by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
After a tough start to the 2006 season, the UNM men's soccer team has finally seemed to catch a wave of momentum.
The No. 12 Lobos will ride a three-game winning streak into their first weekend of conference play this season. UNM will head to Colorado to take on Denver on Friday and Air Force on Saturday.
Following two wins last weekend, UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein said he is happy with how the team is playing.
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"Last weekend was great," Fishbein said. "We beat two quality teams. We were pretty happy with it. The focus now is on the two games we got this weekend. The team is playing well. We're healthy, and we're excited."
With consecutive wins over Tulsa, American and the College of Charleston, UNM is on the longest winning streak of its season.
The Lobos fell behind, but they came back Sunday to down the College of Charleston, 3-2. It was the team's first come-from-behind victory of the season.
UNM goalkeeper Mike Graczyk said the team showed a lot of character in that win.
"It showed a lot of heart," he said. "It showed what it's like to play with some urgency, which I think we might have been lacking a little bit the first couple games of the year. I think that's what it's going to take going into these conference games, especially on the road."
Fishbein said he was proud of how the team
performed.
"It was huge. The boys were good," he said. "That happens sometimes in soccer - the other team scores some big-time goals. Our boys didn't get rattled, and we're really starting to show some maturity and some character."
Although the Lobos are coming off that big win, none of the conference opponents should be taken lightly, Graczyk said.
"It's going to be hard," he said. "We've won the
conference, I think, four out of the last five years, and I think we're the target every single year in the conference, so it's going to be pretty hard. Every game is huge, and every single team wants to beat us really bad."
Fishbein said the team shouldn't get too confident despite the winning streak.
"Every game's tough," he said. "Right now, we're really focusing on Friday's game. We know we're playing a really quality team."
In Sunday's win against the College of Charleston, the Lobos got an offensive boost from defender Andrew Boyens. Fishbein also moved Boyens up to midfielder in a 1-1 draw with No. 1 SMU to give the team more offensive firepower.
Fishbein said he plans to continue to move Boyens around if the situation calls for it.
"I'm going to do that at times," he said. "I think the games will dictate it. It definitely mixes things up."
Graczyk said defender and midfielder Mike Porter does a good job holding down the defense when Boyens goes forward and the team goes into attack mode.
Fishbein said the Lobos are starting to come together as a team heading into conference play.
"I think, in a lot of ways, it's easier to focus on the road," he said. "The good thing is we're playing well. The team chemistry is good, and it's a good challenge. I'm really happy with the team and proud of the team."
Men's soccer at Denver
Friday, 4:00 p.m.
Denver, Colo.
at Air Force
Sunday, 1:00 p.m.
Colorado Springs, Colo.
