Sept. 15, 2000

Box Score

DALLAS, Texas - The UNLV men's soccer team was lost to SMU in the first round of the SMU Nike Classic on Friday, 7-0. The Rebels haven't given up seven goals in a game since a 1996 drubbing by St. John's.

The Mustangs came out of the gates on fire, scoring the first goal just four minutes into the game off a throw-in from Ryan Kenyon to Luchi Gonzalez for his first of two goals. The second goal came just five minutes later. The Rebels had opportunities to get back into the match, attempting six corner kicks in the half, but couldn't get anything past SMU keeper Byron Foss and Tim Heis, who combined for their first shutout of the season. SMU tagged on two more goals in the half to take a 4-0 lead into the intermission.

The Rebels tried to battle back in the second half, but to no avail. The Mustangs added three more goals in the half, with the final goal coming in the last 45 seconds of regulation. SMU out shot the Rebels 30-10 and had three players each scoring two goals. Senior Matt Thompson, junior Jason Melendez and sophomore Ryan Carris combined for six out of the Rebels eight shots.

In the other game of the tournament, Tulsa defeated George Mason 3-2. The Rebels will face the victorious Golden Hurricanes (3-1) in the final game of the 2000 SMU Nike Classic at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow.