UNLV player, Chilo Sanchez, overseeing Coach Ryerson teaching one of the players from Team Barracuda at Miracle League of Las Vegas on Thursday, May 16.
Enrique Adame – Bachelor of Science, Accounting
Austin Manthey – Bachelor of Science, Hospitality
A special thank you to Academic Advisor, Jennifer Villalobos!
This past Saturday the Rebels closed out their 2019 spring schedule with a home match against
Brigham Young University’s club team. As is typical with college spring programs, UNLV sported a
lineup which might have little resemblance to the actual eleven that takes the field next August in their
first varsity game. On the surface the competition, being a club team, might have seemed to be below
UNLV’s standard, even in the spring. But that would be deceiving. The NCAA is famous for it’s
numerous restrictions on the eligibility of it’s athletes, but clubs do not necessarily operate under the
same rules. Many participants in club/recreational sports would be ineligible under NCAA rules. In
addition, BYU is no slouch in club soccer. In making it to the NIRSA (the club version of the NCAA)
national Elite Eight last fall they established themselves as a powerhouse in the collegiate club soccer
world.
And any thought that the Cougars would be an easy touch were dashed early in the match. The
Rebels came out in a 4-3-3 formation and when in possession in the back, they pushed their outside
backs up while bring defensive midfielder Nico Clasen back to orchestrate the buildup from the back.
BYU responded by pressing high, at the least… to force long balls from the Rebels or, at best…to gain
possession deep in the UNLV defense if they could win the ball. Sure enough, nine minutes into the
game the Cougars jumped on a poor Rebel pass reception to take the lead.
However, 5 minutes was all it took for the Rebels to answer. A series of possession passes in
their own half followed by a searching ball down the left produced a Cougar foul just outside the BYU
penalty area. UNLV played the ball short and Clasen hit a masterpiece into the left side of the goal from
20 yds… 1-1.
UNLV continued the offensive, a nice set of passes through the middle produced a wicked shot
from the right side by Ivan Farias stretching the BYU keeper into a difficult save. And only 2 minutes
later a long ball down the right again set up Farias for a keeper-parried attempt which gave the Rebels a
corner.
At that point the Cougars dropped off to stop the deep incursions by the UNLV attack and while
successful in cutting off any more goal chances it also gave a good deal of midfield control to the home
team. Finally, at 34 minutes BYU put together a string of passes which gave them some penetration and
4 minutes later they got a man free in the Rebel penalty area. Although the ref decided the ensuing
tackle was not a penalty kick , the UNLV back line was reminded that the Cougars were still capable of
causing trouble.
The second half continued the trend established in the first. The home team maintained field
position, but had difficulty turning it into anything significant while BYU did not threaten with any of
their few minutes of ball control. During the half coach Rich Ryerson made some changes in position
for some of the UNLV players, most notably moving Marco Gonzalez from midfield to a central
forward spot. Marco’s speed proved to be a big problem for the BYU defense. The Rebels occasionally
used a straight through ball down the middle to catch the visitors central defense moving up, as the play
was dominated by midfield short passes. 32 minutes into the half a long ball found Gonzalez and he
was unfortunate not to score and 5 minutes later a central through ball put Marco in as he coolly went
around the onrushing keeper to give UNLV the lead.
The last 10 minutes were very different though. BYU pushed hard for the equalizer and the
Rebels couldn’t relieve the pressure for any length of time. Only some very scrappy play in front of the
home goal kept the lead and a UNLV victory.
The game was one of UNLV dominance after the initial BYU goal and the result was reflective
of the play although the last few minutes caused some scary moments for the Rebels. The spring season
solidified the general feeling that the Rebels have some very strong areas and some parts of their game,
particularly more clinical production from their time in their attacking third, which can be improved
upon. With the addition of some strong inbound talent and the return of most of last season’s squad,
next fall looks to be an exciting one for the Rebel faithful.
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – A pair of players from the UNLV Men’s Soccer team, Marco Gonzalez and Nico Classen, earned their first career regional honor as both were selected to the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region Third team, the national organization announced Wednesday. This marks the third time in the past four years the Rebels have placed multiple players on the all-region squads.
Gonzalez, a sophomore forward and native of Las Vegas, paced the Rebels this year in both goals (10) and points (23), which ranked him fifth in the WAC in both categories. He notched a pair of multi-goal games this year, including a hat trick against Evansville, and finished the season with three game-winners as well on the way to earning second-team All-WAC honors.
Clasen, a native of Mönchengladbach, Germany, set a new UNLV freshman record and was just one off the school record for total assists in a season with 10 in his first year in the Scarlet & Gray. That also ranked him in a tie for seventh in the nation, and was the second-highest in the WAC as well. This is the second season honor for Clasen after he was also named to the WAC All-Freshman squad. He is also the first-ever Rebel to earn all-region status as a freshman.
UNLV finished the season at 10-10-1, which pushed its streak of 10-win seasons to a school-record five straight.
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV women’s soccer senior Caitlyn Kreutz earned her first career all-region honor as she was named to the United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-Pacific Region Second Team, the organization announced Monday.
“I’m very happy to see Caitlyn get recognized for her play this year,” said head coach Chris Shaw.”Caitlyn had a great senior season and is well deserving of this honor. She was a threat every time she touched the ball and I felt she was one of the most dynamic attacking players in the region.”
Kreutz, from Clovis, California, transferred to UNLV from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo prior to the 2017 season and immediately secured a spot in the Rebels’ starting lineup. Over her short, but productive two-year UNLV career, the forward started all 40 games in 2017 and 2018 combined, totaling 12 goals, three assists and 27 points. In 2018, she scored seven goals on the year, which was tied for the team lead, with five of those scores being game winners – a mark that ranked second in the Mountain West and was tied for second most game-winning goals in a single season in program history. Kreutz also led the team in shots (45) and shots on goal (24) and was second on the team with 15 total points.
This is the third consecutive season the Rebels have been honored with a USC all-region selection, while it is the program’s 12th overall all-region nod from the organization.
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV sophomore midfielder Jesus Partida became the second Rebel to earn national team of the week honors Monday when he was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week for the week ending October 21. This is the first weekly honor of any type for Partida, and he is the second Rebel to earn national team honors this season after Timo Mehlich was honored by Top Drawer Soccer in the opening week of play.
Partida, a native of Reno, Nevada, not only doubled his career goal total this weekend, he also notched the first two game-winners of his career, in back-to-back games. He scored the lone goal of the game in UNLV’s 1-0 win at UMKC Oct. 19 when he sent in a long ball from deep on the right side that was able to go through traffic in the box before hitting the back of the left side of the net for the score, in the 46th minute of the contest. Again he scored the only goal of the game in the Rebels’ next contest, as he scored off an 18-yard shot to the right side in the Rebels’ 1-0 win at Houston Baptist on Sunday.
For the season, Partida has seven points off three goals and an assist, and all three of his goals are game-winners, which ranks him in a tie for second in the WAC.
With the two consecutive shutout wins, the Rebels are now on a three-game win streak that has moved their record to 9-7-1 overall, and to 4-3-1 in WAC play which has them tied for fourth place.
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV hosts 15th-ranked Air Force Friday night at 7 pm at Peter Johann Memorial Field. Tickets are just $8 for adults, $5 for seniors and staff, while kids 17 and under are free to all UNLV soccer events. The Rebel Mafia Tailgate party, sponsored by the UNLV Soccer Foundation, will open at 5 pm with free food, drinks and live music for all with ticketed admission. The game will also be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network, available on UNLVRebels.com as well as through the Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV and Android streaming devices.
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV senior goalkeeper Nathan Bohn has been named the WAC Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday morning. It is the first weekly honor of Bohn’s career, and he is the first Rebel to earn WAC Defensive weekly honors since Richard Garness on Oct. 12, 2015.
The Las Vegas native, playing in just his fourth and fifth games of the season, recorded the first two shutouts of his career over the weekend as the Rebels knocked off UMKC 1-0 on Oct. 19, and then claimed a 1-0 win over Houston Baptist Sunday afternoon. Bohn became the first Rebel goalkeeper to post back-to-back road shutouts since Peter Clitheroe blanked Denver 1-0 and Denver 2-0 in October of 2003.
Against the UMKC Roos, Bohn faced a total of six shots while earning a clean sheet. In Sunday’s contest, he collected a career-high six saves and faced 15 total shots against HBU.
With the two consecutive shutout wins, the Rebels are now on a three-game win streak that has moved their record to 9-7-1 overall, and to 4-3-1 in WAC play which has them tied for fourth place.
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV hosts 15th-ranked Air Force Friday night at 7 pm at Peter Johann Memorial Field. Tickets are just $8 for adults, $5 for seniors and staff, while kids 17 and under are free to all UNLV soccer events. The Rebel Mafia Tailgate party, sponsored by the UNLV Soccer Foundation, will open at 5 pm with free food, drinks and live music for all with ticketed admission. The game will also be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network, available on UNLVRebels.com as well as through the Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV and Android streaming devices.