Oct. 1, 2000

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's soccer defeated Louisville 3-2 in an exciting championship match of the UNLV Coors Light Invitational on Sunday.

The Rebels (5-4-1) got on the board first at the 18:45 mark. Junior Jason Melendez and sophomore Tuomas Talvio led a two-on-one breakaway for the goal. Melendez sent a ball from about midfield to Talvio for his third goal of the season. The game remained 1-0 throughout the rest of the first half.

The Rebels scored the second goal of the match at the 60:43 mark as Melendez received a cross pass from Talvio Melendez's seventh goal of the season. Louisville answered back with two goals within six minutes of each other. The first goal came at 63:48 as Nathan Stevens took a pass from Goran Yabar for the score. Louisville then proceeded to tie the match at two, scoring at the 69:20 mark off a corner kick from Stuart Langrish to Shawn Faria.

As the game neared the end of regulation, once again the tournament's best offensive player, Melendez and tournament MVP, Talvio hooked up for the game-winner. In the 88th minute, Melendez tallied his second assist of the match and fourth of the year off a throw in to Talvio for the score.

The Rebels will continue this home stand next weekend as they get back into conference play. Friday night UNLV will host Cal State Santa Barbara at 8:00 following the women's game. On Sunday, the Rebels will host Cal State Northridge at noon.

The second match featured Drury and San Diego State, who both lost on Friday. Drury 3-7 tallied the game-winner at the 87:38 mark off a nice crossing pass from John Pedroli to Trey Sebus for the 3-2 lead. The Panthers added one more goal in the last minute of play to take third-place, 4-2. San Diego State falls to 4-7 on the season.

COORS LIGHT INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Most Valuable Player: Tuomas Talvio UNLV (2 goals, 2 assists)
Best Offensive Player: Jason Melendez UNLV (2 goals, 2 assists)
Best Defensive Player: Michael Meek UNLV