Five teams have already secured spots in this year’s Conference USA Championship, but UNM is still looking to qualify.
Two more spots are up for grabs, but if the Lobos want one of them, they need to start racking up points fast.
“I hate to say it, but it’s coming down to these last few games,” UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “We’re definitely starting to feel the pressure.”
The Lobos (7-4-3, 1-3-1 C-USA) have struggled in this season’s conference play, having won just one match so far. Only three more games remain in the regular season, so the Lobos will need to bring their A-game from now on.
“It’s a good team, but you have to deliver,” Fishbein said.
Tuesday night, New Mexico will host one of C-USA’s strongest teams: Charlotte. The 49ers (7-4-2, 4-0-1), the preseason favorite, currently share the top spot with Kentucky (8-3-2, 4-0-1 C-USA). Both have a total of 13 points, and have yet to lose a conference game.
New Mexico is in seventh place with four points -- only slightly ahead of Florida Atlantic, which has three points, and Marshall, which has one.
Fishbein said he believes the Lobos have everything it takes to get a spot in the championship, but that it will be up to them to perform at the level they are expected to.
The team has struggled in the attacking third this season, with only one player, midfielder Chris Wehan, scoring most of their goals.
A strong offense will be especially important on Tuesday night, since the Charlotte defense has proven to be tough to crack. The 49ers have allowed just nine goals in 13 matches, and have limited their opponents to just 41 shots on goal.
Their senior keeper, Austin Pack, is coming in with a .775 save percentage and a GAA of 0.68.
Charlotte’s defense has recorded six shutouts this season, four of which occurred in their last six games. The only two goals they allowed during this period came on penalty kicks.
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Wehan said the 49ers' defense won’t be easy to break, but he thinks his team can handle it.
“I think we are going to create chances, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “We’ve created chances every game. We just have to be opportunistic. We have to take our chances.”
But Lobo defenders won’t be able to relax either, since Charlotte’s offense is doing just as well as its defense. The 49ers are on a four-game winning streak during which they’ve outscored their opponents 12-1.
Charlotte senior forward Kyle Parker is the reigning C-USA Offensive Player of the Week, an honor he earned after recording three goals and an assist last week. Parker is second in C-USA in both points (18) and goals (eight). The No. 1 spot belongs to Wehan, who has already scored ten goals this season.
Fishbein said he believes his team is just as talented as any other, and that hopes the Lobos will use the pressure they are feeling to get the energy going and perform to the best of their abilities.
Wehan agrees with Fishbein and says the Lobos’ destiny is still in their own hands.
“If we can get results in our next three games, the sky is the limit. But it could very quickly turn on us and we could be done pretty soon,” Wehan said. “It’s scary, but it’s good pressure.”
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
