Last Friday’s loss may have kept New Mexico out of second place in the Mountain West women’s soccer standings, but the Lobos are still in the hunt for a conference tournament bye.
Three points separate second, third and fourth place heading into the last three regular season games: with San Jose State at 18 points on the season, UNM at 16 and Colorado College at 15. UNM can bolster its advantage this Friday with a road game against the Tigers in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
To make the Mountain West tournament, teams must finish among the top six in the standings with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds getting byes into the semifinals. A win and a tie for the Lobos will lock up a conference tournament bid.
The Lobos could make a run for one of those byes, but they could just as easily fall out of the tournament, head coach Heather Dyche said, making the next three games crucial. UNM also plays Air Force on Sunday and closes out the regular season against first-place San Diego State next week.
After UNM and Colorado College, Boise State and Utah State are tied for fifth with 12 points. As of right now, Wyoming, Nevada and Fresno State are on the outside looking in with 10 points in the standings.
“The tournament's completely wide open,” Dyche said. “I think, of the 12 teams, only two (Air Force and Colorado State) are mathematically eliminated at this point, which is crazy. Normally this time of year you have a pretty good idea.”
The Lobos (7-7-1, 5-2-1 MW) are hitting their stride at just the right time.
Despite last weekend’s split with San Jose State and Fresno State, Dyche said the team played the best soccer it has all year. It showed in particular against the Bulldogs with five goals, meaning the previous difficulties – finishing its scoring chances – appear to have been rectified.
And it’s balanced scoring. UNM does not have a player with more than four goals, four players have at least three goals. Forward Madisyn Olguin leads the way with four goals, while midfielder/forward Lindsey Guice, forward Quincy Slora and midfielder Claire Lynch have three apiece.
“You don't always have to keep the ball at your feet because you're the only one who can do it,” Slora said of the scoring balance after Sunday’s win. “It makes us dangerous because our scouting report is all over the place. Nobody knows what to do because everyone can be successful. I think that's pretty special.”
In addition to goals, midfielder Dylann O’Connor leads the team with four assists while Guice and Slora have three apiece. Against Fresno State, UNM had three goals with double assists. The Lobos finished the game with eight total assists after having 11 through the previous nine weeks.
Dyche said she takes that balance as a good sign because a number of people are contributing in different ways.
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“We'd love to have a Chris Wehan who scores every game,” Dyche said, referring the UNM men’s soccer star who has nine goals in 2015. “We'd love to have someone like that, but on the same hand I think it's a positive sign when you're getting significant contribution. It's not like it was all their first goal.”
Colorado College (7-9-1, 5-3-0 MW) counters with its top scorer Sarah Schweiss. The midfielder ranks second in the conference with nine goals, including a Mountain West-leading five game-winners.
The Tigers add multi-goal scorers in midfielders Lauren Milliet with three and Clara Richter. However, only three other players have goals. They also have 17 goals as a team to UNM’s 13.
Dyche said Colorado College plays a possession-oriented style and stays really organized while on defense, much like she’s been trying to implement at UNM. Compound that with the conference tournament situation, she expects the Tigers to treat this like a must-win situation.
“It's a really tough game for us but it's a game that I like,” she said. “I like when you play teams that play soccer instead of those that are really direct and physical teams. That, to me, is just not as pretty as when you play a team like Colorado College. We're looking forward to playing another team that wants to play and wants to keep the ball a little bit.”
J.R. Oppenheim is the managing editor for the Daily Lobo. Contact him at managingeditor@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @JROppenheim.
