by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
A scoreless draw may not be the most awe-inspiring way to win a conference championship, but the UNM men's soccer team will take it.
The Lobos won their fourth straight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship after a 0-0 double-overtime tie at Denver on Sunday. With the draw, UNM will advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row.
UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein said the Lobos didn't play as aggressive as usual on offense Sunday knowing that a draw would be good enough to clinch the MPSF over second place Denver.
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"I'm real proud of our team," he said. "The difficulty going into the game was that we knew we had to play to not lose. That messed with our performance a little bit, but we showed a lot of maturity at crucial times of the game."
Heading into the final weekend of the season, UNM had a one-game lead over Denver.
The Lobos won 2-0 in the closing moments Friday at Air Force, while Denver beat UNLV earlier in the day, setting up Sunday's huge matchup between the teams.
UNM goalkeeper Mike Graczyk said the Lobos were expecting a grind with the Pioneers heading into the game.
"We knew it was going to be tough going against Denver," he said. "It's always a tough trip going to Colorado. I think the guys played really well. Overall, I couldn't be any happier."
Had Denver won Sunday, it would have clinched the MPSF.
However, UNM relied on its stingy defense once again to preserve the draw.
"That was our first goal was to get a shutout," Fishbein said. "The guys did a good job."
The Lobos finished the regular season at 12-4-2 overall and 7-1-2 in the conference. Denver was 10-4-4, including 6-1-3 in the MPSF.
UNM will find out its seeding in the NCAA Tournament today between 3:30 and 4 p.m. on ESPN News.
Fishbein said he doesn't have any expectations for where the Lobos will be seeded and wouldn't be surprised if UNM did not get a home game.
Still, he said the players are thrilled to have earned a spot in the tournament and that he has a strong team going into the postseason.
"We're always confident," he said. "Every time we step on the field, we expect to win."
Graczyk said the team is more focused on staying sharp than worrying about which team it will play in the first round of the NCAAs.
"Hopefully, we can keep the momentum," he said. "I think the whole team understands what we need to do. It's about everyone collectively playing as a unit. I think we're playing really well right now."
