Staff Report
After a 17-1-2 record and third round NCAA tournament appearance, Soccer America named UNM men's soccer coach Jeremy Fishbein 2004 Coach of the Year.
The third round appearance was the first ever for the Lobos, who have been in the tournament three times. Two of those have been under Fishbein, with the other coming while Fishbein was an assistant coach.
This year's record was an 8.5-game improvement from the 2003 season in which the Lobos went 8-9-3 - the best turnaround margin in the NCAA this season.
Fishbein amassed a 43-14-5 record since taking over the Lobos in 2002.
UNM ended the regular season ranked No. 1 by Soccer America, but wound up with the 13th seed in the NCAA tournament. It was the first time the team was seeded.
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His team's accomplishments this season include a 1-0 double overtime win against then-No.1 Indiana on Sept. 19 at the UNM Soccer Complex. The Hoosiers went on to win the NCAA tournament.
Including a preseason shootout win over then-No. 7 Southern Methodist, the Lobos ended this year 6-1 against teams in the NCAA tournament.
The Lobos also placed four players on Academic All-American teams. Eric Carlson and Jeff Rowland were named to ESPN the Magazine's All-America first team. Juniors Matt Wootton and Ben Ashwill were named to the second team.
Rowland was also the only player in the country to garner first team All American and Academic All-American status this season.
