UNM women's soccer head coach Kit Vela doesn't candy-coat her thoughts on the Lobos exit from last year's Mountain West Conference tournament.
"We were an immature team," she said. "You can't change the whole environment in three months."
That Lobo team, seeded second in the tournament after going 3-2-1 in conference play, lost to the Air Force Academy 2-1 in the first round. UNM had defeated the Falcons 2-1 in Colorado Springs just a few weeks before.
"We actually played well in the conference tournament," she said. "It's always hard to beat the same team twice in a year. It wasn't a bad game. It easily could've gone either way."
Vela, the 2001 MWC Coach of the Year, isn't making excuses. She's just telling it like it is - something she excels at.
The second-year coach knows she's in charge of building the women's program. That's not the kind of thing that happens overnight.
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The Lobos lost four seniors, including letterwinner Julie Shepko.
This year's team will be just as young as last year's team - UNM returns only four seniors. But the freshman class that Vela brings in is a good one.
"We're a little more experienced this year," she said. "We recruited a nice class of freshmen. We'll be a lot more fun to watch, but we're not even close to being where we want go."
The Lobos will likely rely on their returning players to provide leadership to the tea, which is predominantly made of freshmen and sophomores.
Top among the returning players are junior midfielder Erchen Theys and sophomore forward Coco D'Angelo. The duo was UNM's top scorer in 2001 with 8 goals each. Theys and D'Angelo will get help from senior midfielder Michelle Longmire, sophomore goalkeeper Kristen Winters and sophomore midfielder LeAnne Hendren. The trio was selected to play on the Region IV select team at the U.S. Soccer Festival in Houston, Texas, on the Region IV select team and should be able to make that experience count in collegiate play.
UNM will need players to step up immediately. The Lobos start their season tonight playing on the home pitch of one of the top teams in the country - the University of Texas.
The Longhorns, last year's Big 12 Conference champions, are ranked eighth in the country by Soccer Buzz magazine. Texas returns 21 letterwinners and 11 starters, including All-Big 12 players such as senior defender Jessica Hopkins-Brost, junior midfielder Kati McBain, junior forward Kylee Wosnuk and sophomore forward Kelly Wilson. Wilson, the Big 12 rookie of the year, will not be in Austin to play the Lobos. She is currently participating in the FIFA U-19 World Cup in Canada.
The Lobos come home immediately to face another of the region's top teams, Arizona State University, on Sunday.
The Sundevils, who finished fifth in the Pacific 10 Conference in 2001, defeated UNM 3-0 in Tempe, Ariz. last season. They were ranked 25th at the time.
Arizona State returns five starters and 12 letterwinners. They will be led by All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention selections junior forward Patrice Feulner, sophomore forward Stephanie Peel and first team All-Pac-10 winner junior defender Amy LePeilbet.
The Sundevils also boast a freshman class that was ranked fourth in the nation by both Soccer Buzz and Soccer America. The class includes two U-19 National Team players, three Parade All-Americans, three Gatorade State Players of the year and three Adidas State Players of the year - including Eldorado High School's Brittany Cooper, the top prospect from New Mexico in 2001.
Like Texas, Arizona State will not have two of its top recruits, Manya Makoski and Stephanie Ebner, available due to the U-19 World Cup.
The game against the Sundevils, which kicks off Sunday at 5 p.m., is the first of a three-game home stand. The Lobos then go on the road for 10 matches. They don't return home until Oct. 17, when they take on Brigham Young University.
UNM upset the Cougars 1-0 in Provo, Utah last year to earn one of their biggest wins of the season.
The Lobos redeemed their 2001 season in conference play. UNM only managed 1-10-1 against non-conference opponents. The team's one win was a quality one though - a 1-0 win over 12th-ranked Kentucky. Vela said that this year's team should be deeper and more athletic. But those qualities may be offset by the team's youth, since 20 of the 28 players on the team are freshmen and sophomores.
"Last year, people might've said 'Hey they're a fluke. They should've never beaten BYU,'" she said. "That's fine. People underestimate us. We're a very young team. It's hard to say where the season will go.
"But I know one thing. We'll go down fighting."
