2008 Lobo Soccer outlook & ProFiLeS Four-Straight MPSF titles Four-Straight NcaaS 23

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1 Outlook & Profiles 23

2 Season OUtlook Familiar territory...that is exactly where the University of New Mexico men s soccer team finds itself going into the 2008 season. For the third year in a row, the Lobos are tabbed as one of the top teams in college soccer, owning the highest winning percentage in the nation since the start of the 2004 campaign. New Mexico has won almost 80% of its games with a mark over the last four years. The Lobos are again the coaches pick to win their fifth straight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title. However, UNM has not made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament in either of the previous two seasons. The difference in 2008 is that the Lobos will field their deepest and most experienced squad since their 2005 College Cup finalist team. Each of the last two years we have begun the season with high expectations, but with a group of young players on the field, stated head coach Jeremy Fishbein. This year there are no excuses. It is not about youth anymore. We have a very talented group of players who have been in big games and know what it takes to win at the highest level. It is a cohesive unit with great leadership and I expect us to be one of the top teams in college soccer this year. New Mexico returns eight starters and five of its top six scorers. The Lobo roster also boasts nine upperclassmen who will be counted on for production in the upcoming season. Leading the returners is 2007 MPSF Player of the Year Chris Wright. Wright, a 6-5 senior, has led the team in scoring each of the last two seasons. He was the league leader in points last year with 12 goals and four assists. The senior class also consists of two-year starters Jack Smithson (2G, 4A) and Mike Porter (1G, 1A). Smithson is twotime all-conference performer in the midfield, while Porter was a second-team All-MPSF honoree in Also returning are All-Far West Region defenders Simon Ejdemyr (4G) and Zach Tierney (1A) and the team s second leading scorer Justin Davis (5G, 3A). Ejdemyr, a 6-5 defensive stopper, has twice been named to the All-MPSF first team, while Tierney was on the All-MPSF first team last season. Those three, along with P.J. Wilson (5G), Stephen Brown (1G, 3A) and transfer Euan Holden make a strong junior class NCAA Tournament Six sophomores saw action in 2007, including keeper Eric Staver, defenders Ryan Farquharson (1G, 1A) and Andrew Parsons and midfielders Michael Reed (2A), Dominique Romero (1A) and James Urbany (1G). Keeper Justin Fite, who is in his third season with the program, and David Murphy, who transferred to UNM, round out the Lobos sophomore class. Up the middle we are pretty solid with our returning players, added Fishbein. Tierney and Ejdemyr make up one of the best central defensive tandems in the nation. The midfield is very talented and I think our attacking players are as good as any in the country. The Lobo freshmen make up the 22ndranked recruiting class according to CollegeSoccerNews.com. Topping the list of newcomers are midfielder Michael Green and goalkeeper Victor Rodriguez. Both players earned NSCAA High School All-American honors last season. Green was recently named to the U.S. U-20 Men s National Team for the 2008 Milk Cup in Northern Ireland. Lance Rozeboom began his collegiate career in January after graduating early from Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Four other high school players will join the Lobo program in the fall, including Travis Campbell (Phoenix, Ariz.), Justin Holmes (Elkhart, Ind.), Masashi Shibuya (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Gary Weisbaum (Baltimore, Md.). The college soccer world is taking notice of the Lobos 2008 squad. Along with their top-25 recruiting class ranking, The Lobos were ranked xxth in the CollegeSoccerNews. com preseason top-30. It is the fourth straight year New Mexico has been ranked in the preseason top-15 and the fifth year in a row the Lobos have been tabbed as a top-25 team. UNM has been ranked in the top-30 each week since the start of the 2004 season, a streak of 52 consecutive weeks. New Mexico will be able to test the preseason prognosticators with another challenging schedule. The Lobos will play a 19-game slate, plus a preseason exhibition match against perennial top-10 power Notre Dame. New Mexico has 10 games in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and nine non-conference opponents on its plate. The Lobos will host 10 matches at the UNM Soccer Complex this fall, with all five of their non-conference home opponents coming off winning seasons in New Mexico s schedule also includes five matches against teams that went to the NCAA Tournament last season. We are very excited about our schedule again this season, stated Fishbein. We have some very talented teams coming to Albuquerque and some challenging road matches that will help our RPI. I also expect our league to be as good as it has been since I have been here, so we have some tough competition ahead of us. Fishbein and his staff have retooled and reloaded the 2008 New Mexico men s soccer squad and the talent is there for another strong season. New Mexico will be looking for its fifth consecutive MPSF title, but will have a tough road ahead. Despite dominating the MPSF over the last four years, UNM has needed a win or tie in the final game in each of the last three seasons to clinch the league crown. We certainly moved forward last season, winning our fourth MPSF title in a row and the sixth in the last seven years, stated Fishbein. However, we need to continue to make strides in the NCAA Tournament. We have only dropped a first round game once in six trips, but we need to make a deep run on a consistent basis to be among the nation s elite. I think this team has the experience and the talent needed to answer that challenge. Keepers Over the last seven years, the goalkeeper position has been the easiest for New Mexico to pencil in prior to the beginning of each season. Andrew Weber ( ) patrolled the pitch between the pipes for four years, setting school records in games played (83), minutes played (7,681), wins (50) and saves (350). Following Weber s tenure was three-year starter Mike Graczyk ( ). Highest D-I Winning % Since 2004

3 Graczyk holds UNM records for career goalsagainst-average (0.68) and shutouts (30). This season the Lobos have four keepers vying for the starting job, including sophomores Justin Fite and Eric Staver and freshmen Justin Holmes and Victor Rodriguez. The only question we really have on the field is the keeper position, stated Fishbein. We have been solid there for so long, and now it is time for one of the new guys to step up. We are going to have to rely on untested players, but there is some strong talent to work with. Staver is the only one of the four who has seen the field in a Division I regular season game. He logged 75 minutes in two matches last season. Both Fite and Staver are in their third season with the program. Staver entered spring action as the starting keeper but a shoulder injury kept him off the field. Fite stepped up and played every minute in goal in the Lobos six spring matches. He posted shutouts over Air Force, Fort Lewis and at Duke, while only allowing only one goal against collegiate competition. The only score Fite allowed against a collegiate team was in a 1-1 tie at defending NCAA Champion Wake Forest. Staver had a very good fall for us and going into the spring was the leading candidate for the job, said Fishbein. Unfortunately he had to have minor surgery on his shoulder and missed the spring games. Fite was excellent in goal during spring play and the job is now his to lose. Holmes and Rodriguez come to UNM with high accolades after very successful prep careers. Holmes, a native of Elkhart, Ind., was the 2007 Northern Indiana Player of the Year, leading Elkhart Central to the state championship game each of the last two seasons. Rodriguez was a 2007 NSCAA High School All-American for Las Cruces High School in Las Cruces, N.M. The 2007 New Mexico 5A Player of the Year also led Las Cruces HS to the New Mexico 5A state title. Defenders New Mexico s backline might be its most experienced area on the field. Junior Simon Ejdemyr and Zach Tierney will nail down the center-back positions after earning spots on the NSCAA All-Far West Region Team last year. Ejdemyr s 6-5 frame has helped him lay claim to two straight first team All-MPSF honors and four career goals. Tierney was a second team All-Far West Region member and first team All-MPSF last season. He has six career assists in 37 games at UNM. Those guys complement each other very well, added Fishbein. Zach has great field sense and is extremely athletic. Simon is one of our leaders with tremendous maturity. He has excelled in numerous big games and is dominant in the air. We feel they make up the best tandem in the country as far as center-backs are concerned. Sophomore Ryan Farquharson played every game at right-back last season. He was third on the team with 1,607 minutes, but is coming off surgery and missed all of the Lobos spring action. Senior Mike Porter moved from the midfield to right-back in the spring and will compete with Farquharson for the position in the fall. Porter has played in the back and midfield throughout his career and was a second team All-MPSF selection as a sophomore. Both Farquharson and Porter have the ability to play multiple positions and both are expected to see plenty of time on the field, regardless of who is playing the right-back slot. Farquharson had surgery in the offseason and is now back at 100%, however, he didn t have the benefit of playing in any of our spring games, stated Fishbein. Porter claimed that right-back spot in spring play. It is going to be some tough competition to see who locks down that job. Junior Stephen Brown started 16 games at left-back which is not his most dominant position. Brown looks to move back up to the midfield or forward line, opening the left-back Season Outlook position to any of a number of newcomers. Sophomore David Murphy could fill that role after transferring to UNM from Wake Forest. Murphy was one of the top players in the nation coming out of high school, but has had two injury-plagued seasons of college soccer. Left-footed Gal Yaar comes to UNM from Israel, where he played against his country s top club competition. The 22- year old defender will also have a chance at earning the starting job at left-back. Other defenders looking to break into the lineup include sophomores Andrew Parsons and James Urbany and freshman Travis Campbell. Parsons and Urbany can both play in the back or midfield. Parsons saw action in six games last season as a redshirt freshman while Urbany scored a goal in eight games as a true freshman. Campbell, a native of Phoenix, Ariz., spent the summer leading his club team, the Cisco Toros, to the 2008 Far West Region title. Midfielders The midfield position begins with senior Jack Smithson and junior Justin Davis. Smithson is a two-time All-MPSF performer and has five goals and seven assists in his career. Last season, he was fifth on the team in scoring, netting two goals and four assists. Davis had an excellent sophomore season, finishing second on the team in scoring with five goals and three assists. Three of his five goals were game-winners in A surprising omission from the All-MPSF team, the left-footed Davis will definitely be one of the top players in the league in Smithson has improved each year and at times was our most creative attacking player, said Fishbein. JD is a very difficult match-up to opposing teams on the left side. He really came on last year and we expect him to continue his success this season. Also expected to be major contributors in the midfield are junior Stephen Brown and sophomore Michael Reed. Brown is a two-time All-MPSF selection, but spent the 25

4 Season Outlook majority of last season at left-back. He is expected to move back in the midfield or up front where he was second on the team in scoring with four goals and two assists as a freshman. Reed is entering his third season with the Lobos, but his first as a 100% healthy participant. The former New Mexico High School Player of the Year is set for a breakout season as a center-midfielder after recording two assists in 17 games in Also returning in the midfield is sophomore Dominique Romero. Romero added an assist in six games of action as a redshirt freshman last season. We know Brown is excellent at left-back, but we feel he is more valuable in the attack, explained Fishbein. He is able to play many positions on the field, but when he is on, we think he is one of the best attacking players we have. Michael is finally recovered from a knee injury he suffered before his freshman season. He started playing well at the end of last season and we expect him to be a big part or our rotation this season. Dom is coming off surgery in the offseason and once he recovers could also be a factor in the midfield. Joining the Lobo midfield are five talented newcomers who will push for playing time. Junior Euan Holden and freshman Michael Green highlight this group of new Lobos. Holden transferred to UNM from UConn and could have an immediate impact. A left-footed player, Holden has the ability to fill almost any spot on the field. He scored two goals in 36 games in his first two years at UConn. Green just finished his first stint with the U.S. U-20 National Team in the Northern Ireland Milk Cup. He is a 2007 NSCAA High School All-American and the Ohio Player of the Year. Green is also expected to be an NCAA Tournament impact player in the Lobo midfield. Euan has the ability and maturity to come in and play right away for us, stated Fishbein. He comes from one of the top programs in the country and we expect big things from him. Green is a very special player who is a very composed young man. If he can deal with all of the changes associated with coming into a college environment, he should be a great addition to our program. One other player with the skills to see the field right away is freshmen Lance Rozeboom. He graduated early from Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and joined the Lobo program in the spring. He started every game in the spring season and looks to continue to be an impact player in the fall. Two other players joining the Lobo midfield are freshmen Masashi Shibuya and Gary Weisbaum. Shibuya is a two-time adidas ESP participant from Scottsdale, Ariz. Weisbaum joins the Lobos from Baltimore, Md., where he was a two-time all-state player for Pikesville High School. Forwards A number of players already mentioned could see time up top for New Mexico, especially if the Lobos move from their traditional line up to a formation. However, two returners top the list of potential candidates for the forward spots. Senior Chris Wright and junior P.J. Wilson will be the primary tools the Lobos use to put the ball in the net. Wright is a 6-5 target forward who was the 2007 MPSF Player of the Year. He led the league and was 19th in the nation in scoring with 28 points on 12 goals and four assists in His 20 career goals is currently tied for seventh all-time at UNM. The two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All- American also has six multi-goal games in his career. Chris is a leader and one of the hardest workers on the team, stated Fishbein. As long as he doesn t put too much pressure on himself and we can get him the ball in the right spots, he will have a great season. Wilson scored five goals as a sophomore and was fourth on the team in scoring last season. He has shown flashes of greatness in his first two seasons that the former Indiana High School Player CollegeSoccerNews.com Preseason Top Wake Forest 2. Connecticut 3. Maryland 4. Indiana 5. Santa Clara 6. Boston College 7. Creighton 8. Saint Louis 9. UC Santa Barbara 10. Brown 11. South Florida 12. SMU 13. California 14. UCLA 15. Notre Dame of Year displayed during his All-American prep career. However, the Lobos will need Wilson to be more of a consistent scorer as he enters the second half of his New Mexico career. We are going to need P.J. to step up to his potential this season, stated Fishbein. He played great soccer at times last year, but we need him to be a threat each and every game. I think he is ready for that challenge. Once again Fishbein and his staff have put together a very talented and experienced group for the 2008 season. A strong core of returning players mixed in with some talented newcomers should mean another shot at a fifth-straight MPSF title and a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. The potential is definitely there for another banner year for New Mexico Soccer MPSF Preseason Coaches Poll Place Team Votes (1st) 1 New Mexico 24 (4) 2 Denver 22 (2) 3 San Jose State 15 UNLV 15 5 Sacramento State 8 6 Air Force Northwestern 17. Illinois-Chicago 18. Akron 19. New Mexico 20. Furman 21. Louisville 22. Massachusetts 23. Ohio State 24. Cal Poly 25. Tulsa 26. Harvard 27. Old Dominion 28. Loyola (Md.) 29. North Carolina 30. UC Davis Highest D-I Winning % Since 2004

5 2008 Men s Soccer Roster Roster No. Name Pos. Ht Wt Yr-Exp. Hometown/Last School 00 Justin Holmes G Fr-HS Elkhart, Ind. (Elkhart Central HS) 0 Victor Rodriguez G Fr-HS Las Cruces, N.M. (Las Cruces HS) 1 Eric Staver G So-1L Portage, Mich. (Portage Northern HS) 2 Mike Porter D/M Sr-3L Las Cruces, N.M. (Las Cruces HS) 3 Simon Ejdemyr D Jr-2L Boras, Sweden (Sven Eriksonsgymnasiet) 4 Euan Holden M Jr-TR Sugar Land, Texas (UCONN) 5 David Murphy D So-TR Grapevine, Texas (Wake Forest) 6 Zach Tierney D/M Jr-2L Wildwood, Mo. (Christian Brothers HS) 7 Justin Davis M Jr-2L Litchfield Park, Ariz. (Westview HS) 9 Stephen Brown D/M Jr-2L Arlington, Texas (James Martin HS) 10 Michael Reed M So-1L Albuquerque, N.M. (Sandia HS) 11 PJ Wilson F Jr-2L Fort Wayne, Ind. (Canterbury HS) 12 Chris Wright F Sr-3L Sacramento, Calif. (Jesuit HS) 14 Masashi Shibuya M/F Fr-HS Scottsdale, Ariz. (Saguaro HS) 15 Michael Green M Fr-HS Strongsville, Ohio (Strongsville HS) 16 Jack Smithson M/F Sr-3L Chicago, Ill. (Hinsdale Central HS) 17 Lance Rozeboom M/F Fr-HS Walker, Iowa (Xavier HS) 18 James Urbany D/M So-1L South Bend, Ind. (St. Joseph s HS) 19 Andrew Parsons D/M So-1L Springfield, Mo. (Glendale HS) 20 Gal Yaar D Fr-HS Petah Tikva, Israel (Beitar Shimshon) 21 Ryan Farquharson D/M So-1L Phoenix, Ariz. (North Canyon HS) 22 Gary Weisbaum M/F Fr-HS Baltimore, Md. (Pikesville HS) 23 Dominique Romero M So-1L Albuquerque, N.M. (La Cueva HS) 24 Travis Campbell D Fr-HS Phoenix, Ariz. (Thunderbird HS) 44 Justin Fite G So-1L Spring, Texas (Klein Collins HS) HEAD COACH: Jeremy Fishbein (7th Year) ASSISTANT COACHES: Paul Souders (1st Year), Chris Cartlidge (3rd Year) Gabe Hall (1st Year) Trainer: Nate Burney (2nd Year) Team Manager: Trevor Edwards (1st Year) Pronunciation Guide Ejdemyr - AY-dah-meer Farquharson - FAR-kah-son Euan - YOU-un Neben - NEE-ben Masashi Shibuya - ma-sah-she SHE-boo-ah Rozeboom - ROSE-boom Weisbaum - WISE-bahm Fite - fight 27