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Lobo men’s head soccer coach Jeremy Fishbein has propelled his team to one of the top spots in the nation.
Tonight, Fishbein has a chance to earn his 150th victory as New Mexico’s head coach — a mere two games shy of tying the all-time UNM record of 152 wins by Klaus Weber (1986-87, 1989-2001).
Fishbein’s all-time record at UNM stands at 149-47-25, with a career-winning percentage of .662.
Senior midfielder Levi Rossi said Fishbein has taken the program to the next level.
“The guy has done unbelievable things for this program,” Rossi said. “He came in and turned New Mexico into a soccer powerhouse. Before, we were just another school.”
Senior goalie Victor Rodriguez said Fishbein is instrumental for the student athletes.
“He’s one of those guys that make everything happen — he makes sure you have everything you need and deserve as a player, student and person,” Rodriguez said. “He’s been a great mentor.”
Ranked No. 10 in RPI, New Mexico (12-3-0, 5-2-0 MPSF) will head to the Golden State to face MSPF adversary San Jose State University (6-7-1, 3-3-1 MPSF) tonight at 6 p.m.
After tallying the most goals in a game against an NCAA Division I opponent in UNM history, against UNLV on Oct. 19 with an 11-0 win, the Lobos can only hope to stay on track, Fishbein said.
“It’s not about reinventing the wheel at this point,” he said. “We’re reviewing the principles that we think will make us successful. We can’t be satisfied and we have to get better. I think the team is responding to it well.”
The Lobos have shutout their last three opponents and have seven shutouts on the year, which is No. 15 in the country.
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Rossi said the defense is the catalyst for the No. 3 scoring offense in the nation.
“Our foundation is our defense,” he said. “When our defense is playing well and getting shutouts, our offense does better because we get more opportunities to score.”
Fishbein said the two losses to Air Force earlier in the season have changed the team’s mentality.
“Early in the season, we got ahead of ourselves at one point,” he said. “We were worrying about too many external things. The only thing we can do right now is focus on Friday.”
Rodriguez said the team is peaking at the right time, with only three games left in the regular season.
“This is where a lot of the teams start to fall off, but the good teams always pick it up,” he said. “We’re excited that we’re at our best now.”
