After what could be described as a less-than-ideal regular season, the Lobos sneaked through to clinch a spot in this year’s Conference USA Championship.
The Lobos had trouble during the regular season of conference play, only winning two matches. However, they say they are ready to take advantage of the opportunity presented to them.
“Even though we finished in the sixth spot, I think we are still one of the teams that are in the mix to win the championship,” goalkeeper Jason Beaulieu said.
New Mexico (8-5-4, 2-4-2) comes into the championship as the No. 6 seed and will face the No. 3 seed South Carolina for the first round on Wednesday night.
“We are going against a team that we feel we can beat,” Beaulieu said. “We played them earlier this season and we felt we had the better of the game. We lost this game unfortunately, but we feel very confident with the draw we got.”
The Lobos fell 2-1 to USC for their conference opener but it was a pretty even match. The Gamecocks had a slight 13-11 lead in shots, and New Mexico lead 4-3 in corner kicks.
South Carolina got an early lead with a goal just three minutes in. The Gamecocks maintained the advantage until Lobo midfielder Chris Wehan converted a penalty in the 86th minute.
In overtime, South Carolina’s Jeffrey Torda scored the golden goal after sending a shot from the corner of the 18-yard box. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Lobos, but head coach Jeremy Fishbein said his team is over it.
“South Carolina’s been really good at home and we are playing them at a neutral site, so I just think there’s everything to look forward to,” he said.
The Gamecocks were undefeated at home going 8-0-1. But on the road they didn’t perform as well, ending the regular season with a 2-6-0 away record.
South Carolina (10-6-1, 6-2-0) is currently the No. 17 team in the nation according to the NSCAA Coaches Poll. The team’s RPI is 15, while New Mexico’s is 38. But instead of being intimidated, Fishbein said the Lobos are embracing the challenge.
“That’s a team we want to play. I like the match up on how they play. And you want to play the team with the highest RPI possible,” he said.
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Both USC and UNM have players that seem to match well with each other. Both had seven players earn All-Conference USA honors on Tuesday.
Their top offensive players, USC’s Danny Deakin and UNM’s Chris Wehan were named to the All C-USA First Team. Each player scored 10 goals and each collected a total of 22 points.
When it comes to the defense, UNM has not allowed a goal in its last 251:05 of play since Oct. 27.
Beaulieu said his team hasn’t been giving opponents a lot of big openings so that as long as the Lobos remained focused, they should be fine.
“Now we are going against a team that we know is playing a lot of counterattack. It’s just a matter of being ready,” Beaulieu said. “It’s a matter of being balance in the back when we attack and I think we can handle that.”
Fishbein said there is definitely pressure to win, but that he feels good about where his team is at the moment. His one-word description regarding the team’s mood right now is “excitement.”
“We are playing really well. We are healthy,” he said. “There’s nothing but to be excited. You’re still in charge of your own destiny. Not everybody is in that situation in the country. So yeah, I’m feeling good about the team.”
Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.
