The No. 17 UNM men’s soccer team looks to build on its three-game winning streak this weekend.
The Lobos will compete at home in the TLC Plumbing & Utility Invitational. They will face the Missouri State Bears (1-1-2) on Friday and the American University Eagles (5-1-0) on Sunday.
Missouri State is a team known for its strong defense. Last season, the Bears were ranked third in the nation for shutouts with 11 in 18 games.
The team is off to a somewhat slow start, as the Bears just recently recorded their first win of the season after beating the Saint Mary Gaels 1-0 on Friday.
But UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein said he thinks Missouri State is a “really talented team” that will soon pick up the pace.
Fishbein also said that although the Bears are known for their defense, they aren’t bad at offense, so the Lobos will have to stay on their toes.
“They are really opportunistic, tactically; they try to find the direct pass to the goal,” he said. “They are excited to play us with nothing to lose and everything to win.”
The Bears will provide a challenge for the Lobos, but a bigger test may come on Sunday.
American University is having a strong season so far. The team was undefeated until Sunday, when the Eagles dropped a 4-3 decision against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights during overtime.
Although they lost the game, the Eagles showed a good offense. They finished the game with a 22-13 edge in shots and a 9-6 lead in corner kicks. They forced the Fairleigh Dickinson goalie, Matthew Weigner, to make eight saves, while their own keeper, Dylan Hobert, only had to make three.
A quick counter attack just two minutes into the last period of overtime was what gave the Knights their golden goal over the Eagles.
Fishbein said that although he knows AU is going to provide a tough test, he thinks New Mexico has what it takes to win on Sunday.
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But right now, he doesn’t see this game as a priority.
“Obviously, with their 5-1 record right now, the Eagles are an excellent team,” Fishbein said. “But all our focus right now is on Friday’s game.”
The Lobos have already faced several tough teams this season, and Fishbein said he is grateful for that because challenging games have pushed his team to be better every day, and have brought the Lobos to the place they are currently at.
“We are not a one-dimensional team. We’ve been good in several ways,” he said.” We are in a good place right now. We have a lot of confidence and a lot of depth to our team.”
The Lobos took the two Conference USA Player of the Week Awards. Midfielder Chris Wehan received Offensive Player of the Week, while goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu was named Defensive Player of the Week.
This isn’t Wehan’s first award of the season. The week of Sept. 8 was especially good for him. Not only did he receive his first career C-USA POW award, he also got national recognition.
Wehan was named the NSCAA National Player of the Week after recording all four goals for New Mexico in a pair of games against two teams that appeared in the NSCAA Coaches Poll: the University of San Diego and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Wehan can take credit for six of New Mexico’s seven goals this season. Three of these were game-winners.
With these stats, he is currently tied for the number one spot in the NCAA for game-winning goals, and tied for third in total goals scored.
This week’s award is Beaulieu’s second C-USA PotW recognition.His first came during the week of Aug. 31, right after the Lobos fell 0-1 to UCLA, which at the time was ranked the number-one team in the nation.
“These awards are well-deserved for the individuals,” he said. “But I also really think they say a lot about the team as a whole, because teammates are the ones that help create opportunities.”
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on twitter @cisabelg
