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September 27, 2017 In Announcements, General, Spotlight

National Player Of The Week Honors For Musovski

This is the third national weekly honor of his career for the senior.

 

Sept. 26, 2017

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The awards keep coming for UNLV senior forward Danny Musovski following his record four-goal, nine-point performance on Sunday against Oral Roberts, as he was named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week on Tuesday, marking the second time in his career he has earned the honor from the organization. His first recognition came at the end of the 2014 season, when he received the award from the then-named NSCAA after claiming WAC Tournament MVP honors. This is the third national player of the week honor of his career overall, as he was the Top Drawer Soccer Player of the Week in 2016 after against winning WAC Tournament MVP honors. The conference honored Musovski as well on Monday, as he became the first Rebel to ever win four conference Player of the Week awards in their career.

Musovski, who missed four games in the middle of September, scored a hat trick in the first half against ORU on the way to a school-record tying four goals on Sunday. That marked the first hat trick at UNLV since Aug. 31, 2014 by Sal Bernal at Bradley, while the four goals was the most since Doug Borgel had four against UC Irvine on Oct. 20, 1989. Musovski also tied the WAC mark with his four goals, while it’s the best single game goal performance in the NCAA this season thus far.

The Las Vegas native added an assist on the team’s fifth and final goal of the day, giving him a program-record tying five points, matching Borgel from the same UC Irvine contest. His nine points also set a new WAC record, and is the top NCAA point performance in 2017 as well.

In Musovski’s four full games that he has played in, the Rebels have scored a total of eight goals, and he either scored or assisted on seven of those eight goals. The scoring outbust on Sunday has Musovski moving up the career scoring lists, as he now ranks fifth at UNLV with 93 points and sixth in carer goals with 37, which also ties him atop the WAC career scoring chart.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: The Rebels have just one game this week as they open WAC play on Thursday at 7 pm against Houston Baptist at Johann Field. The first 100 fans will also receive a free UNLV beanie, while the first 150 UNLV students (with a UNLV student ID) will receive a free BBQ sandwich from Smoke’n Sams BBQ at the concession stand. The UNLV Soccer Foundation will hold a free tailgate party before the game, with free food, drinks and music. Admission is free to all ticketed fans.

Single game ticket prices this season are $8 for adults, $6 for faculty/staff and seniors, or a special internet price of $5 is available for all tickets bought online at UNLVTickets.com, good up to three hours before game time. Kids 12 and under are always free at UNLV men’s soccer contests.

September 25, 2017 In Announcements, General, Spotlight

Weekly WAC Honors For Musovski

The senior forward posted the top scoring performance in the nation in Sunday’s victory with four goals and nine points.

Sept. 25, 2017

WAC Top Play Nominee Video

UNLV’s Danny Musovski made his first home game of his senior year one for the history books, as he turned in the best single game offensive performance in the nation this season in leading the Rebels to a 5-1 rout of Oral Roberts. That was good enough to earn him WAC Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honors, the league office announced on Monday morning. This is the fourth conference Player of the Week award for Musovski in his career, marking yet one more school record he set thanks to the win over the Golden Eagles.

Musovski, who missed four games in the middle of September, scored a hat trick in the first half against ORU on the way to a school-record tying four goals on Sunday. That marked the first hat trick at UNLV since Aug. 31, 2014 by Sal Bernal at Bradley, while the four goals was the most since Doug Borgel had four against UC Irvine on Oct. 20, 1989. Musovski also tied the WAC mark with his four goals, while it’s the best single game goal performance in the NCAA this season thus far.

The Las Vegas native added an assist on the team’s fifth and final goal of the day, giving him a program-record tying five points, matching Borgel from the same UC Irvine contest. His nine points also set a new WAC record, and is the top NCAA point performance in 2017 as well.

In Musovski’s four full games that he has played in, the Rebels have scored a total of eight goals, and he either scored or assisted on seven of those eight goals. The scoring outbust on Sunday has Musovski moving up the career scoring lists, as he now ranks fifth at UNLV with 93 points and sixth in carer goals with 37, which also ties him atop the WAC career scoring chart.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: The Rebels have just one game this week as they open WAC play on Thursday at 7 pm against Houston Baptist at Johann Field. The first 100 fans will also receive a free UNLV beanie. The UNLV Soccer Foundation will hold a free tailgate party before the game, with free food, drinks and music. Admission is free to all ticketed fans.

Single game ticket prices this season are $8 for adults, $6 for faculty/staff and seniors, or a special internet price of $5 is available for all tickets bought online at UNLVTickets.com, good up to three hours before game time. Kids 12 and under are always free at UNLV men’s soccer contests.

September 25, 2017 In Announcements, General, Spotlight

Akubuilo Named Senior CLASS Award Candidate

Senior defender Chidera Akubuilo is one of 30 players in Division I Women’s Soccer to be selected as a candidate for the prestigious award.

Sept. 25, 2017

 

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV women’s soccer senior defender Chidera Akubuilo has been selected as one of 30 candidates in Division I Women’s Soccer for the Senior CLASS Award, announced by the organization Friday.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. In total, sixty NCAA® men’s and women’s soccer student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were selected as candidates for the award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

Akubuilo, a Torrance, Calif., native, is the reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference honoree. The senior has made 64 starts over the last four years, including all 10 games she has played in this year. Her performance in 2016 helped the Rebels win Mountain West regular season and tournament championships in the same year for the first time in program history en route to their first NCAA appearance in 10 years. Her stellar play has continued this season as the Rebels finished non-conference play 8-1 – a program-best through the first nine games.

Each of the two candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men’s and Women’s College Cup® championships in December.

For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.

UNLV returns home Friday for its Mountain West home-opener, hosting Colorado College at 7 p.m. before wrapping up the weekend Sunday afternoon against Air Force at 1 p.m. at Peter Johann Memorial Field.
September 25, 2017 In Announcements, General, Spotlight

Rebels Nab First Win Against Aztecs Since 2008

UNLV picks up first Mountain West victory of 2017 and first win outright win over San Diego State since 2008.

Sept. 24, 2017

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV women’s soccer bounced back from just its second loss of the season Friday at New Mexico in a big way, downing San Diego State 1-0 at the SDSU Sports Deck Sunday afternoon. The victory marked the Rebels’ first over the Aztecs since 2008 and their first Mountain West victory of the season as they improve to 9-2 overall and 1-1 in league play.

While one steak ended in San Diego, another one continued. UNLV has not lost two games in a row in almost two years – a span of 44 games dating back to the end of September in 2015.

THE TURNING POINT: The first half was another defensive battle between the Rebels and Aztecs as it has been as of late. The Rebels came out firing in the second half, putting pressure on the Aztec defense. In the 52nd minute, that pressure paid off as the ball ended up inside the box and eventually in the goal as the SDSU defense tried to clear it, but bounced it off its own defender into the net.

REBEL OF THE GAME: Keeper Jordan Sallee returned to the starting lineup after sitting out Friday’s match with an injury. The senior returned to make six saves en route to registering her second shutout of the season. It was her ninth win of the season.

QUOTABLES:

“I’m very pleased with the the result today. I thought the team played well especially considering that we had a really tough match on Friday. This team has a tremendous amount of talent and a never say die attitude and I think they demonstrated both of those attributes today. San Diego State is a talented team, but it’s always a great matchup because we know they will try to play soccer and it’s enjoyable to coach against and watch.” – Head Coach Chris Shaw

REBEL NOTES: 

* UNLV ended a streak of eight years without an outright win over San Diego State, with the last one coming in 2008, a 2-1 in San Diego
* The Rebels have not lost two games in a row since the end of September in 2015 – a span of 44 games.
* UNLV is now 4-2 on the road in 2017
* UNLV finished its non-conference slate with an 8-1 record, a program best through the first nine games, and an .889 winning percentage – also a program-best
* Rebels finished non-league play unbeaten at home at 5-0
* Rebels have 22 goals on 21 assists this year and are on pace to break the goals and assists records of 51 and 50 set just last year

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV returns home for a four-game homestand, beginning with its conference opener Friday night against Colorado College at 7 p.m. before wrapping up the weekend against Air Force at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

September 25, 2017 In Announcements, General, Spotlight

Musovski Ties Rebel Goal, Points Records In Rout Of Oral Roberts

Senior forward also tied the WAC mark for most goals in a game with four.

Sept. 24, 2017

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) –

Senior forward Danny Musovski quickly made up for lost time, as in his first home game of the season the Las Vegas native tied a pair of school records thanks to a four-goal, nine-point outburst in leading UNLV to a 5-1 rout of Oral Roberts Sunday morning from Peter Johann Memorial Field. The Rebels dominated the game from the start, scoring their most goals in two years to close out non-conference play at 3-6 overall.

THE TURNING POINT: With the Rebels already leading 1-0, Musovski notched his second and third goals just four minutes apart, in the 34th and 38th minute, to blow the game open.

REBEL OF THE GAME: Danny Musovski had only appeared in four road games prior to Sunday’s contest, but made sure to give the home crowd a good show in his first appearance on Johann Field this season. He opened the day’s scoring with a blast in the 6th minute, and would finish the first half with his first career hat trick. Musovski then added a fourth score in the 47th minute when he tapped in a ball in front of the goal. That fourth goal tied him for the most goals in a game ever scored by a Rebel, as that feat was first accomplished by Doug Borgel on Oct. 20, 1989 against UC Irvine. Musovski added an assist on the Rebels’ fifth goal to finish with nine points, which also ties him for the all-time record for points in a game at UNLV, also by Borgel in the game against UC Irvine.

STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV pounded the Oral Roberts goalkeeper all game long, as the Rebels finished with 31 total shots and 16 on goal, Thibaut Giquel would be credited with 10 saves in the net for ORU, while giving up the five goals.

QUOTABLE: “I felt like I owed it to my team while I was out, so four goals seems fitting, but more importantly it was a win for the team and puts us on good footing entering conference play.”
– UNLV senior forward Danny Musovski
“Today’s result was fantastic, Danny had a great game and I think the team played very well together. It’s what we hope for when we’re at home, a high scoring exciting game with lots of goals. Great day for us and great way to lead into conference and we’re looking forward to Thursday and Houston Baptist.”
– UNLV Head Coach Rich Ryerson

REBEL NOTES:
* UNLV has played two Sunday home games this season, and won both by a combined 8-1 margin (3-0 over Gonzaga on Sept. 17).
* Danny Musovski’s hat trick in the first half was the first for UNLV since Sal Bernal on Aug. 31, 2014 at Bradley, and just the third overall in the last 20 years.
* Memo Diaz assisted on Musovski’s second goal, while Marquis Pitt was credited with an assist on the third.
* Oscar Velazquez and Marco Gonzalez assisted on the fourth goal for UNLV. Velazquez then got in the scoring column in the 62nd minute with a long shot from the right side, off assists by Musovski and Gonzalez.
* The Rebels’ five goals were the most since a 5-1 home win over Incarnate Word on Oct. 18, 2015 in Las Vegas.
* Musovski has now moved into fifth place at UNLV in career scoring with 93 points, into sixth place with 37 career goals, and seventh place with 19 career assists.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: The Rebels have just one game this week as they open WAC play on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 7 pm against Houston Baptist at Johann Field. The first 100 fans will also receive a free UNLV beanie. The UNLV Soccer Foundation will hold a free tailgate party before the game, with free food, drinks and music. Admission is free to all ticketed fans.

Single game ticket prices this season are $8 for adults, $6 for faculty/staff and seniors, or a special internet price of $5 is available for all tickets bought online at UNLVTickets.com, good up to three hours before game time. Kids 12 and under are always free at UNLV men’s soccer contests.

September 19, 2017 In Announcements, General, Spotlight

Cortes Named To National Team Of The Week

Senior Sophie Cortes is one of 11 players named to Top Drawer Soccer’s National Team of the Week, the fourth Rebel to earn a nod this season.

 

Sept. 19, 2017

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – For the fifth time this season, UNLV women’s soccer was honored as part of Top Drawer Soccer’s National Team of the Week as senior Sophie Cortes was one 11 players from around the nation to earn a spot on the squad.

Cortes, a Newhall, California, native, has been an offensive force for the Rebels in 2017, helping the team to a program-best 8-1 record through non-conference play. Over the weekend, Cortes scored three of the Rebels’ four goals, including both goals in the 2-1 win at CSU Bakersfield on Friday. Her third goal came on a penalty kick in the second half of Sunday’s home contest against UC Riverside, putting the Rebels up 1-0 in the eventual 2-1 win.
The midfielder has registered career-highs in goals (7), assists (4) and points (18) this season and leads the Mountain West in all three categories.
Cortes joins Chidera Akubuilo, Caitlyn Kreutz and Amanda Galbraith as Team of the Week honorees in 2017. Galbraith also earned honorable mention honors after her double overtime game-winner at Northern Arizona two weeks ago.
With non-conference play behind them, Cortes and the Rebels will begin their Mountain West title defense on the road this weekend, facing New Mexico Friday, September 22 at 6:30 p.m. PT and league rival San Diego State Sunday, September 24 at noon.