In all likelihood, the Mountain West will only send one representative to the NCAA women’s soccer tournament. That means the Lobos’ season lives or dies by this week’s Mountain West tournament in San Diego.
And if they happen to make it, the Lobos will get some measure of revenge along the way against the only three teams they lost to during the conference schedule.
UNM (9-8-1, 7-3-1 MW), as the No. 3 seed, takes on sixth-seeded UNLV Tuesday at 5 p.m. Mountain Time in the tournament’s first round. Should the Lobos advance, they’ll play No. 2 San Jose State on Thursday. UNLV defeated UNM 3-1 on Oct. 4, while SJSU claimed a 2-1 overtime win on Oct. 16.
San Diego State University will be vying for its fourth-straight MW title. SDSU locked up the top seed for the tournament and should be the favorite to win, but UNM is on the opposite side of the bracket.
Therefore, a potential rematch from last Friday’s regular-season finale – SDSU prevailed 2-1 in the closing moments – would be for the title.
“We noticed that (revenge was possible) as well, and we’re just so excited we’re on that side of the bracket because we can really prove to these teams they didn’t deserve to beat us the first time,” Lobo forward Madisyn Olguin said. “We’re going to come out with everything Lobo Soccer has.”
Only SDSU, SJSU and UNM had bids for the conference tournament secured heading into the final games on Friday. Boise State and Utah State both played themselves out of the tournament when they tied Friday, and UNLV’s bid was only ensured when it beat Nevada 3-1 on the final game night.
In the other first-round matchup Tuesday, No. 4 Wyoming battles fifth-seeded Colorado College.
That game happens after the UNM-UNLV contest. The Cowgirl-Tiger winner plays host San Diego State in Thursday’s second semifinal game.
The tournament champion will be determined Saturday at 8 p.m. MT.
UNM head coach Heather Dyche said last week she predicts SDSU will be the only MW team to be considered for an at-large bid.
“The pressure’s not on us. The pressure is on San Diego State, you know?” Dyche added on Sunday. “We haven’t won it in a long time, and they’re trying to go for four consecutive years. I think the pressure is on them, and the rest of the teams in there, we’re all underdogs.”
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UNM missed out on the other first-round bye to San Jose State with Friday’s loss and the Spartans’ 2-0 victory over Fresno State. The Lobos and Aztecs fought a close game throughout, with each team’s stout defense containing several scoring opportunities.
In the previous meeting between UNM and UNLV, the Rebels scored three straight times At that point in the season, UNM still struggled with making the most of its scoring chances.
That issue for UNM has since been rectified.
In the seven games that followed Oct. 2, the Lobos netted 13 goals and had only one game without a goal. Even that contest was a scoreless draw at Wyoming. Through the 10 games prior to Oct. 10, UNM had 10 goals.
“We’re creating more opportunities, so we’re able to finish more of them,” Olguin said. “And also, our defense has been a rock back there. They’re eliminating the chances the other teams get, so those combined make us a much better team than the last time we played UNLV.”
Both teams’ leading scorers, UNM forward Madisyn Olguin and UNLV forward Jodi Barber, have recorded six goals on the season. The Rebels feature two players with four goals in midfielder Denali Murnan and forward Brittney Gideon, while the Lobos have one in midfielder Claire Lynch.
As a team, UNLV finished the regular season with 30 goals to UNM’s 24. Both teams’ defenses have surrendered 23.
“We have everything in the world going for us,” UNM forward Alyssa Coonrod said after Friday’s game. “We just have to play our soccer and do our thing, and we can win.”
J.R. Oppenheim is the managing editor for the Daily Lobo. Contact him at managingeditor@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @JROppenheim.
