PORTALES, N.M. – With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Eastern New Mexico men’s soccer team travels to DBU and St. Edward’s this weekend with hopes to solidify an LSC postseason berth.
LAST WEEK
The Hounds picked up a non-conference win over arch-rival West Texas A&M last Thursday night by a final score of 2-1.
The loss snaps a two-game losing skid for the Greyhounds and marks just the third time in program history that Eastern New Mexico has defeated West Texas A&M in men’s soccer. Senior keeper Ross Dalton supplied what would end up being the difference maker in the ball game on a diving save to stop a penalty kick for the Buffs at the 70th minute. The save to Dalton’s left side on the penalty kick came with the Greyhounds up 2-0 and allowed room for a Buff goal with just three minutes remaining in the contest. Graduate student Andres Riquelme provided what would serve as the game winning-goal in the 52nd minute for the Hounds. Riquelme’s goal was set up by a cross from midfielder Wilson Barahona from the left side that found the feet of Riquelme. The Paraguay native made the perfectly located cross count with a shot between a sliding keeper’s legs and deposited the ball into the bottom of the net. That ability to create from the outside was on full display all evening for the Greyhounds as senior Julian Trapp headed in his fourth goal of the season to break the scoreless tie just over nine minutes into the game. Riquelme sent a lead ball onto senior Robbie Leonard down the right side of the field in which Leonard crossed beautifully onto the head of Trapp for the finish. Eastern New Mexico kept West Texas A&M guessing on the defensive side of the ball all evening with varied attacks that resulted in quality chances. The Hounds were able to put seven shots on goal for the contest and matched the Buffs with 11 total shots for the game.
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
The Patriots began last week with a 3-0 shutout loss to Lubbock Christian before securing their first conference point with a 2-2 draw against St. Mary’s. DBU has the second-lowest scoring margin in the Lone Star at -1.15 as they have scored 17 goals and have surrendered 32.
Head Coach Chip Dutchik leads the DBU men’s soccer program enters his fifth season and has coached the Patriots to an eight-win season in 2015 and a seven-win season in 2017, the highest win totals since the program returned in 2012. In his first season, Dutchik guided DBU to the NCCAA Central Regional title and a trip to the NCCAA National Tournament.
Senior forward Abraham Garcia heads the Patriots offensive attack and leads the squad in most offensive categories with 11 points on four goals and three assists while recording 28 total shots and 13 on goal.
In the Midfield, DBU fields 2018 NJCAA All-Region selection Jonathan Macias. The junior midfielder is second on the squad in scoring and has tallied 10 points on four goals and a pair of assists. Also contributing in the midline is junior Koli McCullough who leads the squad with 992 minutes played.
Senior defender Aaron Proulx anchors the backline and has logged 968 minutes of action and has also scored a goal on a pair of shots.
DBU fields senior goalkeeper Tristen Olvera between the pipes and has allowed 23 goals with 33 saves on 124 shots faced. Olvera’s .589 save percentage is the lowest in the LSC.
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
The Hilltoppers began last week with an outstanding 2-0 upset over #12 Texas A&M International before being shutout themselves 1-0 to West Texas A&M to wrap-up their weekend.
SEU ranks sixth in the conference with 20 goals scored but has surrendered 25, the third-highest mark in the LSC.
Brian Young came to St. Edward’s in 2004 as the third head coach of the SEU men’s soccer team. He now enters his 16th season at SEU with the program’s highest winning percentage and was named to the Heartland Conference Hall of Fame in 2019.
St. Ed’s fields one of the most potent goal scorers in the conference in senior midfielder Parker Fyfe who is tied for third amongst Lone Star Conference competitors with six goals. The Austin, Texas native has also tallied a pair of assists and his 17 shots on goal are the fourth-most in the league.
In the frontline, senior forward Mattew Parker ranks second on the squad with six points on three goals despite playing in just six matches.
Defensively, SEU will rely on 2018 Second Team All-Heartland Conference selection Jeremy Bischoff who leads the squad with 1115 minutes and has also contributed on the offensive end with a goal on six total shots.
Junior goalkeeper Marko Lilic serves as the final piece of defense for the Hilltoppers and has made 11 starts in net this season. Lilic has compiled 30 saves with a 1.66 goals against average and a .612 save percentage on 101 shots faced.
2019 Story Lines
The Green and Silver began the year with the best start in program history and rattled off a record-setting six consecutive victories to begin the 2019 campaign.
After just seven weeks of play, the 2019 Hounds have established themselves as one of the best in the 16-year history of the program. They are currently one shutout shy of owning the ENMU single-season record while their eight victories are tied for fifth all-time. The Hounds are on pace to move into the top ten in seven different statistical categories in the ENMU single-season all-time record book. The 2019 squad owns the highest single-season save percentage at .829 while posting the second-lowest goals against average with .976. They rank sixth in points per game (5.17) and assists per game (1.5) while ranking seventh in goals per game (1.83) and saves per game (4.83) while their 11.75 shots per game rank tenth.
Conference Leaders
The Greyhounds boast a well-balanced squad, and rank in the top five of most major offensive and defensive categories across the conference. Offensively, ENMU ranks fifth with 62 points and 22 goals. The Hounds have also tallied the third-most assists (18) while their 7.08 shots on goal ranks third in the LSC. On the defensive side of the ball the Hounds are second in saves (58) and shutouts (five) while posting the third-lowest goals against average (1.00).
Eastern also fields some of the best individual players in the Lone Star including juniors Charlie Hackshall and Ross Dalton. Hackshall has totaled a league-leading six assists and is tied for 11th amongst all Division II men’s soccer players in that category. Dalton leads the conference with 58 saves and holds the second-best save percentage (.829) and third-lowest goals against average (.976) while posting five complete game shutouts.
Schedule Outlook
Eastern will hold its final homestand of the season next week with a Halloween game against Oklahoma Christian prior to taking the field against the conference-leading and No. five ranked team in the nation Midwestern State.
Score first, ask questions last
With 15 total victories under Head Coach Fridal’s belt all have come when the Hounds score the match’s first points, posting a 16-4-1 overall record in that scenario. The Hounds have also compiled an impressive 14-2-1 record when netting more than two goals in a match under the tutelage of Fridal.
Hounds on the Road
The Green and Silver have posted a 3-1-1 record this season when playing outside of Greyhound Stadium. The Hounds won their first three away contests, outscoring their opponents 5-1 in those matches which include an upset victory over then ranked No. 17 Colorado Mesa.
