Sports

Sports

Men's soccer: Lobos prepare for big home match against UCLA

Cameron Goeldner and Ajinkya Patil | October 18

The 24th ranked University of New Mexico men’s soccer team (8-3-1, 3-1-1 C-USA) will take on University of California at Los Angeles Bruins (6-5-0, 3-2-0 Pac-12) on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. at the UNM Soccer Complex. The Lobos defeated the University of Alabama at Birmingham by a score of 2-0 in their last game. The win over UAB extended the Lobos’ winning streak to four and they are now unbeaten in their last five games. The UCLA Bruins are coming off an overtime victory over San Diego State. UCLA freshman Eric Iloski scored his first career goal in the fifth minute of overtime helping the Bruins to a 1-0 victory. The victory over San Diego State was the Bruins’ second straight overtime win and extended their winning run to three. UCLA’s main man is senior forward Brian Iloski, who leads the team with five goals. Three out of those five goals have been game winners. Iloski is ranked top-100 in the NCAA in game-winning goals (20th) and goals per game (96th).

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Sports

Men's Soccer: UNM ends double overtime with draw

Cameron Goeldner | October 18

Despite a highlight reel goal from defender Aaron Herrera, the New Mexico Lobos Men’s Soccer team was unable to hold on to an early lead and had to settle for a 1-1 draw with the UCLA Bruins on Wednesday night. In the minutes following kickoff, it appeared that UCLA was controlling the majority of possession, and it only took two minutes for Brian Iloski to force a save from keeper Jason Beaulieu. Just 15 minutes into the game, Herrera got the ball at midfield and, with the UCLA goalkeeper off the line, seized the opportunity and launched a shot from the center line that found the back of the net to give New Mexico a 1-0 lead. That gave the Lobos the boost they needed to seize control of the rest of the half. Devin Boyce forced two more saves in the next five minutes, but converting on their opportunities would prove to be a challenge for the rest of the night.

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Sports

Women's Soccer: Lobos beat Colorado College to move to second in conference

Matthieu Cartron | October 16

After losing 1-0 to Air Force on Friday night, UNM fired back against Colorado College on Sunday, beating the Tigers 2-1 in Colorado Springs and further cementing their position in the top six of the conference. Before Sunday’s match, the Lobos (10-6, 5-3 MW) lost their previous two conference games to Air Force and San Jose State. Before the two losses, the Lobos were first in the conference standings — and after the loss to Air Force, found themselves in fourth place. But against Colorado College (5-7-4, 2-4-2 MW), the Lobos were able to reverse their recent dip in form.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos finish weekend with split

Aaron Cowan | October 15

The Lobo women’s volleyball team earned a split at home this week, dropping their first game to San Diego State but recovering for a solid win against Fresno State. The University of New Mexico’s latest win broke a three-game losing streak, putting the team’s record at 11-9 overall and 3-5 in Mountain West Conference play. UNM started strong against the San Diego Aztecs, capitalizing on early errors to take the lead and win the first set 25-20. However, the Aztecs proved to be tough competitors and fought for every point, edging their way past UNM 25-23 in the second set. Momentum shifted in the Aztecs’ favor, carrying them to a set three win 25-16 and a narrow victory in set four, putting the final scores at 20-25, 25-23, 25-16 and 27-25.

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Sports

Cross Country: Three Lobos make top 10 at invitational

Robert Maler and Tyrell Natewa | October 15

The New Mexico women banded together to notch an impressive win over a strong field Friday at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, with three runners finishing in the top 10. UNM sophomore Ednah Kurgat set the pace for the rest of the pack, earning her second-straight individual win after being the fastest woman on the course the previous meet. She said her focus coming into this meet was how the team would perform, but capturing the top position as an individual probably helped set the tone for her whole team.

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Sports

Football: Lobos suffer through shutout against Fresno

Robert Maler | October 15

Lobo fans suffered a painful case of deja vu this weekend. University of New Mexico head coach Bob Davie said he hoped the Lobos would fare better Saturday against Fresno State than the last time they traveled there to play — they did not. In 2013, UNM lost a game Davie described as “brutal,” 69-28 to Fresno State. This time, New Mexico (3-3, 1-2 MW) took it on the chin again as Fresno State (4-2, 3-0 MW) administered a 38-0 thumping to the Lobos.

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Sports

Hockey: Lobos score in overtime to sweep the weekend

Alanie Rael | October 15

The second of a two-game bout between the Lobo hockey team and Colorado Mesa proved to be much more competitive at the Outpost Ice Arena on Saturday night. New Mexico (6-0) took the win in the first game, outscoring Colorado Mesa 5-2. But the Mavericks looked to salvage a split before leaving Albuquerque, while the Lobos looked to protect home ice and remain unbeaten on the season. Both teams came to play, as an aggressive first period had fans standing in their seats to catch the action.

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Sports

Men’s Soccer: Solid defense helps Lobos defeat UAB 2-0

Ajinkya Patil | October 15

Returning from a win over Florida Atlantic in their last game, the Lobos scored two goals in the second half on Saturday at the University of New Mexico Soccer Complex to defeat Alabama-Birmingham. New Mexico (8-3-1, 3-1-1 C-USA) extended its winning streak to four and is now unbeaten in its last five games, taking care of UAB by a score of 2-0. The Lobos remained in fourth place in the C-USA standings with 10 points, just three points behind first place Florida International. Old Dominion and Kentucky occupy second and third place, respectively.

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Sports

Hockey: UNM extends win streak to five with 5-2 victory over Colorado Mesa

Alanie Rael | October 14

UNM Lobo hockey defeated the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks Friday night in a very physical game, one in which New Mexico seemed to dictate the pace on pretty much from the start. New Mexico (5-0) appeared to want to play at a high tempo and brought a lot of intensity against Colorado Mesa. The energy was high in the first period as the Lobos scored back-to-back goals to seize early control of the game. The first goal came from New Mexico left wing AJ Goff and his teammate, Triton Nelson followed that score with another shortly thereafter to make the score 2-0. The Mavericks were held in check, as the score held and UNM took that same lead into the second period.

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Sports

Women's Soccer: After win against Fresno, Lobos fall to Air Force

Matthieu Cartron | October 14

New Mexico’s 2-1 win against Fresno State last week shot the Lobos into first place in the Mountain West Conference standings, but after a 1-0 loss to Air Force on Friday night, the Lobos fell to fourth in the standings. The top six teams in the conference standings, at the end of the conference regular season, advance to compete in the conference tournament. The Lobos (9-6, 4-3 MW) outshot the Falcons (7-4-3, 4-0-3 MW) by a margin of 17 to 12, with both sides creating several close chances. UNM has only scored twice in its last three games — a big reason the team has lost its last two.

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Sports

Men's Soccer: UNM to host UAB as it looks to gain ground in Conference-USA standings

Cameron Goeldner | October 14

The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team will take on the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers in the second of three straight matches at home on Saturday, Oct. 14. The Lobos (7-3-1, 2-1-1 C-USA) are coming off of a 3-1 win against Florida Atlantic, a match which saw them score twice in the final four minutes to seal the victory. It was the third straight win for a New Mexico side that is once again receiving votes in the national polls, and currently sitting fourth in Conference-USA. The Blazers (3-4-3, 0-3-1 C-USA) are coming off of a 2-1 victory over Central Arkansas, the team’s only win in their last seven matches. UAB has posted a record of 1-4-2 over that stretch.

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Sports

Cross Country: UNM looks to tighten time spreads at Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational

Robert Maler and Tyrell Natewa | October 13

New Mexico cross country had a strong outing at the the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational a couple of weeks ago and will look to strengthen its chances on Friday in Madison, Wisconsin toward fulfilling the quest to be at the NCAA Championships next month. The Lobo women took first place two weeks ago at Notre Dame, while the men turned in a top 10 performance. Head coach Joe Franklin said in a release that the team was excited to compete again and will have a goal to close the gaps between runners on both of the squads.

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Sports

Men's Soccer: Fishbein earns 300th win, while Beaulieu named C-USA Defensive Player of Week

Cameron Goeldner | October 12

New Mexico men’s soccer coach Jeremy Fishbein recorded a milestone 300th career win in a 3-0 win over Loyola Marymount last Wednesday — 206 of his wins have come at the helm for New Mexico. Entering the 2017 season, Fishbein ranked 17th among active Division I coaches in career wins. He began his career 1992 at Fort Lewis College, a Division II school in Colorado and came to New Mexico in 2001 as the assistant head coach to Klaus Weber. Following Weber’s retirement at the conclusion of the 2001 season, Fishbein was promoted to head coach.

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News

Coach Carter visits during midterms, hopes to inspire UNM community

Kelly Urvanejo | October 11

University of New Mexico students gathered in the Student Union Building Tuesday to hear motivational speaker coach Ken Carter. Carter is known across the nation as the man who locked his Richmond High School Oilers basketball team out of the gym and discontinued their season when they were not performing well academically in 1999.

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Sports

Basketball: Jachai Simmons shows promise for the Lobos

Robert Maler | October 10

New Mexico basketball has just a handful of returning players, none of whom were relied on to show. That means plenty of new faces could have a chance to make an immediate impact as the team gets ready for a fresh start. Jachai Simmons, a 6-foot-7-inch tall guard/forward, is one of the many new additions to the Lobo roster. The junior transfer showed a lot of promise and was a player that the University of New Mexico’s new head coach Paul Weir took notice of. “Very talented player...I followed him from his freshman year at junior college,” Weir said. “When I watched him, he was one of the best junior college players in the country. His potential and upside is as big as anybody’s on this team.”

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Sports

Football: Lobos look to keep pace in Mountain West against Fresno State

Robert Maler | October 10

The New Mexico football team picked up a big win heading into its bye week over Air Force, but the uphill climb to have a chance at a second-straight division title is just beginning. New Mexico (3-2, 1-1 MW) defeated Air Force 56-38 on Sept. 29 to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole in conference play and have settled into the middle of the pack in the Mountain Division standings. And the team could potentially pick up more ground if it can find a way to win on the road Saturday against Fresno State (3-2, 2-0 MW). Boise State and Wyoming, both of which are ahead of UNM in the division, are playing on the road as underdogs.

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Sports

Hockey: UNM looks to continue hot start as it hosts Colorado Mesa

Robert Maler | October 10

UNM hockey has charged out of the gates in the 2017-18 season, picking up four wins to start the campaign. The team made things look easy during the first two weeks of the season, crushing its opponents in the first three games before finally meeting some resistance in the fourth. Team captain and wing player Austin Short said he has been pleased with the way the team has performed to begin the season and welcomes the hot start. “It’s been a good start so far,” he said. “Things are clicking so far this season and it’s nice to be 4-0.” Short has been a big part of the team’s early success, tied with center Jaxson Farnholtz with nine points for the team lead. The team captain has accounted for five goals and four assists in the team’s four wins, a release said.

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Sports

Women's Soccer: Comeback bid falls short for Lobos

Robert Maler and Matthieu Cartron | October 8

The Lobos found themselves in unfamiliar territory, down two goals at home in the second half, against the San Jose State Spartans Sunday afternoon. And although UNM mounted a comeback, the bid fell short, as the team lost 2-1. UNM (9-5, 4-2 MW) gave up two goals only 26 seconds apart from one another. The first came off of a Spartan corner, which found Darriell Franklin at the top of the box, whose shot found the top left corner of the goal. New Mexico was held to just seven shot attempts for the second consecutive match. Against Fresno State, the Lobos were able to weather the storm, but this time couldn’t find a way to win.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos drop both games over weekend

Aaron Cowan | October 8

The New Mexico volleyball team went on the road this week to Reno, Nevada and San Jose, California where it played against the Wolf Pack and the Spartans, respectively, coming up short in both matches. It was UNM’s third week playing against Mountain West Conference competition, but the Lobos weren’t able to walk away with any wins on the trip. Despite strong individual player performances, close scores and hard-fought battles, the Lobos ultimately went home with 0-2 for the week, falling to the University of Nevada in four sets and to San Jose State after five sets. UNM’s record now stands at 10-8 overall and 2-4 in the Mountain West.

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Sports

Men's Soccer: Despite slow start, Lobos end match with 3-1 victory

Cameron Goeldner | October 8

A strong first half performance and two goals in the last four minutes of the match lead the New Mexico Men’s Soccer Team (7-3-1, C-USA 2-1-1) to a 3-1 victory over Florida Atlantic University (1-9-0, C-USA 1-4-0) on Saturday Night in Albuquerque. The Lobos wasted no time coming out of the gate and immediately started putting pressure on the FAU defense. They controlled the majority of the possession and had numerous chances to put themselves in the lead but failed to convert. In the 15th minute, they had three back-to-back chances and even hit the post but couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.