Sept. 2, 2009
LAS VEGAS -
UNLV Weekly Men's Soccer Notes
The UNLV men's soccer team (1-0) returns home to host the UNLV Nike Invitational after an impressive start to the season on Tuesday night, as the Rebels upset No. 23 Cal Poly 1-0 on the road in double-overtime. It was the third all-time victory over a ranked opponent under fourth-year head coach Mario Sanchez.
Now the Rebels will look to do something they did not do the previous two times following a win over a top-25 team, and that is to win their next game. The first chance they will get to post that second victory will come on Friday when the Rebels take on the Central Arkansas at 7 pm. The Bears defeated Houston Baptist 2-0 in their opener. UNLV will then end the tournament on Sunday when it takes on Robert Morris in a 1 pm contest. All games will be at Peter Johann Memorial Field.
Scouting The Rebels...
It's a young team this year for UNLV, with 12 freshman and a total of 14 newcomers on the squad. One of the newcomers was the star of the game on Tuesday, as freshman Nick Marshall scored the golden goal against Cal Poly. A total of three freshman started for UNLV, while all six substitutes were from the first-year class. Roland Swanson meanwhile made an impressive return to the goal. After last having played as the Rebels' goalkeeper at the end of the 2007 season, he showed no signs of rust against the Mustangs. The redshirt junior collected three saves over 109 minutes of action to earn his second career shutout.
Scouting the Central Arkansas Bears...
The Bears posted a 2-0 victory over future UNLV opponent Houston Baptist on Tuesday night to start out the season. Scoring goals for the squad was sophomore forward Joseph Cervantes and freshman Chris Deaville. Freshman goalkeeper Patxi Shortsleeve played 90 minutes between the pipes to earn the shutout.
Scouting the Robert Morris Colonials...
RMU is 0-1 on the year after losing its home opener 3-1 to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. All four goals came in the final 23 minutes, with the Colonials avoiding the shutout when Sam Colosimo scored the team's first goal of the year in the 88th minute. Toba Bolaji played the entire 90 minutes in goal, and made six saves while allowing three goals.
Up next for the Rebels...
UNLV will be traveling to Tulsa, Okla. to compete in the Oral Roberts Tournament. Friday Sept. 11, the Rebels will take on Oral Roberts at 5 pm (PST), and UNLV will then close out play on Sunday, Sept. 13, when it faces Centenary College at 11 am (PST).
