General

August 31, 2018 In Announcements, General, Recaps, Spotlight

Top-25 Victory For The Rebels At Tulsa

Rebels are a perfect 3-0 this season and have outscored their opponents by an 8-1 margin

TULSA, Oklahoma (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV men’s soccer claimed its first ranked victim of the season Friday night, knocking off #23/15 Tulsa 1-0 on the road at Hurricane Stadium. The Rebels moved to 3-0 with the victory, while earning their third win over the past two years against a ranked opponent.
 
Thanks to a stellar defensive performance, the Rebels were able to push the attack on the Hurricanes for the majority of the night. Following the UNLV goal in the 60th minute, the Rebels switched their tactics to a defensive mode, and were able to withstand the 11 Tulsa shots in the second half to claim the shutout victory.
REBEL OF THE GAME: Sophomore Marco Gonzalez scored the game-winner for the Rebels, his second in as many games and his fourth goal in the past two games, which leads the WAC. He would finish off a pass into the box from 12 yards out, with Bay Kurtz and Tyler Allen both receiving credit for an assist.
THE TURNING POINT: Tulsa quickly attempted two shots right at the start in the opening two minutes. The Hurricanes were then held without a shot attempt the rest of the opening half, and UNLV was able to take the attack to the host team. The Rebels took seven shots against Tulsa in the first half, forcing Hurricane goalkeeper Cooper Clark to make three saves. The momentum stayed with UNLV coming out of the halftime break, leading to the game-winning score.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Rebels held a 6-2 edge on shots on goal for the night. Overall UNLV outshot the Hurricanes 15-13.
QUOTABLE:
“It was a great road win tonight. It’s always fantastic to get a chance to play a highly talented team on the road and to face that challenge, and for us to come out here and come away with the victory is huge for our team. The players trusted the game plan and we couldn’t be more excited with tonight’s result. We have to learn how to win on the road if we want to make the postseason, and this is just one of the many steps along with way. Now it’s important for us to regroup and be ready to play on Sunday.”
– UNLV Head Coach Rich Ryerson
REBEL NOTES: 
* Gonzalez has nine points for the season (four goals, one assist) through four games, after posting 18 total points his freshman season.
* Through three games, the Rebels have allowed just five total shots on goal in 270 minutes of action.
* UNLV has outscored its opponents by an 8-1 margin this season.
* UNLV has started the season 3-0 for the first time since the 2014 squad won its first five of the year.
* This is UNLV’s third win over a ranked team in the past two years, after knocking off #15 Portland and #23 Seattle a year ago.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV remains in Tulsa to take on the Oral Roberts Eagles Sunday, Sept. 2 at 3 pm.

August 30, 2018 In Announcements, General, Recaps

Offense Gets Back On Track In 3-1 Win At CSUN

UNLV scores three first-half goals to defeat Cal State Northridge Thursday night

NORTHRIDGE, California (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV women’s soccer concluded its three-game road stretch with a dominant 3-1 win over CSUN in Northridge, California, Thursday night. The Rebels used three first-half goals to grab the lead, then held off the Matadors in the second half to get back in the win column after a loss and a draw last weekend in Utah. UNLV moves to 3-1-1 on the season, while CSUN falls to 1-2-1.

The Scarlet and Gray will return home to finish out the weekend, hosting Cal State Bakersfield at Peter Johann Memorial Field on Sunday, September 2 at 1 p.m.

THE TURNING POINT: UNLV took an early 1-0 lead, but the Matadors quickly tied it up in the 14th minute. The Rebels didn’t waste any time responding, with junior midfielder Katie Ballou heading in a corner kick from senior forward Amanda Galbraithin the 18th minute to take the lead right back. Ten minutes later, junior transfer Kim Olivares scored her first career goal as a Rebel on a nifty shot off a pass from junior defender Paige Almendariz, giving the Rebels the two-score lead.

REBEL OF THE GAME: Galbraith showed why she’s so important to the offense as she opened things up just after the five minute mark, finding the back of the net after fellow forward Michaela Morris fed her on the left side of the box. Twelve minutes later, Galbraith sent the textbook corner into the waiting head of Ballou for what proved to be the game-winner.

STAT OF THE GAME: After being limited to one goal in over 200 minutes of action last weekend, the Rebels scored three goals in a span of 24 minutes in the first half.

QUOTABLE: Head coach Chris Shaw:
“I’m very happy with our performance overall tonight. Three goals on the road against a tough and physical Northridge team isn’t easy. I thought the defense battled hard and I was impressed with them tonight.”

REBEL NOTES: 
* UNLV and CSUN finished at an even 13-13 for shots on the night – the Rebels have not been out-shot in five games this year
* The road victory is the first for UNLV since September 24, 2017 – a 1-0 win at San Diego State. Prior to Saturday’s double overtime 1-1 draw at Utah Valley, the Rebels had lost five straight on the road dating back to last season
* UNLV returns home Sunday, where they are 2-0 this year and were 9-1 last season
* Thursday’s match marked the first time since 2010 the two schools had played each other. CSUN won the last matchup 1-0 in Las Vegas on Sept. 12, 2010
* The draw breaks a five-game regular season road losing streak that dates back to the end of last season
* UNLV is celebrating its 20th season in program history, with the official recognition taking place on Friday, Oct. 5 as the Rebels host Fresno State

August 29, 2018 In Announcements, General, Spotlight

Gonzalez Named Outstanding Rebel Of The Week

Men’s soccer sophomore forward Marco Gonzalez earns honor after netting first career hat trick last weekend

 

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV men’s soccer sophomore Marco Gonzalez has been named the Outstanding Rebel of the Week, the school announced Wednesday.

The award goes to the student-athlete who turned in the best individual performance during the previous week of competition from Monday through Sunday as voted on by the UNLV Athletic Communications department.

Gonzalez, a local product out of Mission Heights Prep High School, tallied a conference-high seven points over the weekend, highlighted by the first hat trick of his career in Sunday’s 4-1 UNLV win over Evansville. The forward scored the first two goals of the game exactly 60 seconds apart in the 15th and 16th minutes, then sealed the game with his third goal just after halftime after the Aces had closed within 2-1. Gonzalez began the weekend with an assist in helping the Rebels beat Florida Atlantic 3-0. His three goals are already half of his freshman goal total of six, which ranked second on the squad in 2017.

For his performance, Gonzalez was named the WAC Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career, while he is the first Rebel besides Danny Musovski to earn the weekly honor since Sal Bernal was named on Sept. 1, 2014.

The Rebels are on the road again this weekend, heading to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for matches against Tulsa and Oral Roberts on Friday, August 31 and Sunday, September 2, respectively.

2018-19 Outstanding Rebel of the Week Award Winners
Aug. 29 – Marco Gonzalez, Men’s Soccer

August 28, 2018 In Announcements, General

Mehlich Named To Top Drawer Soccer’s Team Of The Week

Gonzalez was an Honorable Mention selection.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV junior midfielder Timo Mehlich was named to Top Drawer Soccer’s Men’s Team of the Week it was announced Tuesday morning after a weekend in which he posted five points off a pair of goals and an assist. This is the first national weekly honor of Mehlich’s career, while teammate Marco Gonzalez, a sophomore forward and WAC Player of the Week, was named honorable mention for the week by Top Drawer Soccer.

Mehlich, a native of Mönchengladbach, Germany, notched a goal in each of the Rebel wins over their opening two games. In the victory over Florida Atlantic on Aug. 24, he scored the first goal of the game off a penalty kick in the 50th minute, which would be the game-winner as well in the 3-0 contest. He closed out the weekend by assisting on the game-winner in the 4-1 win over Evansville, while he also added a goal in the 76th minute.

With his five points, Mehlich currently ranks in a tie for third in the WAC, while Gonzalez leads the conference with seven points after posting a hat trick in the Evansville game.

REBEL NOTES: In the first United Soccer Coaches Regional Rankings of the season, the Rebels make their debut at No. 7, ahead of fellow conference members Grand Canyon (No. 8) and Air Force (No. 10).

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV (2-0) will face No. 23/15 Tulsa on Friday night at 6 pm, and will remain in the area to take on Oral Roberts in a Sunday, Sept. 2 contest at 3 pm.

August 27, 2018 In Announcements, General, Spotlight

Gonzalez Named WAC Player Of The Week

Sophomore leads the WAC with seven points after the first weekend.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV sophomore forward Marco Gonzalez has been named the WAC Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday morning. It’s the first weekly honor of Gonzalez’s career, and he is the first Rebel besides Danny Musovski to earn WAC Offensive weekly honors since Sal Bernal was named on Sept. 1, 2014. 

The Las Vegas native scored a conference-high seven points over the weekend, highlighted by the first hat trick of his career in Sunday’s 4-1 UNLV win over Evansville. He scored the first two goals of the game exactly 60 seconds apart in the 15th and 16th minutes. After the Aces closed within 2-1, Gonzalez sealed the game with his third goal just after halftime.  He began the weekend with an assist in the Rebels’ 3-0 win over Florida Atlantic. His three goals over the weekend is half of his freshman goal total of six, which ranked second on the squad in 2017.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV (2-0) will face 15th-ranked Tulsa Friday night at 6 pm, and will remain in the area to take on Oral Roberts in a Sunday, Sept. 2 contest at 3 pm.

August 26, 2018 In Announcements, General, Recaps

Hat Trick For Gonzalez In 4-1 Win Over Evansville

UNLV outscores its opponents 7-1 this weekend.

OREM, Utah (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV sophomore forward Marco Gonzalez posted his first career hat trick to lead the Rebels past Evansville 4-1 Sunday morning in college men’s soccer action from Clyde Field on the Utah Valley campus. The Rebels moved to 2-0 on the year with the win, their second straight in the Utah Valley Soccer Invitational.

Gonzalez scored his first two goals exactly one minute apart in the 15th and 16th minute of the game to put the Rebels ahead 2-0 early. The Aces, who were limited to just five total shots in the game, managed to break down the Rebel defense in the 26th minute to close within 2-1. UNLV only allowed one more shot on goal the rest of the way, and posted a pair of goals after halftime for the three-goal victory.

THE TURNING POINT: With the lead at one coming out of the halftime break, the Rebels took control when Nico Clasen stole the ball at midfield and sent up a long pass on the left side to Gonzalez. The Las Vegas native raced into the box past his defender, juked out the Aces goalkeeper and dribbled to the middle of the box before easily scoring on the empty goal, making its a 3-1 Rebel advantage in the 52nd minute.

REBEL OF THE GAME: Gonzalez is already halfway to his freshman year’s goal total after his three-goal performance against Evansville. His first goal came on a chip shot over the goalkeeper from 18 yards out, and he then finished off a great cross into the box from Timo Mehlich for his second score, before adding his third score in the second half.

STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV outshot the Aces 22-5, and held an 8-2 edge on shots on goal.

QUOTABLE: 
“To score seven goals and only concede one, that’s a pretty good weekend. We did good things today in breaking down Evansville’s defense on the outside and in getting behind their backline. Marco (Gonzalez) showed great resilience today, a really great individual performance for him. At the same time we had a very good overall team effort, I thought to come out and play that well on a Sunday ”
– UNLV Head Coach Rich Ryerson

REBEL NOTES: 
* Gonzalez posted an assist on Friday to give him seven total points for the weekend.
* Timo Mehlich closed out the scoring on the 76th minute thanks to a long pass from fellow German native Nico Clasen. It was Mehlich’s second goal of the weekend.
* Clasen picked up his first two assists of the season, coming on the third and fourth Rebel goals.
* Jordan Chavez was credited with the assist on UNLV’s first score, while Mehlich and Tyler Allen assisted on the second goal.
* Three of UNLV’s goals in the game came after a steal at midfield leading to a long pass up the field for the score.
* UNLV outscored its two opponents by a 7-1 margin this weekend, and allowed only three total shots on goal between the two games.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV will play a third straight game away from Las Vegas when it faces the Tulsa Hurricanes Friday, Aug. 31 at 6 pm in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa will be coming into the match after claiming a 2-1 win at No. 15 Michigan and a 0-0 overtime tie at No. 4 Michigan State this weekend.

August 24, 2018 In Announcements, General, Recaps

Season-Opening Shutout Win For The Rebels

UNLV takes down the FAU Owls 3-0

 

OREM, Utah (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV men’s soccer overcame a slow start in the first half with a three-goal explosion over a five-minute span after halftime for a 3-0 shutout victory over Florida Atlantic in the season opener for both teams Friday afternoon at Clyde Field on the Utah Valley campus.

 
UNLV did not have much going on offensively in the first half, as the Owls were the ones threatening to score over the first 20 minutes while taking four of the first five shots of the game. The Rebels stayed strong on defense however, and started to push the attack with several shots on goal to end the half. 
THE TURNING POINT: UNLV drew a penalty kick in the 50th minute after Timo Mehlich was pulled down in the box, the junior midfielder sent his attempt up the middle for the goal and a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later the lead doubled on Bay Kurtz’s score on the empty net after the Owl goalkeeper came out to challenge the play in the 54th minute. UNLV added a third goal just 65 seconds later in the 55th minute for a commanding 3-0 lead.
REBEL OF THE GAME: Senior forward Daniel Moran assisted on the game’s second goal, and finished off an assist from Marco Gonzalez when he tapped in the shot in front of the goal to give him three points for the afternoon.
STAT OF THE GAME: Only one of FAU’s 11 credited shots in the game were on goal, while nine of UNLV’s 12 shots were on frame.
QUOTABLE:
“I thought we started a little apprehensive, the guys were tentative with their first game and that kept us from playing with a good rhythm  and possession. We regrouped well at halftime, we were able to make a lot of changes and keep guys fresh and that led to a great five-minute spell there to get the three goals. Good start to the season.”
– UNLV Head Coach Rich Ryerson
REBEL NOTES: 
* UNLV goalkeeper Enrique Adame only needed one save to pick up the seventh shutout in his career.
* Bay Kurtz scored his first career goal as a Rebel after transferring to UNLV this summer from Virginia
* Daniel Moran has scored goals in the past two season-openers for UNLV after his golden goal a year ago in a 3-2 double-overtime win at Portland.
* This is the second straight year UNLV has won its season-opener, and both were away from Las Vegas.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV remains in Orem for its second game of the weekend, a Sunday morning, 9:30 am contest against Evansville. The game will have a live video feed on the WAC Digital Network, available both on UNLVRebels.com and on the WAC’s Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV and Droid TV channels.

August 19, 2018 In Announcements, General, Recaps

Rebels Go Unbeaten On Opening Weekend

UNLV scores late goal to down Sacramento State 2-1 Sunday at home

 

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – On a hotter than normal late-August afternoon, UNLV women’s soccer completed a perfect 2-0 opening weekend at Peter Johann Memorial Field, beating Sacramento State 2-1 in the finale of the UNLV Invitational Sunday. The victory didn’t come easy, however, as the Hornets never quit and tied it at one late in the game before UNLV ultimately pulled it out.

For the second straight year, the Rebels began the season with an unbeaten mark at their home-hosted tournament and will look to go 4-0 to start the season for the third consecutive year as they head out on the road next weekend, taking on Southern Utah Thursday at 3 p.m. PT and Utah Valley Saturday at 6 p.m.

THE TURNING POINT: UNLV took an early lead in the 13th minute thanks to a towering Emberly Sevilla kick finding forward Amanda Galbraith, who took a couple touches and finished in the back of the net for her first goal of the season. It was looking like that would hold up for the victory, but the Hornets never gave up despite the heat and relentless UNLV pressure, tying the game at one with just under 20 minutes to play. The Rebels didn’t let that phase them, as they responded just over a minute later with the game-winning goal. Sophomore midfielder Hannah Harrison dished it to forward Caitlyn Kreutz, who took a turn and slotted it into the back left corner.

REBEL OF THE GAME: Kreutz’s speed put pressure on the Hornet defense all afternoon and her attack finally paid off with the game-winner. It was the senior’s second game-winner of the weekend as her second-half score Friday night gave the Rebels the lead for good in the eventual 5-1 victory over UIC.

STAT OF THE GAME: The Rebels registered more than 20 shots for the second straight game, out-shooting the Hornets 22-7. That included three rocket shots nailing the crossbar – just a few inches here or there and the margin of victory could have been bigger.

QUOTABLE: Head coach Chris Shaw 
On the team’s performance Sunday:
“I’m happy with the result, Sacramento State is a tough team, they compete for everything. They made things really tough for Santa Barbara on Friday and they just never give up. That said, I thought we played well. We did a much better job of controlling possession and even though we didn’t score as many, I felt like we created just as many opportunities as we did on Friday. Overall, a better performance, I think getting the first game out of the way allowed us to settle down, so I was very pleased with the performance today.”

Overall thoughts about opening weekend and heading out onto the road for the first time:
“We always take a lot of pride in trying to win at home and it’s always nice playing in front of the hometown crowd. Going on the road, we will see what the team’s made of because we’ve got to play half our games on the road so you can’t just win at home and expect to be competitive. We’re excited about going on the road and hopefully we can replicate some of what we saw today.”

REBEL NOTES: 
* UNLV is celebrating its 20th season in program history, with the official recognition taking place on Friday, Oct. 5 as the Rebels host Fresno State
* UNLV started 2-0 for the third consecutive year
* UNLV is now 2-0 at home after going 9-1 on their home field in 2017
* Four different player have recorded goals all ready, with Kaila Brinkman, Robin Pollard and Caitlyn Kreutz each netting two on opening weekend.
* UC Santa Barbara was named the official winners of the UNLV Invitational after going 2-0 and scoring nine goals on the weekend, edging out the Rebels who went 2-0 with seven goals
* Tournament honors:
Overall tournament MVP: Jessica Clegg, UCSB
Offensive MVP: Caitlyn Kreutz, UNLV
Defensive MVP: Sophia Dertorossian, UCSB
GK of the Tourney: Emberly Sevilla, UNLV
All Tournament Team:
– Sac. State: Mikayla Reed, Mia Wilson
– UCSB: Jessica Clegg, Sophia Dertorossian, Mal Hromatko, Shea Murison
– UIC – Megan Bowman
– UNLV: Caitlyn Kreutz, Emberly Sevilla, Troi Hollimon, Kaila Brinkman