Oct. 22, 2006

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - UNLV looked to post a win on its Senior Day that would move the team into second place in the conference, but instead the Rebels suffered an upset loss to Wyoming, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon in Mountain West Conference women's soccer action from Peter Johann Memorial Field. The loss sent UNLV (8-9-1 overall) into third place in the conference with a 3-3 record, but the Rebels can still finish second if they end the regular season with a win at BYU on Saturday. The Cowgirls meanwhile improved to 7-7-3 and 2-2-2 in league play.

UNLV dominated play in the first half, taking eight shots to just five for Wyoming, and forcing Cowgirl goalkeeper Ashley Sheppard to come up with three saves in the opening 45 minutes.

The Rebels had their best chance of the afternoon in the 65th minute, when Sheppard came out to play a ball on the right side, and it was crossed over to a wide open Jessica Destito, who was just a few feet away from the goal on the left. However, her shot on the wide open goal was just a little high.

The close call gave the Cowgirls new life, and they took advantage of it, as on the second of two straight corner kicks, Emily Layton kicked a short pass to Amanda Lathrop, got the ball back from Layton and blasted a low shot to the left inside corner. The ball just slipped through the grasp of Rebel goalkeeper Ciera Nero, putting Wyoming up 1-0 in the 74th minute.

UNLV would not find the equalizing score, though Katie Carney came very close to tying the score in the 82nd minute, when she caught Sheppard out of position and unloaded a shot from the middle of the field that hit the crossbar before bouncing back into the box.

UNLV finished with a 14-11 edge on shots, and a 7-4 advantage on corner kicks. Nero finished the game with five saves in goal, while Sheppard was credited with six saves in goal for Wyoming.

The Rebels will finish the regular season at BYU on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 6 pm (PST), in a game that will be broadcast live on BYU-TV.