The Lobos (0-0-0) kick off their regular season with a road trip to South Bend, Indiana to take on the #13-ranked Indiana Hoosiers in a “neutral” game. Coming off of a 3-0-0 showing in the exhibition season, where they outscored their opponents 8-0 and finished with 3 clean sheets, the team has to be full of confidence heading into what will be a tough weekend. The Hoosiers are one of the premier soccer programs in the country and have an active 29 year NCAA Tournament streak. It will be a stiff test in the opener for the Lobos, but they should be ready after beating Washington 1-0 in the last exhibition game. This weekend will give the Lobos an opportunity to be on the national radar, so hopefully they will make the most of it.
Author: Zach
Men’s Soccer Schedule Breakdown and Bold Predictions
The Lobo Men’s Soccer team kicks off their regular season at Indiana on Friday, so before they get started with what should be a fun season, we’ll take a quick look at their season schedule and give our bold predictions for what we think/hope/dream will happen this year.
Women’s Soccer at Texas Tech Recap
The Lobos (0-1-0) fought hard in their first match on the road against a tough Texas Tech squad (1-0-0) before falling 2-1. It was a great and encouraging opener for the Lobos, as with the exception of the first 20 minutes of second half, the Lobos played on even terms with the Red Raiders. After the Red Raiders scored their second goal so quickly after their first, it wouldn’t have surprised me if the final score was 4-0. However, the Lobos rallied to outplay the Red Raiders for the last 20+ minutes.
Women’s Soccer at Texas Tech Match Preview
After beating ENMU 2-1 in an exhibition match, the Lobos kick off their 2016 campaign with a tough task on the road against Texas Tech. Last year in the matchup, the Lobos lost a 1-0 game in Albuquerque against the then nationally-ranked Red Raiders team. The Lobos are coming off a solid 10-8-2 year, in which they went 6-3-1 on the road, and they hope to keep up that road warrior mentality. Both teams will be looking for answers to questions in their season openers, and without much to go on, the first game can lead to a weird match. The Lobos will need to make the right decision on who is starting in goal and hope that they are able to go all 90 minutes. This should be an exciting match against the two regional rivals.
2016 UNM Women’s Soccer Preview
The Lobo Women’s soccer team looks to build on year one of the Heather Dyche era, where they finished 10-8-2 overall and 7-3-1 in Mountain West play. One of the more surprising things from last year was how much they struggled at the Lobo Soccer Complex, where they went 3-5-0, but they showed great resolve on the road, where they finished 6-3-1, including an unbeaten 5-0-1 in conference play. It will be important for the Lobos to continue the great play on the road and find a way to play better at home if they’re going to build on last year’s successes. To that point, the Lobos will only play one non-Conference home game against NMSU, meaning the Lobos will be on the road for the first month of the season, including games at Texas Tech and California. The Lobos need to keep their head afloat in that first month and find their top form in time for the conference tournament.
2016 UNM Men’s Soccer Preview
After two straight disappointing seasons, the Lobos men’s soccer team looks to bounce back, get back to the NCAA Tournament, and once again be a national title contender. This is a very important year for the program, since perception of a program can change very quickly and hurt scheduling and recruiting. A good thing for the Lobos is they have been young and unlucky the last two season, which shouldn’t be the case anymore. Although they can’t control the luck aspect, they will be an experienced squad. The Lobos will have multiple-year starters, key transfers, and a highly regarded recruiting class this year. All that makes me think that if the team can come together to fulfill their potential, it could be a very exciting and special season.
Baseball Season Awards and Wrap-up
With the end of the College Baseball season, in which Coastal Carolina became the National Champions, it is as good a time as any to look back at the fun and exciting season that the Lobo baseball team had. While the ending of the season was a disappointment, it showed us how close we are to breaking through to Omaha. Beyond that, Coastal Carolina’s championship shows that college baseball is a much flatter landscape than basketball or (especially) football, where teams from smaller conferences and fewer resources can still compete with the big boys.
Mountain West Baseball Conference Tournament Preview
At last, the long, slow grind of the Mountain West baseball regular season is behind us, and the joy and agony of postseason play is about to begin. On Wednesday morning, here in Albuquerque at Santa Ana Star Field, the conference tournament kicks off with the 6/7 play-in game between San Diego State and San Jose State and won’t stop until a champion is crowned over the weekend. It is pretty simple for all but maybe one or two teams (Fresno State and possibly New Mexico): win the tournament or your season is over.
To Rest or Not to Rest? That’s Lobo Baseball’s Question
(Ed. Note: This article was meant to go up before the series started, so we already have a bit of an idea of what the team is planning on doing. Thanks to their 23-2 blowout win against Air Force today, the decision might be a little different, now that they only need two more wins to clinch a share of the regular season title. Hopefully they can keep it rolling tomorrow.)
The Lobos (33-20, 18-9) have a very interesting decision to make in their series against the Air Force Academy (27-23, 11-16) this weekend: should they play for the chance to be co-champions for the regular season, or should they rest some of their players to get ready for the Mountain West Tournament? There are pros and cons to both options, and I am sure that this is something the coaches are thinking about. The Mountain West will be a one-bid league again this season, meaning that the only way to make the NCAA Tournament field, which is absolutely the main goal for the Lobos, is to win the conference tournament. This wouldn’t have been a question if the Lobos hadn’t slipped the last few weeks, having lost their last three weekend series and winning only two of the nine games, as they were in decent shape for an at-large bid before that. But, seeing how things look right now, it might be worth losing a couple of battles to win the war.
Lobo Baseball vs Nevada Series Preview
The Lobos (32-18, 17-7) look to get back on track after dropping the last two weekend series. This will be the last home series for the Lobos this season, but not the last games played at Santa Ana Star Field, as it will play host for the Mountain West Conference Tournament in two weeks. The Lobos are still in first place in the Mountain West, but at this point will likely have to win the conference tournament to make the NCAA Tournament. This weekend, the Lobos will host third place Nevada (28-20, 16-8) in a key matchup for seeding for the MW Tournament. If the Lobos are able to sweep the series, they will most likely win the Regular Season Title, but if they don’t, next weekend’s games become even more important.