UNM women's soccer: Lobos ready for Mountain West tournament

It’s been a couple of cold Novembers for the New Mexico soccer team, which has not reached the Mountain West tournament since 2023 and has not won a game in the tournament since winning it all in 2022. But coach Heather Dyche said her team believes this year’s squad has the potential to make a run.

The sixth-seeded Lobos (8-4-6) face No. 3 Utah State (8-6-5) on Sunday in Boise, Idaho, to begin tournament play.

“I think this team expects to make a long run,” she said. “I don’t think there’s anybody we can’t beat on a good day. For a lot of these players, this is their first conference tournament. So they have to get over the nerves and show up and be at their best.”

New Mexico played to a scoreless draw with the Aggies two weeks ago in Albuquerque.

But the Lobos have a feisty squad that scored 34 goals on the season, led by Nicole Anderson and Alejandra Puerto, who did most of her damage coming off the bench. They each have eight goals, while Alysa Whelchel added six scores. Fiona Jenkins, playing out from the back, has been the primary playmaker with eight assists and Mercedes Morris added five helpers.

Utah State has scored 35 goals on the season and allowed only 18, while New Mexico has surrendered 20.

“I think this team has faced quite a bit of adversity and has risen to every challenge and is proud to be there,” Dyche said. “As a program, we feel we should be there. We’re happy to be back and this team is ready to compete.”

New Mexico lost Presley Devey, who scored more than a third of the team’s goals a year ago, to a knee injury and starting keeper Callie Droitsch was injured in the preseason. But the team rallied with numerous players stepping up at different moments to provide a well-balanced offense.

“They just kind of have done it by committee,” Dyche said. “I have the benefit of seeing them in training every day and it’s hard to score a goal in soccer. So you want them to shine and be at their best, especially at this time of the year.”

Keepers Alyson Campbell, a junior transfer from LSU, and walk-on Jasmin Gonzalez-Rutt out of Santa Fe, have provided stability in the net.

“I think our two keepers who have played this season have done a great job,” Dyche said. “It’s cool to see them grow and mature into the position, especially because with the goalkeeper every mistake is so magnified.”

It didn’t help New Mexico’s cause that the Lobos faced the most split weekends — being home for a game on Thursday then traveling for a Sunday game or vice versa — then any other team. The conference schedule was thrown into upheaval with the late addition of Grand Canyon, but the Lobos took the brunt of that scheduling turmoil.

“I don’t think a lot of people thought that we would be where we are,” Dyche said. “I think that part of it has been so cool, just to see them continue to fight. They’ve been good all year. We only lost (four) games all season, only (two) in conference and that’s pretty exceptional.”