The UNM men’s soccer team’s season was kept alive by the NCAA Selection Committee.
The Lobos earned an at-large bid during Monday’s selection show and will play Portland at home on Thursday. It will be the team’s seventh appearance in the NCAA tournament in the past nine years.
Before Monday, the Lobos had to rely on their regular-season résumé to earn an at-large bid. UNM reached
the championship game in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, but fell to Sacramento State, 5-4, in penalty kicks.
So, Monday’s news came as a huge relief to the team, said forward Justin Davis.
“We knew we were on the bubble,” he said. “We gained some momentum off the news today and hopefully we can build some more off the crowd on Thursday and get a win.”
Senior Simon Ejdemyr said he’s glad his last year at UNM isn’t ending bitterly.
“It’s fantastic,” said the men’s soccer defender. “It’s our goal every year to make the NCAA tournament. We are all really happy to make it.”
Davis said the Lobos will have a huge advantage, because they’re playing at home.
“It’s huge to first make it, but now we get to play one more game in front of our home fans,” he said. “It’s pretty tough for any team to come in and play us at home and win.”
Portland finished fourth this season in the West Coast Conference with a 10-5-5 record. Based on the results of both teams’ games against mutual opponents, the Lobos and Pilots look evenly matched.
Both teams beat Saint Louis and Gonzaga by multiple goals, and both tallied wins over Seattle as well. Each team, though, fell by the same 1-0 score to San Francisco.
The teams are just as close when it comes to recent head-to-head play.
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The Lobos played Portland in the Husky Fever Classic last season in Seattle, Wash. and played to a 1-1 tie, and played to a scoreless tie in Portland in 2006.
“We are not really focusing on them and the past results,” Ejdemyr said. “If we can play how we should with tough defense and scoring goals, we will be tough to beat.”
The last time these two teams met in the NCAA, the Lobos were victorious.
They hosted Portland in the 2004 tournament and convincingly beat the Pilots 4-1 and went on to play North Carolina State — the team that the winner of Thursday’s game will face in the second round.
With the teams so closely matched, playing at home becomes a huge factor, Ejdemyr said.
“We play very well at home and it is going to be tough for a team to come to this altitude and play well,” he said.
