Sept. 3, 1999

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men?s soccer overcame a 1-0 deficit to West Virginia in the second half to register a 2-1 victory Friday night at Johann Field in the first round of the Coors Rebel Classic.

The victory was the Rebels? 100th win all-time at Johann Field, their home since 1983. It was also their first of the 1999 season and set them at an even 1-1.

After a scoreless first half, the Mountaineers took the lead early in the second half when Slade Jones crossed a rebound shot past Rebel keeper Bojo Ackah (Agoura, CA/Cascade College) in the 47th minute.

UNLV continually battled, keeping play in WVU territory. After a flurry of wide and high shots, the Rebels? Paul Dickinson (Brisbane, Australia) was fouled inside the box, and put away an easy penalty kick in the 74th minute to knot the match at one.

Just three minutes later, freshman Ryan Cariss (Temecula, CA/Temecula Valley) dribbled the ball 30 yards past three Mountaineer defenders and placed a soft pass to freshman Tuomas Talvio (Helsinki, Finland) ahead on his left. Talvio delivered a perfect cross pass to Jason Melendez (Lakewood, CA/Mayfair), who was standing just in front of the goal and delivered an easy-one timer for the match winner.

Jason Bell and Michael Stickler each scored two goals for the Wildcats as Kentucky won the nightcap of the tournament?s doubleheader, 5-1 over UC Santa Barbara. The Wildcats will meet UNLV for the tournament title on Sunday at 12:00 noon at Johann Field with West Virginia and UCSB squaring off immediately following the first game.