After a 2004 season in which they lost one game, the UNM men's soccer team begins the season ranked No. 6 in the CollegeSoccerNews.com Preseason Top-30 poll.
The Lobos return seven starters from a team that went 17-1-2 last year - the only team in the NCAA to have only one loss.
Head coach Jeremy Fishbein said he is glad the national spotlight has finally come.
"I think we have high expectations. We've got a big senior class which is pretty accomplished," he said. "It really doesn't have any bearing. All that matters is how things finish, but it's nice to be recognized."
Among the seven returning starters are first-team All-American Jeff Rowland and his co-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year, Andrew Boyens.
Rowland finished the 2004 season with 19 goals and seven assists, good enough to rank him in the top five in scoring in the country.
Rowland said the No. 6 ranking carries some baggage with it.
"There's a lot of pressure whether we are ranked sixth or 20th," he said. "We don't want to fall short of No. 1. We're always looking to move up the charts."
The Lobos finished the 2004 regular season with the MPSF title. Despite a No. 1 ranking in Soccer America, UNM received a No. 13 seed in the NCAA tournament.
That seed gave the team one game at home before it had to hit the road to take on No. 4-seeded Virginia, which it lost to 6-5 on penalty kicks.
Rowland said a goal for this year's team is to prevent an early exit from the tournament.
"We want to win conference again, get into the tournament again, and hopefully get a top seed so we can play more games at home," he said. "The biggest goal for us right now is nothing short of a national championship, but really it's to get to the Final Four."
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Fishbein said the seven returning starters have picked up a needed supporting cast.
Josh Brown, a senior transfer from the University of Portland, will fill a spot on the backline vacated by Ricky Francis.
Fishbein said Francis disenrolled from UNM and will not play for the team this season. Fishbein declined to comment further, saying only Francis' past injuries are causing him too much pain to play.
With the 6-foot-4 Boyens accompanying the 6-foot-4 Brown, Fishbein said the Lobos shouldn't lose any height advantages.
UNM lost six seniors from last year's team, but CollegeSoccerNews.com ranked the incoming class 16th in the country.
"It's a really talented group," Fishbein said of the freshmen. "We think the new guys can contribute right away."
The Lobos' return All-Region players, Boyens, Brandon Moss and Lance Watson. All three are seniors.
Besides the seniors, the Lobos will also return sophomore David Gualdarama and redshirt freshman German Gomez who both played for the under-19 Puerto Rican national team.
Fishbein said with the combination of new and old, they can compete with any team in the country.
"If we're healthy, there's nobody in the country more talented than us," he said.
UNM opens its season on Aug. 22 against No. 19 Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
