UNM faces a big test on Sunday as head coach Heather Dyche’s squad seeks a third win in conference play.
The Lobos (6-5-2, 2-3-0 MW) beat Nevada on the road comfortably on Friday night, but will face a tough UNLV squad that is currently tied for second place in the Mountain West conference on Sunday.
In the Rebels’ Friday night fixture, San Diego State (4-6-2, 2-1-2 MW), ranked sixth in the conference standings, came back from a one-goal deficit to tie the Las Vegas Rebels 1-1.
In the previous weekend, UNM beat a strong San Jose team only to fall 3-0 to Fresno State two days later.
“You kind of hope that you’re gonna ride that into Sunday but it didn’t go that way,” Dyche said in a release. “It was hot and I felt like we were outworked and out disciplined and it was probably one of the most disappointing matches we’ve played all year.”
UNM will not want to replicate the frustrating performance of last Sunday against Fresno State. The Lobos have struggled for consistency this season, but capitalizing off of momentum from victories and stringing together wins could still get them to the top of the conference standings.
UNLV (10-3-1) is undefeated in its last five games, and are 3-1-1 in conference play. The Rebels have a strong offensive record, scoring an average of 2.36 goals per game. Defensively, UNLV boasts a better record than the Lobos, conceding only 0.8 goals per game to the Lobos’ 1.3 goals per game.
“It’ll be another great test for us,” Dyche said in the release.
UNLV boats a dynamic attack full of capable finishers and playmakers, with five of their players having a goal tally of four or greater this season.
UNM will have to keep an eye out for UNLV senior forward Lily Sender, who has eight goals and six assists on the season. Sender in fact scored the winning goal against the Lobos last year on Oct. 4, 2015.
Her senior forward teammate Susie Bernal has also looked dangerous during this year’s campaign, scoring four goals and assisting six.
UNM’s lack of consistency is perhaps correlated to the substantial amount of traveling the Lobos have had to endure this season. All but four of New Mexico’s games have been away from home, and the Lobos only have three more home games scheduled this season.
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“It’s a lot of travel and it’s a lot of schoolwork and, I think, unless you’re an actual student athlete, the number of hours that are required in their day and the amount of work that they put into it, it’s hard to know,” Dyche said. “They continue to find a good balance of it. It’s our reality, I mean, we’re only home for two more weekends the rest of the year, so we’re gonna keep plugging away at it, keeping fighting at it, and try not to use it as a crutch”.
The game is set to start at 2:00 (MT) on Sunday in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Matthieu Cartron is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women’s soccer. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLoboSports.
