Pre-season friendly - UNM 1, ND 2

The starting lineup for last night's friendly with Notre Dame listed in the box score as a 4-4-2 although Justin Davis played up front making it more of the 4-3-3 as Fishbein said he'd use. 

Substitutions/times in parentheses.

Chris Wright (Masashi Shibuya-43) - PJ Wilson (Stephen Brown-27/Andrew Parsons-45)

Justin Davis (James Urbany-33) - Lance Rozeboom (Michael Green-29) - Michael Reed - Jack Smithson

Gal Yaar - Zach Tierney - Simon Ejdemyr - Mike Porter (Ryan Farquharson-27)

Eric Staver

Second half lineup and substitutions:

Wright - Urbany (Wilson-55/Farquharson-71/Wilson-82/Urbany-89)

Davis (Shibuya-71/Davis-82) - Rozeboom (Green-78) - Reed - Green (Smithson-62)

Yaar - Tierney - Ejdemyr - Farquharson (Porter-60)

Staver (Justin Fite-60)

Overtime lineup and substitutions:

Wright - Urbany

Davis - Green - Reed - Smithson

Yaar - Tierney (Farquharson-103) - Ejdemyr - Porter

Fite

Full box score

Some observations:

Michael Reed still commits more dangerous turnovers than I'd like but the team's defensive positioning and recovery speed was evident for the most part.

Freshman Michael Green is the real deal. His first touch is stellar whether for himself or as a pass. His size, speed and positioning was very good and he made the team better when he was on. It'll take a bit of time to get completely comfortable with the system and his teammates but his presence excites me a lot. He did have one opportunity when JD put him through to the byline but his service across to the center was not good. Another time he had space at the top of the box and shot just wide.

Freshman Lance Rozeboom was good. He clearly had more familiarity than Green since he entered school in January and played in the spring. He also has size, speed and good ball skills. Excitement with him as well.

Freshamn Gal Yaar played every minute at left back. The job is his! This allows Stephen Brown to be part of the mix up front and in the midfield. Gal was calm on the ball and has the speed and positioning required to keep the defense at a high level. You can see his experience already.

Senior Mike Porter was solid at the right back position, a switch for him this year that allows sophomore Ryan Farquharson (who played every game at right back last year) to move in the mix in the midfield.

Both Notre Dames goals were sitting headers from six yards out. The first coming on a counter attack down the left and the second coming from an overlapping run on the right. Good crosses and good finishes by the ND players.

Notre Dame was not a threat in the first half but was much more assertive in the second half and overtime.

Stephen Brown was taken out in the 45th minute after coming on for PJ Wilson up front and playing 17 minutes. Brown gathered the ball at midfield in a breakaway situation. There was one Notre Dame defender back who challenged Brown at about 40 yards out cynically taking the man rather than playing the ball. It was a straight-on challenge and appropriately a yellow card was given. It was not red only because he did not come from behind to stop the promising break. Brown got up for the ensuing free kick but stayed off to the side. He hobbled for the next half minute before sitting down to stop play and get off the field. He did not come back in.

Zach Tierney's right knee was taken out in the 103rd minute. Not maliciously but definitely taken out. The play was consistently in the Notre Dame end of the field in the beginning stages of the second overtime including a corner kick and a couple of throw ins. As Notre Dame was trying to clear their end the ball was dropped to Zach on the right about 25 yards out. He ran onto the ball to cross it at the same time the ND player ran hard through the ball. Zach's right knee was taken out as he followed through in a violent collision. The linesman watched the whole thing and did not raise his flag and the center referee did not make the call. Zach did not get up. Eventually when play was stopped he was able to hobble off with assistance. We can hope it is just a sprain/contusion that he can recover from enough to play next Friday but that is uncertain at the moment.

Nearly 2,500 in attendance. Very good crowd with a good number of Notre Dame fans. Admission was free with the American Cancer Society taking donations.

Seth Neben not in roster and only three goal keepers warmed up (Staver, Fite, and Rodriguez). Not sure where Freshman GK Justin Holmes was.

Two gimps (I believe they were Euan Holden and David Murphy) during warm ups. Both participated lightly but did not suit up. Holden's leg was wrapped and Murphy had a heavy knee brace on.

Zach grew long hair. He looked so different that I did not recognize him until the team came out with their numbers on. During warm-ups I was wondering who the new player was.

Looks like it's Eric Staver's job to lose now which is what most observers had previously assumed.

YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!

Lobo pre-season rankings

College Soccer News has the Lobos ranked 19th and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) ranks them just outside the top 25 also receiving votes (28th).

Somewhat disappointing based on the tradition of the last half decade, the 10 returning players and the quality of transfers and freshman coming in.

However, these polls are for discussion and starting points only and will change dramatically as all the schools play their pre-conference schedules. Expect to see a completely different list within just a few weeks of the start of the season at the end of August as some move up and others fall.

The Lobos have a decent strength of schedule and with the success we expect we will see these rankings improve.

Lobo Soccer supports American Cancer Society

Wednesday August 20th the Lobos host Notre Dame in their only exhibition game this year. 

The evening has a second major purpose in addition to getting ready for the 2008 season. The Lobos are teaming up with the American Cancer Society in a variety of ways to raise money and awareness prior to, during, and after the game. The effort is described here on the UNM website.

This is first class and just the sort of thing we have come to expect from the Lobo Soccer Program. Come on out on the 20th to see a great game and support a great cause. 

I lost my sister to cancer two years ago. That's her walking in a cancer survivor benefit (looking at the camera next to her husband in the tan shirt) prior to losing her battle.

MPSF Conference

The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Coaches Poll is out today and once again the Lobos are picked to win it (just ahead of Denver).

http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/stories/080608aai.html

2008 MPSF Preseason Coaches Poll
1. New Mexico - 24 pts. (4 1st Place Votes) - 12-5-2/7-1-2 (1ST/NCAA Tournament First Round)
2. Denver - 22 pts. (2 1st Place Votes) - 10-4-4/6-1-3 (2ND)
3T. San Jose State - 15 pts. - 10-9-0/5-5-0 (3RD)
3T. UNLV - 15 pts. - 7-10-2/3-7-0 (T-5TH)
5. Sacramento State - 8 pts. - 4-13-2/3-6-1 (4TH)
6. Air Force - 6 pts. - 5-12-1/3-7-0 (T-5TH)

The Lobos need for the rest of the conference teams to get some quality non-conference wins in order to have a higher RPI this year. Their relatively low RPI (relative to their poll rankings) the last two seasons have led to them having to travel in the tournament playoffs.

This year we want them to have at least two home games on the way to Frisco, Tx for the final four. So let's have a look at the MPSF teams' schedules and root for the conference to get some good results.

Lobos:

AUG. 29TH FRI San Diego @ Loyola Marymount Tournament
AUG 31st SUN Loyola Marymount @ Loyola Marymount Tournament
SEPT 5th FRI MICHIGAN STATE @ TLC Plumbing & Utility Invitational (Home)
SEPT 7th SUN LOUISVILLE @ TLC Plumbing & Utility Invitational (Home)
SEPT 12th FRI AKRON @ NIKE Invitational (Home)
SEPT 14th SUN CAL POLY @ NIKE Invitational (Home) 
SEPT 19th FRI Portland @ Husky Invitational  
SEPT 21st SUN WASHINGTON @ Husky Invitational  

Denver Pioneers:

Dayton Flyer Classic
Fri, Aug 29 Dayton at Dayton, Ohio
Sun, Aug 31 Wisconsin at Dayton, Ohio
Fri, Sep 05 Loyola-Chicago Pioneer Field
Fri, Sep 12 San Diego State Pioneer Field
Sun, Sep 14 Cal. State-Fullerton Pioneer Field
Sat, Sep 20 St. Louis University at St. Louis, Mo.
Sat, Sep 27 Creighton at Omaha, Neb.

San Jose State Spartans:

Fri, Aug 29 Notre Dame de Namur Spartan Field
Sun, Aug 31 Stanford Spartan Stadium
Wed, Sep 10 University of San Francisco Spartan Stadium
Sun, Sep 14 UC Davis at Davis, Calif.
Thu, Sep 18 Cal Poly Spartan Stadium
Sun, Sep 21 Seattle Spartan Stadium
Wed, Sep 24 Santa Clara at Santa Clara, Calif.
Sun, Sep 28 Cal State Bakersfield at Bakersfield, Calif.

UNLV Rebels:

UNLV Rebel Classic
08/30/08 vs. Jacksonville Las Vegas, Nev,
09/01/08 vs. Radford Las Vegas, Nev.
Titan Tournament
09/05/08 at Cal State Fullerton Fullerton, Calif.
09/07/08 vs. Cal State Northridge Fullerton, Calif.
UNLV Nike Invitational
09/12/08 vs. Gonzaga Las Vegas, Nev.
09/14/08 vs. Oral Roberts Las Vegas, Nev.
BMW/Nike Classic
09/19/08 at San Francisco San Francisco, Calif.
09/21/08 vs. Saint Mary's San Francisco, Calif.

Sacramento State Hornets:

8/29/2008 CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD
8/31/2008 LONG ISLAND
9/5/2008 vs. UC Irvine
9/7/2008 vs. Houston Baptist
9/12/2008 MENLO
9/14/2008 SAINT MARY'S
9/21/2008 at Cal State Northridge
9/25/2008 UC DAVIS
9/28/2008 CAL POLY

Air Force Falcons:

08/29/08 at UCSB Santa Barbara, CA
08/31/08 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CA
09/07/08 vs. Loyola Chicago USAFA
09/12/08 vs. Cal State Fullerton USAFA
09/14/08 vs. San Diego State Denver, CO
09/19/08 vs. Navy Birmingham, AL
09/21/08 vs. Army Birmingham, AL
09/27/08 at UC Davis Davis, CA

Time is nearing! 2008 Season on horizon

UNM Athletic Department has release the official 2008 Roster (below). 

Right off the bat we need to say goodbye to a few more fellows since March:

#14 Bryan Sajjadi - 5-6/155 - Midfield - Arlington, Texas
#15 Joel Theissen - 5-7/175 - Midfield - Windsor, New South Wales
#21 Gardner Morrow - 5-10 / 165 - Forward - Shelburne, VT
#24 Charles Conway - 6-1/190 - Defender/Midfield - Albuquerque, NM

Also, according to the official roster we don't get to see Mark Geria (M/D Canberra, Australia) and Anders Selander (D Ulrichehamn, Sweden) that were announced by the University as incoming in the spring. Not sure what happened.

In their roster spots we get Euan Holden (M 6-0 170 Jr-TR from UCONN) and Gal Yaar (D 5-10 165 Freshman) from Aviv, Israel. 

So here's the roster as posted on the official UNM website The principal returnees are in bold. The players that are expected to step into major roles and make immediate impact are in italics. 

No. Name Pos. Ht Wt Yr-Exp. Hometown/Last School

00 Justin Holmes G 6-2 190 Fr-HS Elkhart, Ind.
0 Victor Rodriguez G 6-1 170 Fr-HS Las Cruces, N.M.
1 Eric Staver G 6-1 185 So-1L Portage, Mich.  
2 Mike Porter D/M 6-1 165 Sr-3L Las Cruces, N.M.  
3 Simon Ejdemyr D 6-3 190 Jr-2L Boras, Sweden  
4 Euan Holden M 6-0 170 Jr-TR Sugar Land, Texas (UCONN)
5 David Murphy D 5-11 170 So-TR Grapevine, Texas (Wake Forest)
6 Zach Tierney D/M 6-1 175 Jr-2L Wildwood, Mo.  
7 Justin Davis D/M 6-0 170 Jr-2L Avondale, Ariz.  
9 Stephen Brown D/M 6-0 165 Jr-2L Arlington, Texas  
10 Michael Reed M 6-0 175 So-1L Albuquerque, N.M.  
11 PJ Wilson F 5-11 175 Jr-2L Fort Wayne, Ind.  
12 Chris Wright F 6-5 200 Sr-3L Sacramento, Calif.  
13 Seth Neben M 6-1 155 Fr-HS Lincoln, Neb.  
14 Masashi Shibuya M/F 5-10 160 Fr-HS Scottsdale, Ariz.  
15 Michael Green M 5-10 175 Fr-HS Strongsville, Ohio  
16 Jack Smithson M/F 5-9 145 Sr-3L Chicago, Ill.  
17 Lance Rozeboom M/F 6-1 165 Fr-HS Walker, Iowa  
18 James Urbany D/M 5-9 150 So-1L South Bend, Ind.  
19 Andrew Parsons D/M 6-2 170 So-1L Springfield, Mo.  
20 Gal Yaar D 5-10 165 Fr-HS Tel Aviv, Israel
21 Ryan Farquharson D/M 6-1 180 So-1L Phoenix, Ariz.  
22 Gary Weisbaum M/F 5-10 160 Fr-HS Baltimore, Md.  
23 Dominique Romero M 5-10 155 So-1L Albuquerque, N.M.  
24 Travis Campbell D 5-9 165 Fr-HS Phoenix, Ariz.  
44 Justin Fite G 6-2 175 So-1L Spring, Texas 

Here's my 2007 Re-Cap from earlier in the year.

Soccer City FC - Chris Wright interview

Lance Watson update

Update 2: Lance DNP on Wednesday versus Velez Sarsfield in KC's 3-2 win.

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Update 1: KC Wizards web article

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There's no guarantee that Lance Watson will be back with the big club this year (after playing reserves all of last) but following information like this coming out of the KC Wizards camp it is looking pretty good. He's with the full club in Argentina now on their pre-season tour and played in midfield with most of the starters. Working in his favor, KC has moved to a 3-5-2 formation this year so they need plenty of quality mids.

Anyway Lance scored the lone goal in their 1-nil win in their first game versus Defensa y Justica.

Here's how Hillcrestroad.com reported it: 

7th minute- Lance Watson scores after a nice build-up through midfield. Marinelli unlocks the play with a long switch to an overlapping Michael Harrington up the left flank. Harrington then wins the end line and crosses for Ryan Pore who lays the ball back to the top of the 18 for Watson who had cut in after Harrington's overlap. Watson collected the ball then beat the goalkeeper at the back post for the game's lone goal.