Homecoming and American football go together like Angels and Rally Monkeys. F£tbol, or soccer if you prefer, and Homecoming usually do not.
But this year UNM is including soccer as part of its "Homecoming on the Range" celebrations this week.
The men's and women's soccer teams take on teams from the Air Force Academy Friday night as part of homecoming festivities. The women, who tied Mountain West Conference leader Utah 0-0 Sunday, take on the Falcons at 5 p.m., Friday. The men, fresh from a 2-1 win over San Diego State University in their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Sunday, entertain the Falcons in the nightcap at 7 p.m.
UNM's men's team is enjoying its most successful season since 1997. The Lobos (11-2-0, 1-0-0) are riding a crest of scoring from freshman forward Ben Ashwill, who leads the team - and the league - with nine goals.
The women, who started the season talking about rebuilding, are in the thick of the MWC title chase. UNM (9-6-1, 2-1-1) has been led this season by a junior and a sophomore - Erchen Theys and Marta Dolve. Dolve has five goals and four assists this season while Theys has six goals and four assists. Sophomore Rachael Addison has come on as of late. Addison is tied with Theys for the team leads in goal with six. She scored the game-winning goals in the team's first two MWC matches.
The Falcons' teams the Lobos face this year have something in common - neither has had a smooth season.
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The Falcon women (5-10-0, 0-3) are winless in MWC play so far and have lost five of their last six matches. Sunday, Air Force lost 1-0 in overtime to the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. The Falcons were 5-7 in pre-conference play with three shutout losses and two shutout wins. AFA's worst loss came Oct .6, an 8-1 setback at the hands of the University of California at Santa Barbara. The Falcons' biggest win, a 4-1 victory over Tennessee Tech University, came on Sept. 15.
So far this season, Air Force has been outscored 40-21 - the majority of the goals coming in the first half - and out-shot 285-202 by its opponents. Junior goalkeeper J.J. Wolf has allowed 20 goals this season and has 71 saves. The Falcons are led on offense by sophomore midfielder Cookie Day, who has five goals and two assists on the season, and senior forward Mary Cholko, who has five goals and one assist.
The Falcon men (7-6-1, 1-1-0) split their first two MPSF games this weekend, defeating Sacramento State University 1-0 Friday and falling to San Jose State University 4-2 Sunday. The loss was the third in seven games for Air Force. The Falcons were 6-5-1 entering MPSF play, winning three of its last four non-conference matches. Among Air Force's losses was a 2-0 setback to powerhouse Indiana University, last year's NCAA runner-up. It was also the Falcons' worst loss of the season. Air Force's biggest wins have been a 5-1 decision against Birmingham Southern University Aug. 30 and a 4-0 win over St. Mary's (Calif.) University Sept. 27.
Despite having a near-.500 record, the Falcons have out-scored their opponents 30-21 and out-shot them 257-169. Senior goalkeeper Mike Taylor has allowed 25 goals and made 64 saves on the season. Air Force's offense is paced by sophomore Marcus Sagstume's five goals and five assists. Freshman midfielder Dan Wasson has added four goals and four assists while senior forward Thomas Clark has four goals and two assists this season.
The UNM women finish the regular season Sunday at the University of Wyoming. The men play the second game of a weekend home stand Sunday against MPSF foe Denver University. It is the Lobos' final home game. UNM's men play their final three conference games on the road.
