Team To Host Lobo Invite
The fifth-ranked New Mexico men’s soccer team cannot wait to be unleashed tonight.
“I’m excited,” Lobo coach Jeremy Fishbein says. “Any time we get a chance to go on the field and test ourselves, it’s a great opportunity. You almost feel like you’re spinning wheels until you get to play.”
UNM (5-1-0) is coming off two wins that Fishbein says should have been more comfortable than they were.
The Lobos beat Dartmouth 3-2 after falling behind twice, and defeated UC Irvine 2-1 in double overtime after giving up the tying goal with three seconds left in regulation.
“We made them difficult,” Fishbein said. “You can look for positives. You can say it builds character. But we still need to be a little bit better in closing games out when we’re better than our opponent. The positive is that those are two very good teams, NCAA Tournament teams.”
Up next, two more 2011 NCAA Tournament teams — Fairfield tonight and Northern Illinois on Sunday.
The Stags feature goalkeeper Michael O’Keefe and his 0.57 goals-allowed average.
“The plan is to score more than 0.6,” Fishbein says.
Actually, UNM’s plan is to score two or three goals every game, preferably early to set a dominating tone.
“If you want to be a great team,” Fishbein says, “you’ve got to put two, three goals on the scoreboard and close it out early. And that’s our challenge. If you’re presented good opportunities, the ball’s got to be in the net.”
The Lobos are averaging 2.33 goals and 16.83 shots a match, but haven’t always dominated early.
“Our defense has been good,” Fishbein says. “Could it be a little bit better? Could there be a little more attention to details? For sure. That’s something we’re going to continue to work on and challenge ourselves.”
Fishbein says his Lobos will come out firing tonight against Fairfield (3-2-0).
“No question,” he said. “The challenge will be on them and how they decide to play. Are they going to play very defensively, look to score on counterattacks and set pieces? Or are they going to get at us man to man. We’ll see.”
Fishbein noted that beyond the established Lobos, “other guys are coming into the mix. Lawrence Robledo has been very good, Carson Baldinger got that winner on Sunday and Casey Phillips got some minutes.”