The UNM men’s soccer team opens up its home schedule on Saturday against No. 22 San Francisco.“It’s an exciting home-opener,” Senior Justin Davis said. “We are all really excited, especially against a nationally ranked opponent.”
Both teams look evenly matched. They enter Saturday’s contest from impressive victories in their first games of the season. UNM beat No. 21 Saint Louis 3-0 on Tuesday in Saint Louis, Mo, while San Francisco is coming from an imposing 4-1 home win over University of Missouri-Kansas City.
A penalty kick by Simon Ejdemyr just before halftime gave UNM the lead and the Lobos never looked back. Davis scored five minutes into the second half, with his first goal of the season, before P.J. Wilson scored his first goal of the season off a cross from James Urbany.
Lobo goalkeeper Justin Fite posted his first shutout of the season and had four saves for the Lobos.
“We went into an opponents’ field and performed really well against a good team,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “We did everything right, both offensively and defensively, and deserved the win.”
Davis said that road win should give the Lobos momentum heading into their game against San Francisco.
“A performance like that, especially in the first game of the season, only helps make your team better, and prepared us well to play against another good team this weekend,” he said.
UNM is 3-2 against the Dons and won the last time these two teams played in 2007, beating them 2-0 in San Francisco.
“They are a team very similar to us and are coming off a good result too,” Fishbein said. “San Francisco has some very good attackers that we are going to have to look out for.”
Counter attacking will be key for both teams, since the UNM soccer field is a smaller than most college fields. But attacking on the break with speed and numbers, before the lanes get clogged, will be pivotal. Fishbein said he plans on starting the game with a traditional 4-4-2, but things could change as the game progresses.
“We may drop a midfielder deeper in and attack on the counter, or if things are going well we may be able push more people forward,” he said.
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