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Now that New Mexico has established itself as a men’s soccer program with notoriety, head coach Jeremy Fishbein said opponents seem to be amped up for playing the Lobos.
He says teams are giving his squad their best effort every time out.
“They (opponents) have a no-lose mentality, and coming in here, a great environment against a great team, or what they perceive as a great team,” he said. “We’re getting their best game and it’s a good situation to be in but you realize what it is across the board in collegiate sports.”
The Lobos have seen that in their nonconference schedule this season — particularly against teams like Drake and UC Davis. Both squads capitalized on opportunities UNM gave up to capture wins in Albuquerque, and the Lobos have not won a game at home since Sept. 13.
UNM (5-3-1, 1-0-0 Conference USA) has two wins in its previous five games, with the third loss at home against Cal State Northridge. One of those recent wins came in its Conference USA debut when the Lobos earned a 3-1 victory against Marshall in West Virginia on Monday.
The Lobos will host Charlotte tonight in their first home C-USA contest. The two teams are in similar situations heading into the game. Selected among the top three in the C-USA preseason polls, the Lobos and the 49ers both have three losses in the season.
Charlotte (4-3-2, 0-1-1 C-USA) is winless in its last two games after losing to conference member South Carolina on Sept. 27 and tying No. 20 Wake Forest on Tuesday. The Niners opened conference play Sept. 13 with a scoreless tie at then-No. 8 Alabama-Birmingham.
The three nonconference losses put UNM in a tougher position and make the bid to the NCAA tournament a steeper uphill climb. That may add emphasis to each C-USA contest, but UNM goalkeeper Michael Lisch said the team is not taking the season as one solid piece. It’s a one-game-at-a-time mentality and a building process, he said.
“The conference games are extremely important, but with the beginning of the season you learn from everything you do,” he said. “It’s very important to move on and take the tools and the things we’ve learned and take them into conference to set up the rest of our season.”
Both UNM and Charlotte have players with five goals this season.
For UNM, it’s forward Niko Hansen, who is tied for fourth on the team’s all-time freshman scoring record. Charlotte’s Giuseppe Gentile also has five goals and joins Hansen and Florida International’s Roberto Alterio in a tie for fifth on the C-USA goals lead.
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Lobo midfielder Michael Calderon and forward James Rogers are among the top goal-scorers in the conference as well with four apiece. They are tied with UAB’s Diego Navarrete and South Carolina’s Kaba Hahamoudou for eighth place.
Six different Lobos have scored 17 goals this season, while five 49ers have found the back of the net 12 times. Lisch has surrendered nine goals and made 11 saves, compared to seven goals and 22 saves by Charlotte goalkeeper Klay Davis.
No Conference USA team has played more than two games this season. No. 15 UAB sits atop the standings at 1-0-1, while Florida Atlantic, Old Dominion, UNM and South Carolina are 1-0-0.
Fishbein said in a league like Conference USA, featuring other prominent programs like Charlotte and No. 23 Tulsa, UNM will face teams that believe they are on par with or better than the Lobos.
The coach said he’s excited to see how the Lobos respond.
“For a lot of these teams, there’s nothing more than playing New Mexico, and you get their best. We’re coming to a segment of our schedule where at least with Charlotte and Tulsa, that’s not the case,” he said. “They think they’re better than us. It’s a great task, so I’m excited. I’m excited to see how we do and I’m confident in this group.”
Men’s soccer vs. Charlotte
7 p.m.
UNM Soccer Complex
