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New Mexico men’s head soccer coach Jeremy Fishbein feels confident that the Lobos will earn a bid to the NCAA College Cup, he said.
A résumé boasting an 11-4-2 overall record and a first-place finish in the Conference USA regular season will benefit the cause. What seed the Lobos receive, however, depends on how they finish at this week’s Conference USA Soccer Championship tournament in Charlotte, N.C.
Claiming the C-USA regular-season championship in its debut season, UNM secured a No. 1 seed in the tournament and, more importantly, a first-round bye in the seven-team tournament. The Lobos will play Friday afternoon against either No. 4 South Carolina or No. 5 Tulsa.
UNM battled both Tulsa and South Carolina on the road, and both games ended with 1-0 outcomes. The Lobos topped the Golden Hurricanes on Oct. 9, but UNM’s only loss in the conference was to the Gamecocks 15 days later.
The tournament field includes Old Dominion, Kentucky, Alabama-Birmingham and the host, Charlotte.
“It was quite an honor in our inaugural season to win Conference USA, which is a great conference,” Fishbein said. “I think we had four teams in the top 25 RPI. It was a heck of a road, but I’m proud of the guys.”
According to Tuesday’s RPI rating on the NCAA website, Old Dominion is 16th in RPI, Charlotte is 23rd and UAB is 30th.
The Lobos enter the tournament playing some of their best soccer this season, Fishbein said. UNM won the last three games since the South Carolina loss, and two of those opponents vied with UNM for the conference lead.
The team posted nine goals in its last three outings, its highest offensive output since the season opener against Villanova, and shut out its final two foes. In fact, UNM did not allow a single shot on goal in its Sunday finale against Kentucky.
This season UNM has surrendered 15 goals over 17 games, the second-lowest total in C-USA. Only Charlotte has fewer, with 14. Lobos rank second in shutouts, blanking teams on eight occasions. The 49ers also lead that category with nine occasions.
“We’ve just had a mantra of controlling what we have control over, discipline, attention to details,” Fishbein said. “Our guys have embraced that, and I think they’ve continued to gain confidence as this season has progressed. We take a lot of pride that we’re going to be the best-prepared team.”
C-USA releases all-conference awards
The Lobos cleaned up in the all-conference awards, receiving 13 recognitions from C-USA on Tuesday morning. UNM received more honors than any other conference team as Charlotte and Tulsa grabbed seven apiece and regular-season runner-up Old Dominion had six.
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Senior defender Kyle Venter earned conference MVP, the defensive player of the year honor, and landed on the All-Conference USA First Team. Venter, junior forward James Rogers, senior midfielder Michael Kafari and senior goalkeeper Michael Lisch were third-team selections.
The conference tabbed Lobo midfielder Christopher Wehan as its freshman of the year. Wehan and forward Niko Hansen were named to the all-freshman team.
Fishbein also received the C-USA coach of the year prize.
Conference USA Men’s Soccer Championship
At Transamerica Field
Charlotte, N.C.
Wednesday
No. 4 South Carolina vs. No. 5 Tulsa, 1 p.m. MT
No. 2 Old Dominion vs. No. 7 Kentucky, 3:30 pm. MT
No. 3 UAB vs. No. 6 Charlotte, 6 p.m. MT
Friday
No. 1 New Mexico vs. South Carolina/Tulsa winner, 3 p.m. MT
Old Dominion/Kentucky winner vs. UAB/Charlotte winner, 5:30 p.m. MT
Sunday
Championship game, 11:30 p.m. MT
