By Isabel Gonzalez With the first game out of the way, the New Mexico men’s soccer season is picking up speed, especially with the nation’s top-ranked team coming to town. This weekend, fifth-ranked UNM will host the Lobo Invitational featuring American University, UC Riverside and No.
Upsets don’t occur too often in Lobo Land. UNM will not only be facing 17th ranked Arizona State on Saturday, it’ll be trying to beat history as well. Historically, the Lobos have been putrid against the AP Top 25 with just a 5-50 overall record.
Cross Country The New Mexico men’s and women’s cross country teams were ranked 17th and 11th, respectively, in the preseason National Coaches Poll on Tuesday. The U.S.
In the words of head coach Bob Davie, New Mexico football’s first half against UTEP on Saturday was “wobbly.” If that’s the case, then by the end of the game it was a breakdown. The Lobos rallied from a 24-7 halftime deficit to tie the season opener at 24 in the fourth quarter, but their comeback attempt was stopped thanks to three turnovers in the last six-and-a-half minutes.
“Tonight’s the night! Our quest for a National Championship begins at 7 against Akron! Will you be there?” Thus reads a status on the Lobo men’s soccer Facebook page. Though it may be too early in the season to be talking about a national championship, the team certainly got off on the right foot. The No.
Fresh faces on the hardwood presented exceptional skill during the New Mexico volleyball team’s opening tournament. The Lobos (2-1 for the season) seem to have found comfort with redshirt freshman Ashley Kelsey cleaning things up from the libero position and with a junior transfer out of Grossmont College, middle blocker Simone Henderson. Henderson helped her squad earn wins over Seattle U (1-2) and UTEP (0-3), and was a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy night against No.
The New Mexico football team showed signs of defensive improvement in Saturday’s season opener, despite an early deficit. Both sides of the ball came out of the gates in sluggish form during UNM’s 31-24 loss to UTEP — but, bolstered by a strong defensive effort, UNM’s second-half play came within striking distance.
For the first time during his eight years at New Mexico, head volleyball coach Jeff Nelson doesn’t have to worry about the Lobos’ lack of depth. The team will have the ability to adjust the rotation based on matchups that will determine playing time from the versatile middle blocker position. With such a deep bench, it is often difficult to choose the starting rotation. However, each roster spot on this team appears to be filled after Nelson appointed Simone Henderson to starting duties at the middle blocker position for the season opener today.
A battle between two ranked soccer foes kicks off the 2014 season tonight. The New Mexico men’s team will officially open its season against the Akron Zips with a home match at the UNM Soccer Complex. The No. 13-ranked Zips lost both of its exhibition games this season. Akron first fell to Maryland 3-0 and then to Syracuse 2-1.
Expectations for the New Mexico football team have been low the past several seasons. There’s not much to expect from a program that has gone 10-49 the past five years. Under head coach Bob Davie, the Lobos have gone 7-18 the last two seasons. This year’s prospects for UNM appear bleak despite the fact that the Lobos have depth at almost every position and the team is filled with experienced players.
The list of experienced kickers on the New Mexico football team is a short one: nobody. In fact, the whole special teams unit will look entirely different for the Lobos: UNM will also have a first-time punter, place holder and special teams coordinator this season.
The starting unit for the New Mexico volleyball team was sharp in lone preseason play, beating the alumnae team 3-1 on Saturday. Although the annual exhibition game is designed to brush off the cobwebs and show off some of the younger talent, head coach Jeff Nelson said the alumnae opponent boasted a stiff test.
The No. 5 New Mexico men’s soccer team finished its last preseason exhibition with a 1-1 draw against Denver University Saturday night at the UNM Soccer Complex. It was not the result the Lobos were looking for, but head coach Jeremy Fishbein maintained it was good preparation for its season opener on Friday against No. 13 Akron. The first 30 minutes of the match remained scoreless until UNM freshman Sam Gleadle deflected a rebound from a shot by midfielder Ben McKendry into the net. With that, Gleadle tallied his second goal of the exhibition season.
New Mexico Athletic Director Paul Krebs announced Friday that 22 women’s soccer players will be suspended for one game and head coach Kit Vela will be suspended for one week without pay for a hazing incident that occurred Sunday night. Vela is not permitted to have any contact with team beginning on Monday.
When first-year defensive backs coach Charles McMillian started to breakdown film of New Mexico’s secondary, he had some serious questions about one player in particular. “He would just run mindlessly, as we would say, by just not going to the football,” McMillian said. “I wouldn’t have thought he was a football player.” That player turned out to be redshirt junior Brandon Branch, the Lobos’ starting free safety.
Starting roster spots are generally won in the preseason. However, New Mexico head volleyball coach Jeff Nelson has a different plan to accommodate one of the deepest teams he has coached. Elsa Krieg, Victoria Spragg, Simone Henderson and Skye Gullatt have all caught the coach’s attention as potential starters at middle blocker. “We are really deep in the middle. I think we’ve got four really strong middles,” Nelson said. “I think that position on some nights could even come down to how they warmup.”
The New Mexico football team reinstated Jamal Price after the senior guard agreed to enter into the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Pre-Prosecution Probation Program. Albuquerque police arrested Price last month after an altercation with his girlfriend Khadijah Shumpert, a UNM women’s basketball player, according to police reports.
While volleyball may be her primary sport in college, Cassie House has excelled at a variety of other sports throughout her life. Most athletes dabble in other activities growing up, but House was showed exceptional talent in the swimming pool and competed at a high level before being introduced to the game of volleyball. “A lot of people didn’t know that I was a huge swimmer before I started playing volleyball,” House said.
Putting teams away early is the message that head coach Jeremy Fishbein wants to instill before the men’s soccer season begins. While Fishbein was pleased with his team’s 3-0 exhibition shutout over Fort Lewis Monday night, the coach would have liked to put on additional pressure before the second half. After going into halftime with a 1-0 lead, Fishbein’s desire to inflict more chaos and panic on the opposition’s side was not executed. “We found that first goal, but we really needed to find that second goal to open things up,” Fishbein said. UNM dominated the visiting Skyhawks defensively, not allowing a shot on goal the entire game.
Even with four top players gone, the UNM men’s soccer team is not worrying. Players are filling in holes and new leaders are emerging. One of these leaders is defender and team captain Mathew Gibbons. Last year was Gibbon’s third straight season playing at least 1,800 minutes.
Solutions by The State News
