Announcements

September 3, 2019 In Announcements, General, Spotlight, Updates

Billy Jones Named To New Zealand Olympic Qualifying Team

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – One of the newest members of the UNLV men’s soccer team will be spending his September competing at the international level, as junior defender Billy Jones has been selected to the New Zealand Men’s U23 Team that will be playing in the Olympic Qualifiers in Fiji Sept. 21-Oct. 5.

The Oly-Whites (as the Olympic team for New Zealand is known), is the top-seed in Group A, which also includes Solomon Islands, American Samoa and Samoa. Group B consists of Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. The winner of qualifying tournament will earn the lone berth available to the region for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Jones joined the Rebels this summer as a transfer after spending his first two seasons at New Mexico. He started all 34 games over his two seasons with the Lobos, and earned Third-Team All-Conference USA honors his sophomore season. 

The Auckland, New Zealand made his first start for the Scarlet and Gray Friday night in the Rebels’ 2-1 double-overtime loss at UC Santa Barbara. That match was notable for New Zealand, as the Oly-Whites have called up three players currently playing Division I in the USA, and all three were in that contest. Joining Jones in making the trip to Fiji will be a pair of Gauchos, Hunter Ashworth and Noah Billingsley.

August 22, 2019 In Announcements, General, Spotlight, Updates

Three from UNLV Men’s Soccer Names Preseason ALL-WAC

Rebels picked fifth in preseason poll, one vote out of a three-way tie for third

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV men’s soccer placed a league-high tying three players on the 2019 Preseason Western Athletic Conference team, while the Rebels were picked fifth in the preseason preseason coaches poll, just one vote out of a three-way tie for third, the league office announced Wednesday. This marks the third time since 2015 that UNLV has three players on the preseason team.

Senior midfielder Timo Mehlich, (Mönchengladbach, Germany) picks up his third preseason All-WAC mention. Mehlich is a two-time All-WAC honoree who posted 10 points a year ago off three goals and four assists, despite playing through an injury-plagued season. Junior forward Marco Gonzalez (Las Vegas) makes his second straight appearance on the preseason all-conference team. He’s coming off a stellar season in which he finished in the top five of the WAC in both goals (10) and points (23) , on the way to First-Team All-WAC and Third-Team All-West Region accolades. Making his first appearance on the preseason team is senior defender Tyler Allen (Honolulu, Hawaii), who has started 45 games over the past three seasons on the Rebels’ backline.

UNLV return seven of 11 starters from last year’s squad that posted a 10-10-1 mark. The Rebels received 87 points to place fifth overall, just one point behind Air Force and Grand Canyon, both with 88 points. Favored to win the 2019 WAC title is Seattle with 112 points, while UTRGV was selected second with 104 points. The top seven teams in the WAC will advance to the league’s postseason tournament, hosted this year in Colorado Springs, Colorado by Air Force.

Tickets are on sale now for the 2019 UNLV men’s soccer season. Season tickets are just $35 for adults, $25 for UNLV faculty/staff and seniors. Single game ticket prices this season are $8 for adults, $6 for faculty/staff and seniors, though a special internet price of $5 is available for all tickets bought online at UNLVTickets.com, good up to the night before game day. For the second straight year, all students in elementary, middle and high schools (with a school ID) will receive free admission to the sports of men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, women’s basketball, softball and baseball. Kids not yet of elementary school age will continue to receive free entry to all UNLV Olympic Sports.  

2019 WAC Preseason Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Poll

Place Team (1st place votes) Votes1. Seattle (5) – 112
2. UT Rio Grande Valley (2) – 104T3. Air Force (3) – 88T3. Grand Canyon (1) – 885. UNLV – 876. San Jose State (1) – 777. Utah Valley – 758. Cal Baptist – 499. CSU Bakersfield – 37T10. Houston Baptist – 27T10. Kansas City – 2712. UIW – 20

2019 Preseason All-WAC Team
William Akio, Sr., F, UT Rio Grande Valley
Kyle Edwards, Sr., F, UT Rio Grande Valley
Marco Gonzalez, Jr., F, UNLV
Declan McGlynn, So., F, Seattle U
Max Allen, Jr., MF, San José State
Julian Avila-Good, Sr., MF, Seattle U
Timo Mehlich, Sr., MF, UNLV
Tyler Allen, Sr., D, UNLV
Nick Blessing, Sr., D, Air Force
Thomas Mickoski, Sr., D, Seattle U
George Tasouris, So., GK, Grand Canyon

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Kyle Edwards, Rio Grande Valley

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
George Tasouris, Grand Canyon

August 8, 2019 In Announcements, General, Spotlight

Eugene ‘Gene’ Gorlick

On behalf of myself, the UNLV Men’s Soccer program, alumni, and all of our families, I would like to send our sincerest condolences to Jeanne and the Gorlick Family, on the recent passing of Gene Gorlick.  

His impact on my experience with the UNLV team from 1983-86 was immeasurable. My gratitude and thanks for all he did to enhance the soccer culture in the City of Las Vegas and State of Nevada runs deep, as Gene influenced hundreds of youth in our community for many years prior to, and after, my time as a player at the University! 

His contributions were felt on the field, in the classroom, and among the community!  Gene will be missed and our program is a better place because of his presence in the soccer world. 

My Prayers, God’s blessings, and all of our amazing memories of this man!

Rich Ryerson
Head Coach
UNLV Men’s Soccer

May 23, 2019 In Announcements, General, Spotlight

5th Annual Champions League Finals Watch Party

Join us Saturday, June 1st for our 5th Annual Champions League Finals watch party! The party will start at 11am and go to about 3pm. The kickoff is slated for 11:45am so make sure to get there in time!

Libations and food will be served and we be hosted by Linda and Frederic at their residence: 3018 Ashby Avenue.

If you would like to join us, please RSVP to rebelsoccer@unlv.edu.

April 16, 2019 In Announcements, General, Recaps, Spotlight, Updates

Men’s Soccer 4/16/19 Update from the Soccer Yoda

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.

March 14, 2019 In Announcements, General

Men’s Soccer 3/11/19 Update from the Soccer Yoda

Spring season for American college soccer programs is a unique time. Similar to college
football spring practice, last fall’s seniors are gone and next year’s recruiting class hasn’t arrived yet. So,
without those elements, the spring is a time for improving ball skills, communication and a chance for
last fall’s second teamers to establish themselves as strong candidates for starting positions next varsity
season. But there is an important difference between soccer spring and football spring. Soccer teams
can play outside competition and can play types of opponents they will not see during the fall varsity
season.
The UNLV spring season is just such a time for the Rebels and in playing the professional
Austin (TX.) Bold, they had a match that would not appear on their schedule next October. And, despite
the seeming disparity between a professional side and a college one, the Rebels gave a good account of
themselves.
In the opening minutes, the pros attempted to establish their dominance by playing a high
defensive line and attacking quickly and directly. But the UNLV defense held firm and managed to
counter. Using a midfield of Nikko Classen, Jesus Partida, Timo Mehlich and Marco Gonzalez, they
brought the ball out of their defensive area quickly and effectively. In the twelfth minute a contested
ball in midfield popped past that high Bold line and UNLV forward Bryan Martinez pounced on it and
using an nice cut to his right, he beat Austin’s goalkeeper and scored. The Bold didn’t change their play
and just a couple minutes later Mehlich hit the right post, almost putting the Rebels up two. Austin
settled their offense and playing more of a possession game they exerted more control offensively.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t until the 31st minute of the 35 minute half that they threatened, hitting the UNLV
crossbar. The Rebels managed to clear the danger and went into halftime at 1-0 ahead.
In the second half Austin made an adjustment. They pulled their back line back to a more
moderate position and used the added space to spread the ball more and open the UNLV midfield. This
gave them some openings to use in attacking the Rebel goal. For the most part the UNLV defense was
quick to react and when their midfield did win the ball a quick strike was on. Timo used that advantage
to almost catch the Bold keeper far off his line with a long attempt at 10 minutes of the half.
At the 12 minute mark the Bold broke through and a controversial foul was called just outside
of the Rebel penalty area on the far left side. Austin sent a low ball across the penalty area which found
its way to Bold feet just in front of the goal and the game was tied at 1. As the half wore on, Austin’s
possession began to take a toll although the occasional steal by the Rebels produced some effective
counters, particularity down the UNLV right and the Rebels gained a few corners and a couple near
misses off of them.
At the 26 minutes the Rebels were forced to foul in order to break up a fast Bold attack about 25
yds from goal. At that point Austin launched a world class free kick into the upper left corner of the
goal and they had the lead. In the 31st minute, Classen took the ball from a Bold player and started an
excellent attack which resulted in Marco Gonzalez hitting a perfect low cross in front of goal, but there
was no finish and that proved to be UNLV’s last chance to score.
Given the level of their competition, the Rebels were certainly competitive and while the result
was a 2-1 defeat, remembering the objectives of spring season it must be said that UNLV had an
encouraging experience against the pros.