After blasting UL-Monroe in their game last week, the Lobos head to Hawaii to take on the Rainbow Warriors. The Rainbow Warriors have seen a lot of improvement this year, particularly on the offensive end, which means that this game will likely be a total shootout. It should be a fun one to watch, so congrats to everyone who is actually in Hawaii, as they’re the only ones who will be able to see it.
Catching up with Cross Country
We’re in the final stretch of the cross country season, with conference, regional, and national championships all coming up within the next month. So, it’s high time for us to check in with both teams to see how they’ve been doing and see where they might go from here.
Men’s Soccer At UAB Match Preview
The Lobos (7-6-1, 1-3-1) have their final Conference USA road match of the season when they take on UAB (6-6-3, 2-3-1) in a huge conference match tonight. With the disappointing draw against Marshall on Saturday, the Lobos need a result to help cement their spot in the conference tournament. The Lobos have to find a way to rebound from their recent struggles. While the Lobos haven’t played bad this season, they have been unable to finish off big matches, mainly due to struggling in the final third of the field. With there being questions about Niko Hansen’s availability, the Lobos will need for other attacking players to step up. If the Lobos are able to win this match against UAB, it will give them pretty stable position for the conference tournament with two home matches remaining before the conference tournament field is set.
Thoughts on Lobo Football’s win vs. ULM
On Saturday, the Lobos blasted the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, 59-17 to improve to 4-3 on the season. The final score actually manages to hide how big of a blowout it really was, as the Lobos pulled their starters in the third quarter when they were leading 52-3. A dominating win like that certainly gives the team some confidence heading into the final stretch of conference games, and hopefully does the same for the fans as well. Here are some scattered thoughts from the game:
Lobo Football vs UL-Monroe Game Preview
A week after a hard-fought and emotional win against Air Force in the Cotton Bowl, the Lobos return home for their last out-of-conference game of the year. Their opponent is the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, who are conference-mates of NMSU in the Sun Belt. A win would put the Lobos back above .500 for the first time since the first game of the season and put them in a good position to become bowl-eligible heading into the last part of the season.
Men’s Soccer at Denver Match Preview
The Lobos (7-5-0, 1-3-0) continue their road trip Wednesday night, looking to get back on track in their last non-conference match against a great Denver (12-0-2) squad that is highly ranked in every college soccer poll. The former conference rival of the Lobos in the MSPF have become a great program the last couple of years, including going undefeated last season and thus far this season. The Lobos have a chance to get their groove back with this match and this is their last chance during the regular season for a great win. It won’t be an easy match for the Lobos, but the pressure will be on Denver to continue their undefeated season. It will be very important for the Lobos to find chances early in the match for Niko Hansen and Chris Wehan, as well as Devon Boyce, Sam Gleadle and Luke Lawrence if they are in the starting eleven. While the Lobos have struggled on the road so far this season, the only disappointing result based on pre-match expectations was the match against FAU, so you have to think that the Lobo backline will want to get back on track after allowing two goals against FAU.
Thoughts on Lobo Football’s win vs. Air Force
A week after getting crushed at home by a tough Boise State squad, the Lobos were sitting at 2-3 and heading out of town to face what was probably the toughest opponent remaining on their schedule. Needless to say, it looked like they were in a bad place. However, rather than choosing to stand by and let their season collapse around them, the Lobos picked themselves up and played their best game all season to beat the Air Force Falcons 45-40. They’re now 3-3 on the season, including 2-1 in conference play, and are starting to look like the team we were hoping they would be going into the season.
Men’s Soccer at FAU Match Preview
The Lobos (7-4-0, 1-2-0) return to action on Saturday with a road match at FAU (3-6-1, 1-2-0). This is a very important match for the Lobos, as a win would keep them in the running to win the conference regular season title. If the Lobos are able to win this match and their match at Denver on Wednesday, a national seed in the NCAA Tournament is still very much in play with only one road match remaining before the conference tournament. The Lobos have more talent than FAU, but the Owls have played much better at home than on the road this season, so the Lobos can’t take them lightly. The Lobos need to put pressure on FAU early in the match and find a goal in the first 60 minutes to put all the pressure on FAU to find a goal.
Football vs. Air Force Game Preview
Coming off of a beating at the hand of Boise State, the Lobos will look to regroup this weekend when they play Air Force in a neutral game in the Cotton Bowl. Last year, the Lobos won a wild one against the Falcons, 47-35, and I have a feeling that this game will be similarly high-scoring.
Men’s Basketball is Worth Getting Excited About
The Lobo Howl is this Friday, which means that we are oh-so-close to seeing the Lobos take the court again. This team has a couple of legitimate stars, a lot of returning players, and some talented newcomers, which makes me feel like they have a real shot at returning to the NCAA Tournament this year. So it’s a little weird to me that it doesn’t feel like there’s the same level of excitement for this coming season as what I typically see from the fan base. Maybe that’s to be expected after a couple of relative down years, which have tempered some expectations, but I think this has the potential to be a very exciting year of Lobo Basketball. Here are a few reasons why: