Announcements

Opening Weekend Kicks Off In Virginia

The UNLV men’s soccer team hits the road for it’s first test of the season in Virginia.

The Rebels open up in Norfolk, Virginia, this Friday, August 26, against Old Dominion University. Match time is 4pm pt. UNLV follows up with a game against Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia on Sunday, August 28. The match kicks off at 4pm pt.

The Monarchs finished the 2015 season 8-5-3 overall and 3-3-2 against C-USA opponents. ODU was picked by coaches in the conference to finish sixth in the preseason standings this season.

The Rams reached the A-10 Championship Match in 2015 before bowing out to Dayton. VCU was 7-10-4 a year ago, including 3-2-3 in league play.

Leading the Rebels into the new season is returning All-American Danny Musovski, a junior forward with many awards to his name.Musovski is the reigning 2015 WAC Offensive Player of the year and has garnered preseason accolades in 2016. Richard Garness also earned preseason all-conference praises.The senior goalkeeper from Las Vegas posted four shutouts and held a GAA of 1.22 in 2015. The Rebels tied for third in the WAC to close out the 2015 season and just missed the NCAA Tournament. UNLV went 12-7-1 over the course of the season and collected a 5-4-1 record against conference foes.

The Rebels return home to Peter Johann Field on Friday, September 2nd, for a 7pm pt match with Cal State Fullerton.

Musovski, Garness Named Preseason All-Wac

Check out this release from UNLVRebels.com. Along with the Rebels being picked third in the preseason poll, Danny Musovski and Richard Garness were both named as preseason all-WAC.

This marks an exciting beginning to the 2016 season with high hopes for the team.

http://www.unlvrebels.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/081616aaa.html

The First Free Tailgate of the Season

Come to our first Tailgate of the season against Cal State Fullerton on September 2nd from 5:30-7 pm! Nothing can beat free admission, food and alcoholic drinks (must be 21 or older). Click the link for more details.

Tailgate Flier copy

Rebel Mafia Road Trip

The Rebel Mafia Road Trip will take place in San Francisco from September 9-11. Come and support your Rebels against the University of Pacific-Stockton and St. Mary’s Moraga while having a Saturday of California fun. Click the link for more details and how to sign up.

Rebel Mafia Road Trip Flier

The Men’s Soccer Foundation Has Been Born

On June 2nd, the Board of Regents met to recognize the UNLV Rebel Soccer Foundation as an affiliated group.

During the Public comment section people who benefited from Coach Ryerson spoke on his behalf and told the Board of Regents their story and how they have benefitted both as people and as citizens.

During this section, David Wedley, Director of academic athletic services at UNLV and the advisor of the men’s soccer team stated that the team comprises of 65-75% of minority students, surpassing the institutional rate by 10%.

“Soccer has become a way for young men and women to get a higher education among the hispanic community.” Said Lopez Verduzco, a Spanish-Speaking Sports Newscaster on ESPN Deportes.

The early beginnings of the Rebel soccer program began in 1973 under the direction of Coach Tom Kahmas. Bob Singer, part of that founding team, spoke about how the love for soccer has been strong for Rebel fans over the generations until now.

Representing UNLV officially were President Jessup and Athletic Director Tina Murphy who strongly supported the approval of the foundation. On behalf of the foundation Tim McGarry spoke about the inspiration for the foundation, and the development of it’s board of community leaders as well as past Rebel soccer players. In particular Tim McGarry could not stress enough how much UNLV has helped him in his personal and business life. In closing he spoke about the original donation of the Englestad Foundation and how the future of Rebel Soccer will never be in doubt again.

Approving the creation of the rebel soccer foundation was a breeze, but creating it was no easy task.

“As a student athlete, playing as part of an awesome team in the first year of the UNLV Mens Soccer program back in 1974, tears came to my eyes as I heard the votes counted off and the chairmen say “ Yes we approve of the Rebels Soccer Foundation” said Michael Thompson, a Foundation Board Member. “As in life, and in sport, there are thrills of victory and some agonies of challenge. Today was a great victory for the future of the program, its athletes, and the Las Vegas soccer community.”

And just like that, the time, effort and dedication of many finally paid off.

Now, the future for the soccer team is bright and promising, brimming with opportunity and success.

A New Era for UNLV Men’s Soccer

The UNLV men’s soccer team, like most non-revenue sports, operates on a humble budget that supports 25 players—15 of them being from Nevada as well as Las Vegas. Having such a localized team is not an orthodox way of recruiting, but Coach Rich Ryerson had no problem making them winners with this years’ scoring record being 9-3-1 after a 5-1 victory over Incarnate Word on Sunday at Peter Johan Memorial Field.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal UNLV made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1988 last year. This feat was accomplished by key players such as Danny Musovski, a previous Las Vegas local high school and club soccer player. If the team keeps their steady climb they could achieve their second appearance at the NCAA tournament after going 27 seasons without qualifying.

Musovski, who came into college with 58 goals as a senior from Liberty High School, has displayed some of that talent by shooting 9 goals as a UNLV sophomore forward. He was ranked 11th in the nation for scoring and was in the WAC lead in goals heading into Sunday’s match.

How high the UNLV program can reach is unknown, but with the support of the UNLV Soccer Foundation, the sky is the limit.

Frightening to think, just a short 4 years ago the program almost came to an end.

Their fate was hours from being sealed until Tim McGarry, a former Rebel soccer player in 1978-1979—who also writes checks to the Engelstand Family Foundation—wrote a check to the men’s soccer program for $850,000.

With this change of events, Rich Ryerson saw an opportunity to take the program to the next level starting small resorting to the efforts of the teams players by selling fireworks. Today we are excited to say through the creation of the soccer foundation the program will never have to look back in fear of its future.

With a Board of Directors who hail from the wonderful city of Las Vegas, the foundation could not have had better guidance than from people who were either UNLV soccer players or just true lovers of the game.

The first goal of the foundation is to bring the soccer community together to celebrate the highest level of competitive soccer in the state. Secondly, the foundation will reach out to those who would like to offer their financial support to the program as we attempt to bring a national championship to UNLV, through the recruiting and development of talented local and international players.

Under the coaching leadership of Coach Ryerson, Connors, Schell and D’Amelio and the dedication from their players, the future is brighter than ever before. Go Rebels!

Letter from the President

April 27, 2016

Members of the NSHE Board of Regents,

UNLV was built by the people who saw needs in the community and knew that having a university in Las Vegas would change the future of our region. They said, “We want to support this.” And they did. The proposal before you is from a group of people who have seen a need, and want to support it. The members of the board for the UNLV Soccer Foundation are committed to ensuring that our students succeed, on and off the field, and become the leaders of tomorrow.

UNLV’s soccer program received a transfusion of funds during the recession by the Englestad Family Foundation and the Hanna Family. That influx of funds saved the soccer program and I am incredibly grateful to the Engelstad and Hanna families for their generosity. The UNLV Soccer Foundation proposes to take the momentum of those gifts and continue the good work of building a program with a national reputation for athletic, academic and personal excellence that will allow our students to compete at the highest level for years to come.

The proposed UNLV Soccer Foundation’s board includes seven former Rebels (six of whom played soccer at UNLV) and a group of leaders who are passionate, committed, and believe that participation in athletics improves the academic experience. They are professionals—business leaders, community leaders, professional athletes—who believe that their personal involvement can have a profound impact. It is an outstanding board that is highly organized and visionary, who are dedicated to building a financial legacy for the soccer program at UNLV. The executive director of the UNLV Foundation will be an ex officio member of the UNLV Rebel Soccer Foundation board.

The people who will serve on the board of the UNLV Soccer Foundation are saying, “We want to support this.” I hope that you will vote to support them in this endeavor.

Sincerely,

Len Jessup
President