After two successful weekends at home, the UNM men’s soccer team is back on the road this week.
The Lobos (4-2) will travel to California to play the UC Irvine Anteaters, a team New Mexico hasn’t faced since 2012.
The last time UNM played UC Irvine was in Albuquerque in the fall of 2012. The Lobos managed to get a 2-1 victory, but only after a late game-tying goal by the Anteaters forced the match to go into double overtime.
That season ended with both programs going in opposite directions. UC Irvine finished that season with a 5-14-1 record, while New Mexico went 15-2 overall and made it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
This season is a similar story for the Anteaters, as UC Irvine is off to a slow start, holding a 1-5 record. The team is currently riding a three-game losing streak.
But UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein said the Lobos can’t be too confident and are going to have to be on their toes.
“I watched (the Anteaters) quite a bit,” he said. “It’s a good team, a real skilled team. They haven’t been finding the results, but they’re a quality team. I’m not sure how much punch they have, but they’ll be at home.”
The Anteaters’ only win this season so far came on Sept. 2 when they defeated the Grand Canyon Lopes 1-0. However, UC Irvine was never in complete control of that match, as the Anteaters were outshot 14-5.
The Lobos played the Lopes last Sunday and also took them down 1-0. It was a much more balanced match, with each team recording a total of 15 shots.
In six games, the Anteaters have scored only three total goals. In the same amount of games, the Lobos have six goals, half of which have been scored by senior forward Niko Hansen.
Hansen’s last goal was nominated for TopDrawerSoccer’s College Goal of the Week.
The Lobos lost their first two matches of the season, both 1-0 losses from penalty kicks.
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That subpar start seems to have only motivated the Lobos, as they have now won four shutout games in a row. Under junior goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu, UNM has not allowed a goal in 428 minutes.
Fishbein said although he’s been happy with the chances the offense has been creating, he thinks the defense is definitely shining at the moment.
“I think we’ve had seven shutouts in a row, I’m not exactly sure. But four is a good start,” he said. “It’s nice. We’ve been playing quality team defense. And in terms of the season, if you look at the three preseason matches and the opening weekend, we haven’t given up a goal in the run of play.”
This week’s match will be played on Sunday at UC Irvine’s home, the Anteater Stadium, and is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. MT.
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She mainly covers men’s soccer and basketball. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
