The UNM men’s soccer team ended its regular season on a high note, but now it’s crunch time. The No. 5 seed Lobos will begin their tournament season today as they face the No. 4 seed and Conference USA host, Old Dominion.
One more yard was all New Mexico needed to extend Saturday’s game. For the first time in the game, UNM found itself trailing Boise State 53-49. The Lobos were able to drive the ball to midfield on their next possession, but faced a critical fourth-and-2 situation at their own 48-yard line with 4:11 remaining. After a timeout, redshirt freshman quarterback Lamar Jordan tried to dive for the first down by keeping the ball on an option run. At first the referees signaled that Jordan had gained enough for a new set of downs. However, the play was reviewed and subsequently overturned as the replay official saw Jordan’s elbow hit the turf before he made it to the first-down marker.
A poor shooting night for the New Mexico men’s basketball team resulted in a much closer game than fans had hoped to see. UNM defeated the Adams State Grizzlies 62-50 in a Friday night exhibition at The Pit, but the Lobos shot a measly 27 percent (20-73) from the floor. They also shot 61 percent (17-28) from the free-throw line. “I’m really concerned about our shooting, concerned about our turnovers and our free throw shooting today,” head coach Craig Neal said.
The history books will have to be rewritten for New Mexico’s volleyball program. With 1,838 kills, redshirt senior Chantale Riddle took sole possession of UNM’s points record during the Lobos’ 3-1 victory over San Diego State (11-13, 6-7 MW) Saturday from Tania Gooley, UNM’s previous point leader (1,818). The right side hitter seemed shocked after breaking the record at home, in front of the previous kill record holder and the team’s fans.
Head coach Yvonne Sanchez said New Mexico took a hit without the team’s starting center, but that the depth inside will overcome Ebony Walker’s presence down low. That depth came through in the Lobos’ exhibition game Sunday. UNM outscored Eastern New Mexico 42-8 in the paint despite losing Walker to a suspension after her being charged with domestic violence on Nov. 4. Sanchez said, following UNM’s 61-49 victory over Eastern New Mexico, that it was a refreshing change of pace after a hectic week.
Senior Night proved successful as the New Mexico men’s soccer team finished its regular-season campaign with a 2-1 victory over South Carolina on Friday. With the win, the Lobos (11-5-1, 4-4-0) earned the No. 5 seed and will face the Conference USA tournament host Old Dominion (fourth-seed) on Wednesday for quarterfinal action. “I was real proud of our guys,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “There were some nerves going in because it was a big game. It was important to get that (win) under the belt and send the seniors out in style.”
Sophomore halfback Teriyon Gipson answered the call Saturday night after New Mexico’s leading rusher, Jhurell Pressley, limped off the field with an ankle injury in the second quarter. Gipson had a great night on the ground following the Pressley injury, rushing the ball 24 times for 205 yards, both career highs. In Saturday’s 60-49 loss to Boise State (7-2, 4-1 MW), UNM’s rushing attack stayed strong despite losing a key contributor. “I thought he was good, I thought our entire power offense was pretty impressive,” head coach Bob Davie said of the running game. “We had 400 yards of offense in the first half ... That’s with a redshirt quarterback, a true sophomore running back, and a redshirt freshman tailback.”
Chantale Riddle added yet another accomplishment to her list of achievements throughout her tenure at New Mexico. The All-American said she was surprised, but not completely shocked at receiving the Sports Imports/AVCA Division 1 National Player of the Week, on Tuesday.
New Mexico hasn’t had much of a home field advantage this season. The Lobos are 0-4 at home this season and have lost by an average of 15 points per game.
The New Mexico men’s basketball team has had an up and down offseason, but hopes to fix many of the issues that have been the reason for the inconsistency.
The New Mexico men’s soccer team will host South Carolina tonight for senior night and its regular-season finale. Although the UNM is no longer in the run for the regular-season title, the Lobos say they think they can still take the Conference USA tournament, and perhaps the NCAA. “We control our own destiny,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said.
The injury bug has once again infected Cole Gautsche. New Mexico’s starting quarterback may miss the rest of the season with a significant foot injury, head coach Bob Davie announced on Monday.
It was a stunning loss for the New Mexico men’s soccer team. With 31 shots on goal and 15 corner kicks, the Lobos statistically proved better than Marshall University, who only recorded seven shots and no corner kicks. But Marshall proved better where it really counted. The Thundering Herd defeated the Lobos 2-1 on Saturday night. The loss brought an end to the Lobos’ five-game home winning streak.
It took one play and one drive for New Mexico to escape UNLV with a 31-28 victory. UNM had just blown a 17-point lead in the third quarter when cornerback Isiah Brown took the field in the fourth quarter against UNLV.
The New Mexico men’s and women’s cross country teams continued their run of dominance by sweeping the Mountain West Cross Country Championships for the sixth consecutive year on Friday. For the women, it was their seventh straight MW title, while the men won their sixth successive championship.
The New Mexico women’s soccer team clinched the No. 3 seed in the Mountain West Tournament with a 2-1 win over regular-season champion San Diego State 2-1 Friday. UNM has won three straight games and will take on sixth-seed Boise State on Tuesday.
The New Mexico men’s basketball team took the court for the first time this season in front of 13,131 fans at home, defeating West New Mexico 89-45 in the team’s first exhibition. Senior guard Hugh Greenwood and sophomore guard Cullen Neal combined to score the team’s first 23 points, nine of which came off of three straight 3-pointers by Greenwood.
In an offseason full of Lobos getting drafted to play professionally, coaching staff changes and nine new recruits, the New Mexico men’s basketball programs gets to showcase the new talent Saturday night at The Pit. The Lobos host Western New Mexico in the first exhibition game of the 2014-15 season, and second-year head coach Craig Neal said the team is coming together well and is finally finding their rhythm, even with the nine new faces on the roster.
The Mountain West has proven to be a tough run for New Mexico during Bob Davie’s tenure. In 19 games against the conference, UNM is 2-17 (.105 winning percentage), including 0-3 this season, and has been outscored by an average of eight points per game. UNM has been outscored by 169 points in its 17 losses.
A slow start didn’t prevent Jeff Nelson from obtaining his 150th win as head coach for the New Mexico volleyball team. UNM (14-9, 6-4 MW) outhit San Jose State (3-19, 0-9 MW) in every single match. However, the Lobos couldn’t find a way to grab a lead for the entire first set, dropping the match 25-23. The Lobos rebounded and went on to win the game 3-1.“In the first game we didn’t really come out strong,” sophomore outside hitter Cassie House said. “We all got our priorities together and made sure everyone was focused on the game plan and just pulled it together.”
Solutions by The State News
