When the Lobo men's soccer team takes the field Sunday, they'll be playing the defending national champions - a team that has won 22 games in a row.
The Indiana Hoosiers, undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country, are the kings of college soccer, ruling from their castle perched high above the other Division I programs.
The Lobos are no slouches when it comes to success either, albeit on a smaller scale. They are undefeated and boast Soccer America's No. 14 national ranking. However, they have never hosted a No. 1-ranked team, not to mention one with an all-time winning percentage of 82.8 and has won three national championships in the past six years.
Although much of the hype revolves around the showdown Sunday, the Lobos also have a game Saturday against a very capable Columbia team.
"We are really not worried about the Indiana game," head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. "We really haven't spent anytime preparing for that game at all because the Columbia game is the next one. That's the attitude we have to take."
UNM has won four straight games, but those games were not without flaws. Three of the games were come-from-behind wins, and only one was a shutout. Coming from behind against Indiana is about as likely as the Hoosiers succumbing to SARS minutes before the match.
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"We have to play consistent defense," Fishbein said. "We can't allow teams to go up on us in games. We've been fortunate that we've been able to score goals to alleviate some of the pressure off our own goal."
The Lobos are coming off a tournament in which they humiliated Loyola Marymount 3-0 before going down to the wire with a Cal State Northridge team that trounced the Lobos 4-0 last season.
After senior Patrick Grange scored the first goal of the match for the Lobos, Cal State Northridge clawed its way back to a 2-1 lead. UNM junior Lance Watson happily took a rebounded ball in front of the net to tie the game in the 66th minute. Junior Jeff Rowland decided he had seen enough, and in the 82nd minute, crushed Cal State Northridge's hopes with a free kick that nestled itself perfectly in the back of the net.
Coming off a tournament in which Rowland took home the offensive MVP award, and junior Ben Ashwill secured the defensive MVP award, the Lobos will no doubt be riding a wave of triumph.
If the Lobos focus on one game at a time, they should be able to set up an enticing climax to the tournament that will also pit No. 3 UC-Santa Barbara against Indiana on Saturday night. UC-Santa Barbara will then take on Columbia Sunday while the Lobos duke it out against the Hoosiers.
With a grin on his face, Fishbein said he isn't worried about any secrets Indiana might have up its sleeves.
"We'll get to see them play on Saturday night," he said.
