Soccer preview: New Mexico
MATCH #4: No. 8 Texas (2-1) vs. New Mexico (3-1) · This week's opponent, New Mexico, is 3-1 to start the 2006 campaign. The Lobos enter the match after playing at the UNLV adidas Classic Championship. · After upsetting two top-15 programs at home this past weekend (No. 3 Penn State and No. 13 Illinois), the Longhorns entered the Soccer America magazine and National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas polls, released on Monday (Sept. 5) and Tuesday (Sept. 6), respectively. UT ranked No. 8 in the coaches' poll and stands at No. 13 in the Soccer America poll. It is Texas' highest ranking since Sept. 12, 2005 when the team stood at No. 24 in the country. The last time UT was rated in the top 10 in the nation in the Soccer America poll was Sept. 7, 2004 when the Longhorns were sixth in the nation. · Facing Penn State on Friday (Sept. 3), Texas scored first behind Amy Burlingham's 10-yard shot from the near side of the box. PSU countered with a goal with 4:49 remaining in the first half, tying the match heading into the intermission. Once the Longhorns emerged from the locker room, the defense kept Penn State out of the box and the UT attack found a hole in the Nittany Lions' defense to take a 2-1 advantage on Carpenter's game-winning-goal. · Facing a second ranked opponent in three days, the Longhorns won the match by a score of 1-0, over No. 13 Illinois, behind a second game-winning-goal from Carpenter. · Carpenter was named Soccer America magazine's National Player of the Week and Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week for her performances this past weekend. Carpenter tied her season-high in game-winning-goals with her efforts against Penn State and Illinois. She recorded two game-winners in 2005 as a sophomore and one in her rookie campaign (2004). Recording points is nothing new to Carpenter, as she has tallied 30 points in her last 32 matches, dating back to 2004 (12 in 2004, 17 in 2005, four in 2006). · Sophomore goalkeeper Dianna Pfenninger was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week after recording her first shutout of the season against the Fighting Illini and holding the third-best team in the nation, the Nittany Lions, to a single goal in a 1-0. · After spending three weeks in Russia with the U.S. Under-20 National Team, UT sophomore defender Stephanie Logterman returns to the lineup against New Mexico. The national team finished in fourth place with a 4-2 record during the 2006 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Championships. Logterman started four matches for the national team. · With her start against Illinois, senior midfielder Amy Burlingham moved into the top 10 on Texas' all-time list in matches started in a career with 65. She entered the year with 63 matches started in 65 appearances. She has started three games this season including the upset wins over No. 3 Penn State and the Fighting Illini. · The Longhorns return to action with a three-match road trip, playing two of those away matches next week. On Thursday, Sept. 7, the Longhorns square off against New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M. at 8 p.m. (Central). Texas then goes to Houston on Sunday, Sept. 10 to play at Rice (7 p.m.). NEW MEXICO QUICK FACTS
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