by Tony Niklinski
Daily Lobo
The UNM women's soccer team will enter the Mountain West Conference Championship tournament today in Salt Lake City, Utah as the sixth seed with an overall record of 2-11-4.
The Lobos' conference record is 1-4-1. Though UNM's record may look bad on paper, the team has been competitive in the MWC.
"Sure we have a losing record," head coach Kit Vela said. "But we were always in a position to win. This year was a record for most ties in a regular season."
UNM's first match will be against the University of Wyoming Cowgirls. The Cowgirls are seeded No. 3 in the MWC and beat the Lobos 1-0 on Oct. 17 in Albuquerque
However, the Cowgirls may be in for a surprise if they underestimate the Lobos.
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"We had Wyoming," Vela said. "We dominated them in every part of the game, except the score."
BYU and Wyoming tied for second in the conference at the end of the regular season, but the Cougars won the tiebreaker by virtue of their 5-1 victory over the Cowgirls earlier in the season.
The Utes (6-0-0) have beat every team in the conference this year. Utah is No.17 in the nation, and won its first regular-season MWC title with an overtime win over BYU Saturday. The Utes will have another advantage going into the championships, as they will be on their home turf and have a first-round bye.
Vela said this year's schedule was the toughest in the program's history.
"We have played well all season long," Vela said. "The score indicates that we lose, but for the most part we control every aspect of the game."
Junior goalkeeper Kristen Winters directs the UNM defense and each time the Lobos won, Winters shut out the opponent. Four of UNM's losses were by one goal and five were in double overtime.
"We have such a young team. At times, there would be no seniors on the field because of substitutions," Vela said. "I'm really proud of our team so far. Everyone has stepped up and played really well. Winters and the defense are playing tough."
Although the Lobos have established themselves as a defensive menace, they have struggled to score at times. Freshman forward Kristine Sweat is UNM's leading scorer.
"Kristine has played awesome - especially considering she is only a freshman," Vela said. "We have a lot of freshmen, a couple of sophomores and a handful of juniors. We're playing great soccer, which is good because it's tournament time."
The championship match is slated for noon on Saturday. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Women's College Cup.
