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When soccer practice wrapped up at Robertson Field Wednesday afternoon, Niko Hansen stuck around with associate head coach Paul Souders for some extra instruction. The drills involved taking shots at the net with his left foot.
As a freshman forward on the New Mexico roster, Hansen said he’s willing to learn and progress at this early stage.
“There’s a lot more physicalness. It’s much quicker play and you have to think a lot more,” he said “It’s just being a better player all around.”
Hansen has already developed into one of UNM’s top scoring threats through the first seven games. His four scores put him in a first-place tie for the team goal lead alongside senior forward James Rogers. That’s the fourth-best total among Conference USA players and 32nd nationally.
The most recent Hansen goal came in the last 12 seconds of Monday night’s 1-0 win at UC Santa Barbara following a Rogers assist.
With 16 shots attempted, Hansen has a .250 shooting percentage. That is the highest mark among UNM players who have taken at least 10 shots.
“With any young player, probably ignorance is bliss,” UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “If you have some success, maybe there’s a few little peaks and valleys. But I think right now he’s identifying the things he needs to do and he’s a good player. He’s a young player, but he’s going to have his moments.”
In his time at UNM so far, Hansen said he’s noticed a stronger mental component to the game in addition to increased physicality.
“Now every team you play is a good team,” he said. “It’s always going to be a great team and it’s not going to be an easy win every time. You really have to work hard. It’s really mental.”
Men’s nonconference finale
After snapping a two-game losing streak with Monday’s win, UNM (4-2-1) concludes the nonconference portion of its schedule with a home game against the Aggies tonight. Davis holds a 3-4-1 record with wins over Seattle, Saint Mary’s and San Francisco. In its last outing, Davis settled for a 1-1 tie with Loyola Marymount.
Davis has four goals on the season despite shooting the ball 128 times. Three of those goals came from junior forward Matt Sheldon.
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The Aggies have attempted 115 shots and scored 13 goals total.
UNM and Davis have only one other all-time meeting, which the Lobos won in 2009.
“It’s a team that’s going to come here and they’re not going to try to play with us pass to pass,” Fishbein said. “They’re going to defend. They’re going to try to be physical and we’ve got to be good on the ball. We can’t give them opportunities.”
Women open MWC play
The UNM women begin their Mountain West Conference slate hosting league newcomer San Jose State tonight.
The Lobos (2-7-1) are looking for their first win since Sept. 6, losing four times and tying once over that span. UNM played Davis to a scoreless tie Sunday.
The Spartans captured a 3-2 victory over Pacific last Saturday, earning their first win after opening the season with seven straight losses. SJSU did not score a goal in the previous four games before the victory.
Sophomore forward Lupita Estrada leads SJSU with three of the team’s six goals. Six Lobos have scored this season, with two from sophomore midfielder Dylann O’Connor.
