The UNM women's soccer team is hoping for a little luck in recovering from an early season slump when it faces two tough teams on the road this weekend at the Traditional Bank Invitational.
The Lobos face Furman University, an NCAA tournament participant last season and ranked No. 9 in the Southeast region, today and 15th-ranked University of Kentucky Sunday.
UNM is 0-2-0 against nationally ranked foes this year after losing to 18th-ranked Syracuse University 4-1 and No. 23 Arizona State University 3-0.
The Lobos have started the season 0-5-1, with early season struggles because of a lack of scoring on offense and some untimely mistakes on defense.
First year head coach Kit Vela said that mental lapses during the games are the number one cause for the shaky season thus far.
"Ninety-eight percent of it is mental," she said. "Even games we've lost we played some phenomenal moments of soccer. It's just can we do it for 90 minutes without lapses."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Putting the ball in the back of the net has not been the Lobos forte this season. After tying Colgate University 1-1 in their first game of the season, the Lobos have been outscored 19-3 by their opponents.
UNM has definitely had ample opportunity to score, with a total of 85 shots taken. One example was a home game Sept. 18th against Texas Tech University. The Lobos outshot the Red Raiders 21-10, yet converted only one of those shots into a goal, losing 4-1.
Freshman midfielder Rachael Addison said the key to ending the scoring slump is determination and perseverance.
"We are just not hungry enough for the goal," she said. "It takes players out there on the field that would do anything to get the ball into the back of the net, but we just don't have that mentality yet."
The team will need to get into the game a lot quicker if it wants to capture its first win of the season. All four of the Lobos' goals have been scored in the second half and 53 of their 85 shots have been unleashed after the first period. The differences in the Lobos offensive aggressiveness in each half has shown in terms of corner kicks, with 17 of their 23 corner kicks coming in the second half.
Vela said the team has two sides to it - one that looks impressive in practice and the other one that is hounded by mistakes in games.
"If somebody came out and watched them train and then watched them play, they would think it was two different teams," she said. "The training is excellent, it's just a matter of can they go up against an opponent with the same mentality."
The program is not only adjusting to a new coach but also a lot of new players. The team is very young, with 11 freshman and four sophomores to go with six juniors and four seniors.
The younger players can look for some more playing time if the struggles continue, Vela said.
UNM's current five game losing streak is its longest since a 10-game skid in 1998.
Vela said she feels that the ball will eventually bounce the Lobos' way.
"We just need a little bit of luck," she said. "Every good team in the country has a little bit of luck and we haven't found any yet."
Addison said she has faith that the teams' struggles won't be a season long story.
"It's going to click, any time now we'll find it and we are just going to be tearing people up," she said. "Once we get one goal, more will come. It just takes that one shot to realize hey, we can do this and we will just totally kill them."
