Kick start
UNM women’s soccer team looks to build on NCAA’s experience
The New Mexico women’s soccer team will be looking to the past to help with its future.
Coming off consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances — the first two in UNM history — the Lobos want to be more than a mere footnote on an opponent’s run to the national championship.
“We always hold ourselves to a higher standard each year,” said senior forward and La Cueva graduate Natalie Jenks. “Last year, we made it to the first game of the NCAAs; so, this upcoming year, of course we want to go farther. We said as a team that we’d like to get to the top 16, but going past the first round would be an amazing start.”
Although New Mexico lost both NCAA games, 4-0 to eventual champion Notre Dame in 2010 and 1-0 to UCLA last year, the Lobos gained from that
experience.
“These two teams that we competed against were definitely big-name opponents, and they were very successful in the tournament — especially in the past,” said senior goalkeeper Kelli Cornell, the two-time defending Mountain West Conference defensive player of the year.
“They were great opponents that we played against, but they made us better as players,” she said. “And we’re going to look to bring those experiences into our team, and we’re looking even further now. We have higher expectations for ourselves now.”
The team has learned that it is on par with the top programs across the country, said senior wing Rachel Montoya, a St. Pius alum.
After the UCLA game, “we walked away with a loss, but we walked away with so many more learning experiences knowing that we were right there,” she said. “We were right at the edge, and we’re going to break through. Definitely this season will be it.”
New Mexico coach Kit Vela cautioned that the tournament is still many months away, but she acknowledged the Lobos have gained from their postseason experiences, especially the team’s seven seniors.
“This senior class has been to both NCAA appearances, and they’re hungry for more,” she said. “But they’re not overlooking everything that comes before it because, unfortunately, the NCAAs is a long time from now.”
Still, those valuable lessons will be put to good use over the ensuing months.
“We don’t look that far ahead, but every time you play teams of that caliber, you walk away a better team,” Vela said.
And New Mexico is starting to get some respect after earning the nod as the preseason favorite in the Mountain West.
But that won’t change the way the team prepares.
“We’ve always been a very hardworking team,” Montoya said. “Even with the preseason poll coming out No. 1, it still means that we’re going to work hard day in and day out. We’re going to work for each other. That’s always been our team thing. We work for each other, and we work hard.”
That will work in New Mexico’s favor as it faces a tough road tour that includes significant tests at Georgia, Texas and Florida.
“Every single team on our schedule is challenging for us,” Vela said. “They’re preparing us for conference; then the idea is to prepare us for the NCAAs. There’s no better way to start then with some of the best.”