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UPCOMING: The University of New Mexico women’s soccer team continues its home-game schedule this weekend as it hosts the Lobo Adidas Classic Sept. 6 and 8 at the UNM Soccer Complex. The Lobos’ first match-up is against the Houston Cougars on Friday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. Second on the list is Big Sky Conference member Northern Arizona who UNM will take on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 3 p.m. UTEP will also be among the visiting teams at the tournament. The Miners play games against Northern Arizona at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 6 and Houston at noon on Sept. 8. New Mexico plays UTEP the following weekend in its fifth game of the season at University Soccer Field in El Paso, Texas on Sept. 12.

2002 marks the first Houston-New Mexico meeting. The Cougars are one of four teams on the 2002 schedule that the Lobos have never played in the history of the soccer program. NAU, New Mexico’s second opponent this weekend, is a familiar schedule foe. The Lobos have faced the Lumberjacks four times and currently lead the match series 3-1. Last year on Nov. 4 at Lumberjack Stadium in Flagstaff, Arizona, New Mexico lost a 4-1 decision to Northern Arizona. The lone goal for the Lobos came from then sophomore, Erchen Theys.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS AND LUMBERJACKS: Houston is off to a winning start this year. The Cougars defeated cross-town rivals Rice in a 2-1 game on Sept. 1. The Owls were the first to get on the scoreboard with a goal late in the first half. Only minutes later, Cougar sophomore Nikki Hawkins evened the score at 1-1. Fifty-eight seconds into the second half, UH freshman Sarah Hemmer scored the game winner giving the Cougars the first win of their 2002 season. Houston return 11 letterwinners and 5 starters from its 2001 team that posted a 8-9-1 overall record and a 6-4 conference showing. UH’s conference standing was good enough to advance the team to the Conference USA tournament where it faced no. 1 seeded Marquette and lost 2-1 in a double-overtime heartbreaker. Key returnees for the Cougars are sophomore Nikki Hawkins who finished second on the team in goals (3) and third in points (7). Also returning to the offense is Ashley Fortenberry, an anchor in the midfield and leader in the books. Last year as a junior she recorded six points on two goals and two assists. The Cougars will have to fill the void left by goalkeeper Robin Cate who recorded the most minutes all-time at UH (3, 382) as well as earned the most shutouts (8.5) and maintained the lowest goals against average( 1.5).

The Sept. 8 match between New Mexico and NAU will be the third game of the season for each team. Up until now, Northern Arizona is 1-1-0 on the season, recording a loss to Western Michigan on Aug. 30 and earning a decisive win against Central Michigan on Sept.1. The Lumberjacks’ first game of the year remained scoreless until the 81st minute mark when Western Michigan was able to get through the NAU defense and score to make it a 1-0 game. Northern Arizona’s second match was a different story. The Lumberjacks dominated opponent Central Michigan and soundly defeated the Chippewas 2-0. Scores for NAU came from junior Sierra Cristiano and sophomore Carin Larkin. In goal for the Lumberjacks was goalkeeper Andrea Berra. The freshman recorded her first shutout and win of the year. Thirteen letterwinners and six starters return for second-year head coach Andre Luciano. In 2001, the Lumberjacks complied a 6-10-2 overall record and were 1-4-1 in Big Sky Conference play, placing them sixth overall. This season NAU has been given a pre-season ranking of fourth in the conference and returns All-Big Sky performers in senior defensive stalwart, Jessica Scoglund and sophomore forward Adria Barchi, who had the best freshman campaign for the Lumberjacks, notching two goals and recording a team-high four assists.

LAST WEEK: After battling for more than 60 minutes against a relentless Texas Longhorn offense, the University of New Mexico women's soccer team conceded four goals in the last thirty minutes of play at Mike A. Myers Stadium on Friday, Aug, 30.

UNM keeper, sophomore Kristen Winters and the Lobo defense kept Texas in check throughout the first half, yielding only two shots on net, both of which came off dangerous crosses. The Longhorn defense was equally stingy, allowing the Lobos only three shots on goal, two of which came from junior midfielder Marte Dolva.

Going into the scoreless second half, Texas stepped up the pressure and was able to capitalize on a defensive breakdown to make the score 1-0 in the 60th minute of play. Junior forward Kylee Wosnuk scored a header off a Lauren Field cross, which landed inside the far post. A give-and-go in front of the net at the 66:54 mark resulted in the Longhorns' second score of the evening. Freshman forward, Mia Moody was credited with the goal, the first of her career. After a 20-minute lull in play, junior Kati McBain furthered the Texas score with a rebounded shot in front of the goal that found the back of an open UNM net. In the dying minutes off the match, Texas would score for the fourth and final time after a shot from the right side of the net by Kylee Wosnuk, slipped past Winters.

The Texas trio of of Kati McBain, Kylee Wosnuk and Kelly McDonald combined for 14 of the 25 shots recorded on the night, three of which resulted in goals. Leading the offense was Wosnuk, who notched four points on two goals and recorded a total of five shots. UNM netminder Kristen Winters recorded seven saves in the match, with five coming in the second half alone. After losing 4-0 to no. 8 Texas, UNM came into Sunday’s game with renewed vigor, looking to challenge the top-25 ranked ASU Sun Devils on Lobo turf.

ASU capitialized on New Mexico’s slow start and opened up the scoring in the first half with two goals in the 12th and 23rd minutes. UNM answered back in the second half on a goal from junior midfielder Erchen Theys (Langthorp, Belgium) with 8:12 left in the game, but was unable to equalize as time ran out.

ASU freshman and Albuquerque product, Brittany Cooper, was the first to get the Sun Devils on the board at 12:04. Cooper received a pass from the right side of the field that split the Lobo defense and was able to convert on it for the goal. Sophomore Shawn Reynolds picked up the assist for ASU. The Lobos immediately rallied back, creating several opportunities, but none that found the back of the net. Despite UNM pressure, Arizona State was able to pull away from the Lobos at the 23:33 mark when junior Temryss Lane broke through the UNM defense and slipped a shot past goalkeeper, Kristen Winters (Lakewood, Colo.).

The second half brought new life to New Mexico, as they stayed equal to ASU in shots, with six, and continued to cause problems for the Sun Devil defense. Thirty-six minutes into the second half of the game, Erchen Theys broke freein the ASU midfield and fired a shot that soared over the head of keeper Kelly Fitzgerald, to make the final score 2-1. The goal was Theys’ first on the year and fifth in her career .

The teams finished the match two points apart in the shots category, with the Sun Devils edging the Lobos 13-11. Brittany Cooper led Arizona State in shots with three and tied teammate Temryss Lane in points with two. Marte Dolva (Geilo, Norway) finished on top of theUNM shots chart for the second straight game, tallying a total of three. New Mexico midfielder Rachael Addison (Tyler, Texas) was the sharpest shooter for the Lobos recording two shots, both of which were between the pipes.

TEAM NOTES:

•For the second straight year, UNM has at least 25 players on its roster. This year’s team is composed of 28 players, including 11 newcomers. The Lobos return their leading point-getters from 2001, Erchen Theys (Jr., MF) and Coco D’Angelo (So., F), who both notched 8 points apiece.

•UNM women’s soccer will face the longest road trip in the history of the program this fall. The 10-game trip features non-conference games against 2001 NCAA tournament qualifers Oakland and Evansville at the Pro Rehab Aces Soccer Classic in Evansville, Indiana as well a match-up with the nationally ranked Auburn Tigers. The Lobos wind-up their road trip in the west with games against conference rivals, San Diego State and UNLV.

PLAYER NOTES:

•Marte Dolva recorded a combined total of six shots in the Aug. 30 and Sept. 1 games against Texas and ASU, leading the Lobos in the shots category. The six shots taken in her first two games are close to half of the total shots she fired in all 12 games last year.

•Three New Mexico women’s soccer players were chosen to compete at this summer’s U.S. Soccer Festival in Houston, Texas on the Region IV select team. Senior midfielder Michelle Longmire, sophomore goalkeeper Kristen Winters and sophomore midfielder LeAnne Hendren were selected after leading their New Mexico State team at the USASA National Cup Tournament in June.

FROM COACH VELA:

(On the New Mexico Texas game): “I was very pleased with our effort against Texas. We had a few breakdowns which hurt us, but overall we fought hard against an extremely fit and experienced team.”

(On what can be learned from the loss at Texas): “We have a long way to go and the players know it can’t be achieved overnight. We have some things we need to work on and sort out so we can better compete against top-25 teams like Texas.”

Lobos Women's Soccer

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