NORFOLK, VA—The ODU Soccer Monarchs (7-4-1/2-1-1), winners of three straight hit the road to Albuquerque, N.M. for a Conference USA match against the No. 18 ranked Lobos of New Mexico at UNM Soccer Complex. Game time is 9 p.m. ET. This is the first time ODU Soccer has ever played in the state of New Mexico.
The Monarchs come into the match having beaten rival William & Mary, 1-0 Tuesday night to give head coach Alan Dawson, the school’s winningest coach his 200th win at ODU. Dawson ranks 13th on the NCAA active list with 329 career wins. The Lobos will be the sixth ODU opponent in the NSCAA coaches top 25 this season. The others include Virginia, North Carolina, UNC Wilmington, South Florida and Charlotte. UAB just missed the top 25 by eight votes.
The stingy ODU defense ranks 16th nationally, anchored by sophomore goalkeeper Alex Tiesenhausen ranks 13th nationally with a .846 save percentage, 17th with 60 saves. Junior Ryan Condotta and sophomore Jesse Miralrio are tied for the team lead in total points with three goals, one assist for seven total points each. In all, nine different Monarchs have scored at least one goal this season.
THE SERIES: NM leads 1-0. The Lobos defeated ODU last year at ODU, 3-0.
ABOUT NEW MEXICO: The Lobos are coached by Jeremy Fishbein who has been the head coach since 2004, taking them to the national semifinals last year and to the championship game in 2005. New Mexico ranks 14th nationally in goals against average at 0.61 and are tied for 16th nationally with seven shutouts.
The Lobos are third in C-USA in total points with 62 while Chris Wehan leads the team in goals with five. James Rogers, Niko Hansen, Oniel Fisher and Kevin Correa have scored three goals each.
DID YOU KNOW: ODU’s 12 NCAA appearances is second only to South Carolina’s 20 in C-USA…
Four current C-USA programs have NCAA national runner-up finishes which include Charlotte (2011),New Mexico (2005), FIU (1996) and South Carolina (1993).
ODU HOSTS THE 2014 C-USA MEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS
Old Dominion will host the top seven finishers in the regular season standings for 2014 C-USA Men’s Soccer Championship, Nov. 12-16 at the Old Dominion Soccer Complex in Norfolk, Virginia. Tickets for the tournament are: $20 for adult, and $ 10 for youth. Single game tickets are: $10 for adults, $5 for youth, and $3 for groups of 10 or more. Admission is free for all C-USA students with a valid school ID.
http://www.conferenceusa.com/championships/m-soccer-championship-14.html
C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDLE
Nov. 12 - Quarterfinals
Game 1 at 2:00 p.m.
Game 2 at 4:30 p.m.
Game 3 at 7:00 p.m.
Nov. 14-Semifinals
Game 4 at 4:30 p.m.
Game 5 at 7:00 p.m.
Championship game – 2:00 p.m.
C-USA STANDINGS
19 Kentucky 3-0-2 (11 pts) 8-3-3
7 Charlotte 3-1-1 (10 pts) 10-2-1
UAB 3-1 (9 pts) 8-4-1
ODU 2-1-1 (7 pts) 7-4-1
Marshall 2-3-1 (7 pts) 4-7-3
18. New Mexico 2-2 (6 pts) 9-3-1
South Carolina 2-3 (6 pts) 7-7
FAU 1-3-1 (4 pts) 1-9-2
FIU 0-4-0 (0 pts) 4-7-1