Oct. 22, 1999

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Freshman midfielder Ryan Cariss (Temecula, CA/Temecula Valley) came off the bench to score two goals in the second half and lead the UNLV men?s soccer team to its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation win of the season, a 3-1 victory over Cal State Northridge Friday night.

After a scoreless first half, the Rebels jumped out to the lead behind an unassisted goal by sophomore Jason Melendez (Lakewood, CA/Mayfair) at 47:52, his sixth of the year.

Cariss then drove home the game winner just 10 minutes later.

Sophomore goalie Bojo Ackah (Agoura, CA/Cascade College) just missed pitching his second shutout of the year, allowing the Matadors? Michael Preis to slip through with 10 minutes left in the match. Preis is No. 2 in the MPSF in scoring and is tied for the league lead in total goals.

Cariss quickly quelled the Matadors? run, scoring his second goal of the match at 83:22 and lifting the Rebels to the sure victory. UNLV outshot CSUN 22-14 in the match, including a 15-6 edge in the second half.

With his score, Melendez extends his scoring streak to three matches and has four goals over UNLV?s last five games. With 16 points on six goals and four assists, he leads the team in scoring for the second straight year. With only four games remaining, he has moved into seventh place in the conference scoring race.

The victory lifts the Rebels to 6-8-0 on the year and 1-2-0 in MPSF play. The Matadors drop to 1-4-0 in the league and 7-8-0 overall.

UNLV will complete its road trip with a 2:00 p.m. conference match at UC Santa Barbara on Sunday before returning for the last home games of the season.