New Mexico Mens' Soccer Reloading For 09

When most people think of Men's College Soccer, names such as Clemson, Virginia, Indiana, Wake Forest, St. Louis and UCLA come to mind. All six of those programs have won a National Title, and they all have produced several professional players. Some of those players play in MLS while others play overseas.

But there's another program that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the above listed. That program is the University of New Mexico Lobos Men's Soccer Team. Under Head Coach Jeremy Fishbein, the Lobos have reached the NCAA Tournament 7 of the last 8 years, and in 2005, they went all the way to the National Finals, falling to Maryland in the Championship.

There are currently five UNM former players playing in MLS; Lance Watson, who was the first overall pick in the 2006 MLS Super Draft by the Kansas city Wizards, Brandon Moss, taken by the Columbus Crew, Josh Brown, taken by the Colorado Rapids, Andrew Boyens, and two former UNM Goal Keepers. Both Keepers are on the roster of the San Jose Earthquakes. Andrew Weber is listed as #2 on the depth chart, and Mark Graczyk is #3. Both are battling just to get on the field.

Now, the Lobos have reloaded for the Fall. They nabbed three in-state players, two from Texas, one from Colorado, and two international players from Sweden and Trinidad. Johan Bergstrom Hofors is a 5'9 Defender from Sweden. Here is a little info about him: Played as a youth for the Swedish Premier League Club, Gefle IF...played the last two years for Sandvikens IF...helped lead his club team to four district championships...attended Borgarskolans Gymnasium in 2007 with a 3.34 GPA...attended the Social Science Programme. The lobos also were able to land an outstanding player from Trinidad and Tobago. His name is Brendon Boucaud and he's a 5'10 Midfielder from St. Anns, Trinadad. Here's the bio on Boucaud: Attended St. Anthonys College and was named team captain in 2006 and 2007...named Most Valuable Player in 2007...helped lead the team to a National Intercol Championships as well as the North Zone League Championship...selected to the Secondary Schools All-Star team in 2007...received the Paul Borely award in 2007 for the student who best displays the overall character of a St. Anthonys College student...was a member of the Trinidad and Tobago National U-20 team in 2006-07 and the U-17 team in 2004...Played club soccer for the St. Anns Ranger Soccer Club and Clico San Han Jabloteh Soccer club.

Coach Fishbein expects that both of these players will have a major impact on the Lobo Soccer Program. Fishbein told reporters in a press conference back in May that all of the recruits expect to play. He went on to say, "If we've done our job with our returning players, it's going to be tough for them to see playing time because are returning players are training hard right now."

Just to give you an idea of how hard those returning players have been training, the team has put a video of their Winter training sessions on the Internet for all to see. It includes sprinting up mountains, lots of running around a track, jumping drills in the weight room, strength drills with medicine balls, and of course, playing soccer in the indoor practice facility. You can go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPQNhzJWL04 to watch the video.

Though they have yet to win a National Championship, the New Mexico Lobos are poised to do just that sooner or later. They came so close in 2005, and they've made it to the Big Dance 7 out of the last 8 years. They will have a good mix of returning players plus a solid recruiting class. Watch out for the Lobos this Fall. They have the ability to possibly win a National Title.