ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Tiger men's soccer team will open its 2011 season on Friday night with a non-conference affair at the University of New Mexico. Opening kick-off against the Lobos is set for 9 p.m. Eastern Time at the UNM Soccer Complex. 

Event Multimedia

• Fans will be able to view all of the game action on GoLobos.com via live stats. In addition, a live video feed is available on New Mexico's website by clicking here.

Scouting the Tigers

• Sophomore forward Olakunle Banjo is the Tigers' returning leading scorer after ranking fourth in the CAA last year with 19 points. The Tigers' second-leading scorer, the Upper Marlboro, Md. native tallied seven goals with five assists and earned second team All-CAA honors while also receiving CAA All-Rookie Team notice.

• Senior John Steele and sophomore Angelo Viteritti also return to lead the Tigers' goalkeeping corps. Steele appeared in six games last year and posted a 1.93 goals against average while Viteritti started 11 games and had a .736 save percentage while allowing 1.69 goals per game.

• Coach Frank Olszewski begins his 30th season as the Tigers' leader. A 1978 graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Olszewski has led the Tigers to a record of 276-206-47 and is one of five coaches in the CAA with at least 200 career wins.

Scouting the Lobos

• With eight starters returning from last year's team, the Lobos are opening their regular season schedule on Friday night when they host the Tigers and looking to use the momentum of a pair of preseason victories to start the year with a good result.

• New Mexico opened the preseason with a 2-0 victory over Grand Canyon before posting a 3-1 verdict against Tulsa on Saturday night. In the victory over Tulsa, the Lobos scored three times in the first half to build a 3-0 lead they did not relinquish.

• The Lobos, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year, were picked to finish second in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Coaches' Poll. They were tied with Denver in the preseason poll and received a pair of first place votes. 

• Coach Jeremy Fishbein is entering his 10th season as the Lobos' leader and his 19th season as a college coach. He has led the Lobos to the NCAA Tournament seven times in his first nine years, including an appearance in the 2005 NCAA Championship Game. The 2004 Soccer America Coach of the Year, Fishbein has posted a 119-44-21 record at New Mexico.

Banjo Named Preseason All-CAA

• Sophomore forward Olakunle Banjo was named to the Preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association men's soccer team in a vote of the league's head coaches. In addition, sophomore defender Christian Höfer earned honorable mention Preseason All-CAA team notice.öfer

• A second team All-CAA selection last year, Banjo ranked fourth in the CAA with 19 points after scoring seven goals with five assists. He earned CAA Co-Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week honors last September after leading the Tigers to wins over Loyola and Longwood. In the Tigers' 3-2 victory over the Greyhounds, Banjo recorded the first multi-goal game of his career with a pair of goals. He also scored a goal in the victory over Longwood.

Up Next for the Tigers

• The Tigers will open their home schedule on Thursday afternoon when they welcome Mount St. Mary's to the Tiger Soccer Complex for a 5 p.m. non-conference game against the Mountaineers.

• The Tigers and The Mount will be meeting for the 38th time in an all-time series that Towson leads by a 21-13-3 margin following last year's 2-0 victory at Waldron Family Stadium (recap | final stats). Marco Mangione and Zach Hoffer each scored a goal in the victory while senior goalkeeper John Steele made two saves en route to the eighth shutout of his college career.

• The Tigers have won three of the last five meetings in the series against the Mountaineers.