring ways with the Lobos' first goal against Fairfield in the 18^th minute to give him the conference lead in scoring. However, James Rogers continues to be lethal in 2012. Rogers has played only four matches this season, and he already has three goals and an assist.

ALL-TIME VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS: Sunday afternoon's match will be the fifth meeting in the two programs' history. NIU leads 2-1-1 in the series, which began in 1987. Their last meeting was the only match-up in the Fishbein era. In 2002, Coach Fishbein's first season at the helm, the Lobos defeated the Huskies 2-1 at the UNM Soccer Complex.

DOWN THE ROAD: After back-to-back home tournaments, the Lobos will hit the road for one game next week. Coach Fishbein and company will travel to Houston to face the MPSF's new addition, Houston Baptist University. The match will be at 6 p.m. (MT) on Saturday, September 29^th.

Lobos Men's Soccer

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