At the halfway point of the season, New Mexico is still trying to work out the kinks in its offense. UNM's’ triple-option attack hasn’t been as precise as it has in the past. Good teams have figured out how to snuff out the Lobos' threat on the edge and stop them from gaining yards up the middle.
New Mexico’s misfortune on the road warrants a need to foster wins in front of a home audience. Away games have been a bit of a sore spot for UNM during the 2015 campaign, as the Lobos have only pieced together a 1-5 record in enemy territory. At Johnson Center and WisePies Arena, New Mexico has been able to garner a 5-3 record.
Head coach Bob Davie announced Wednesday night the suspensions of defensive backs Isaiah Brown and Markel Bryd for violating the team’s class attendance policy. Both will miss Saturday’s game against Hawaii.
Media members predicted the New Mexico men’s basketball team to finish sixth in the Mountain West this season, according to a poll the conference released on Tuesday.
New Mexico was swept by Colorado State and Wyoming this past week. UNM started a new lineup at Wyoming, but the Lobos still fell 0-3 on Saturday as they had on Thursday against CSU. Middle blocker Simone Henderson started at outside hitter, Mercedes Pacheco at libero, and Cassie House was put into the front row late in the match. The moves weren’t enough to kick start UNM’s offense.
New Mexico had its fair share of chances at Nevada. However, the Lobos weren’t able to take advantage of those opportunities in a 35-17 loss to the Wolf Pack in Reno, Nevada on Saturday. The missed opportunity that ended any chance of a Lobo comeback came when wide receiver Dameon Gamblin fumbled the ball at the 1-yard line as he was fighting for a touchdown. Nevada recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback, making the score 28-17 going into the fourth quarter.
The Lobos have ranked in the top 15 in attendance nationally every season since 2001, when the NCAA began keeping attendance statistics. In 2014, New Mexico ranked eighth with a total of 25,038 spectators in 11 games, and an average of 2,276 per game. It’s no secret that the Lobos like to see the UNM Soccer Complex packed for home matches. But it’s the job of one guy in particular to get that crowd going. His name is Travis Campbell, the director of operations for the Lobo men’s soccer program.
The New Mexico men’s soccer team lost its third Conference USA match 2-0 against the No. 11 Old Dominion Monarchs on Saturday night. The Lobos have yet to win a conference match this season. Their regular season was off to a promising start with a 5-1-1 record in the first seven matches. The one loss was against then-No. 1 UCLA. New Mexico was ranked as high as No. 7 in the NCAA Coaches’ Poll this season. However, the Lobos have dropped three of their last four games. Saturday’s match brought their record to 6-4-1 overall and 0-3-0 C-USA.
New Mexico women's soccer remains unbeaten in three meetings with Colorado State following Sunday's 2-1 victory in Fort Collins, Colorado, putting the Lobos back in the win column. UNM lost to UNLV last weekend and tied Wyoming in a scoreless draw on Friday. Goals from midfielder/forward Lindsey Guice and forward Quincy Slora against the Rams ensured that trend didn't continue. All 22 Lobos on the road trip saw playing time against either Wyoming or Colorado State.
New Mexico duo Rodolfo Jauregui and Augustus Ge walked away winners in doubles competition at the Balloon Fiesta Invitational on Sunday. The Lobos performed well in individual competition as well, with each player reaching the final or consolation final in his respective draw. Jauregui and Ge defeated the University of Arizona’s doubles team of Will Adkisson and Trevor James in the one set final, 8-4. “We played solid,” Ge said.
New Mexico’s run defense had no answer for Nevada’s pistol offense, allowing the Wolf Pack to rush for 351 yards in a 35-17 rout in Reno, Nevada on Saturday.
It’s time for New Mexico to see if it can handle the rest of the Mountain West. The Lobos are already 1-0 in the conference after winning 38-28 at Wyoming two weeks ago. UNM heads into the rest of the Mountain West slate with a two-game winning streak, something it hasn’t done in a single season since 2012.
The New Mexico women’s soccer team gained a point in the Mountain West Conference standings Friday afternoon with a scoreless draw at Wyoming. Lobo goalkeeper Cassie Ulrich stopped a season-high eight saves, including a Cowgirl penalty kick in the 88th minute.
Colorado State continued its domination against the New Mexico during a 3-0 sweep on Thursday night. The Lobos have not beaten CSU on its home court in over two decades, and must wait another year to try to end that streak.
In a conference where teams are beating each other up in the standings, every win becomes valuable and every loss can hurt. That’s the way the Mountain West Conference has been shaking out this women’s soccer season so far. There are no more unbeaten as Colorado College fell to Fresno State on Thursday. Eight of the 12 teams have at least two wins after the first two and a half weeks.
Two games in, the Lobos are still looking for their first Conference USA win of the season. New Mexico’s next opportunity will be on Saturday when they go on the road to face No.
The UNM men’s tennis team will send four players to compete in the upcoming Balloon Fiesta Invitational this weekend. Albuquerque natives Michael Tran and Sean Baklini, will compete alongside teammates Augustus Ge and Rodolfo Jauregui will all compete in singles and doubles competition at the event.
New Mexico announced on Thursday the hiring of Eugene Canal as the new associate director of communications for UNM. Canal spent the past several years at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida. He will handle media relations at UNM for the men’s basketball program and the women’s soccer program.
Fort Collins, Colorado has not been hospitable to the visiting New Mexico volleyball team. Colorado State has had UNM’s number under head coach Jeff Nelson, who has never garnered a win on the road against the Rams. Since taking over as head coach in 2007, Nelson has only beaten CSU twice out of 16 matches against the Rams.
With the departure of Antiesha Brown, New Mexico is in search of leadership. Brown’s offensive presence led UNM to the longest winning streak in UNM women’s basketball history. In last season’s campaign, Brown led the team in games played, minutes played, points, free throws and free throw percentage.
Solutions by The State News
