Aug. 28, 2003

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's soccer team will open the season on the road as it plays Washington on Saturday, August 30, at 12 p.m. at the Nike Portland Invitational in Portland, Ore.

The Rebels have been picked to finish this season third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in a preseason vote by the league's coaches.

Top returners for the team include Alex Hernandez, Rod Dyachenko, Leandro Iocco and Kristian Paananen. Hernandez, a 2002 All-MPSF first team selection, is a senior midfielder and led the team in scoring last year with 11 goals and 11 assists. Dyachenko, a sophomore midfielder, scored 7 goals and had 1 assist last season. Iocco, a senior forward, scored 3 goals and had 1 assist, while Paananen, a junior defender, was honorable mention All-MPSF.

The team returns nine starters and 14 letterwinners off last year's 12-8-0 squad that finished third in the MPSF at 4-2-0.

Head coach Barry Barto is entering his 22nd season at UNLV and has a record of 207-160-37. He is entering his 28th season overall as a head coach and has a career mark of 292-185-43.

Washington, also playing its first game of the season on Saturday, is coming off a 6-10-3 record in 2002.

On Monday, Sept. 1, UNLV will face Portland at 2:15 p.m. before heading back to Las Vegas to open its home slate on Sept. 5 vs. Wisconsin.