by Riley Bauling
Daily Lobo
The UNM men's soccer team will enter the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship tournament today in Sacramento, Calif. on a quest for a three-peat.
The Lobos are two-time MPSF defending champs. With a conference record of 4-2 and an overall record of 7-8-3, the Lobos secured the second seed in the tournament and a first-round bye.
UNM will play in the semifinal match today against the winner between third-seeded UNLV and sixth-seeded Air Force.
The Rebels beat the Lobos in Albuquerque 2-0 on Oct. 18 and the Lobos were also defeated by Air Force 2-1 on the Falcons' turf earlier this season. ˇ
Although the Lobos' only conference losses have come at the hands of the these two teams, head coach Jeremy Fishbein said the Lobos are not discouraged about their draw.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"We couldn't be happier about our draw," Fishbein said. "We have something to prove to those two teams."
Forward Jeff Rowland was instrumental in the team's second-seed placing and first-round bye after scoring two goals against San Diego State last week, including the game winner in overtime. ˇDue to his stellar performance, Rowland was named the Brine MPSF Player of the Week.
Although the Lobos have a losing record, Fishbein is quick to note that this season's schedule was the toughest in school history. He also said the Lobos' record is not indicative of how well they are playing as of late.
"To keep winning we just need to keep playing with the intensity we've had for the past couple of weeks," Fishbein said. "We have a lot of confidence now because of how we've been playing lately and that is going to allow us to go into games and keep winning."
The top-seeded team in the tournament is the San Jose State Spartans who boast a 5-1 conference record. The Lobos dealt the Spartans their one loss on Halloween night at UNM.
Rowland, UNM's leader in points with six goals and three assists, is brimming with confidence.
"We're going to win the tournament," Rowland said. "We're ready to go, and we're going to win."
Rowland said the team is not worried about playing one of the only two teams that beat the Lobos in the conference regular season.
"We shouldn't have lost to either one of those teams in the first place," he said. "As long as we can score goals and not make any mental mistakes no one should beat us."
After two straight NCAA tournament appearances the Lobos have certain expectations to uphold, but Fishbein said the team is just taking it one game at a time.
"We're focused and prepared for Friday's game," he said. "As long as everyone does their part we should win that game and then we'll look forward to the next one."
The MPSF championship match will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday and the winner will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
