After a dramatic away win in El Paso against UTEP (0-4), UNM will be eager to produce more dominant, aggressive soccer on the road against the University of Portland and the University of Washington in Seattle.
The Lobos (2-2) won their first away game of the season against El Paso, scoring in the 93rd minute through sophomore forward Jill Olguin’s low strike. The Lobos have had some trouble finding a way to score against well-organized, resilient opposition this season — Olguin’s goal ended a 249-minute goal drought for UNM.
Despite the lack of goals, UNM is generating more chances going forward compared to the previous season. The Lobos finished the 2016 campaign with an average of 14.2 shots per game compared to this season’s average of 20.0. UNM appears to also have a stronger defense; sophomore goalkeeper Emily Johnson has kept two clean sheets in her last four games, and the Lobos have conceded an average of less than one goal per game, limiting their opponents to eight shots per game compared to last year’s average of 13.1. The Lobos have taken 80 shots this season, more than any other Mountain West side except UNLV; the Rebels are undefeated and have registered 85 shots and 13 goals in four games.
The Lobos will face the University of Portland in Seattle first. The Pilots (2-2) are coming off a 3-0 away loss to the University of Irvine. This will be the first time since 1995 that the Lobos play Portland (the Lobos lost 10-0 in Portland), a side that won national titles in 2002 and 2005.
The Lobos will remain in Seattle for their second game of the weekend against the University of Washington, a team that, like the Lobos and the Pilots, have experienced a mixed start to the 2017 campaign. The Huskies (2-2) are coming off a 2-1 overtime home loss to Southern Methodist University and will play the University of Florida in Seattle on Friday night.
For Huskies’ associate head coach Amy Griffin as well as the Lobo community, the occasion will mark a special if not nostalgic reunion; she was UNM’s first head coach in program history, coaching 1993-1995. Griffin played for the United States women’s national team between 1987 and 1991, and while she coaches at the University of Washington, she is also the head coach of the U.S Deaf Women’s National Team.
The Lobos will play the University of Portland on Friday night at 6 p.m. MT and then on Monday against the University of Washington at 1 p.m. MT. The Lobos will be back at home the following week, playing the University of Houston on Friday and then Northern Arizona University on Sunday — both at the UNM Soccer Complex.
Matthieu Cartron is a freelance sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women’s soccer and men's tennis. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cartron_matt.
