Sept. 6, 2009
Box Score
LAS VEGAS - With its best offensive performance in over 15 years, the UNLV men's soccer team used multi-goal efforts from Will Ziegahn and Zach Kupher to blow past Robert Morris 7-2 on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the UNLV Nike Invitational from Peter Johann Memorial Field. The Rebels improved to 2-1 with the win, while RMU dropped to 0-3.
The seven goals was the most scored by a Rebel team since a 7-2 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 24, 1993 in Las Vegas, while the five-goal margin of victory is the largest since a 6-0 shutout of Air Force on Oct. 27, 2002, also in Las Vegas.
Kupher started the scoring for the Rebels in the 14th minute when he took a pass from Trey Jasenski and blasted a shot from the middle of the box to the back of the net. Just four minutes later the lead went to 2-0 following a Stephen Sifuentes score off an assist from Peter Rodriguez. Robert Garcia then scored the last goal of the first half in the 44th minute. His score, his first career goal at UNLV, came after Nick Marshall's hard shot was stopped by RMU goalkeeper Andrew Gagliardi. Garcia was there to collect the rebound, and quickly hit a hard shot to the empty goal for the score and a 3-0 lead. Gagliardi did not start the contest for the Colonials, but entered in the eighth minute after starter Toba Bolaji was forced to leave the game due to an injury following a collusion.
The second half opened with a flury of goals in a three-minute span. UNLV began the scoring with a strike from Ziegahn, a sliding kick just in front of the goal on a cross from the left side from Sifuentes in the 49th minute for a 4-0 Rebel edge. The Colonials broke up the shutout for UNLV with a goal in the 52nd minute on a long blast by Neil Shaffer, but UNLV answered right back on another Ziegahn goal, as this time he tapped in a cross from Roberto Farfan in the 53rd minute to make the score 5-1 UNLV.
Sean Riley posted the second goal of the day for the visitors when he collected a pass from Kyle McIvor and slotted a shot to the far left post. That made the score 5-2 in the 71st minute, but UNLV made sure there would be no comeback for the Colonials. First, Garcia went down the left side and sent over a crossing pass to Kupher, who had come into the box unmarked and easily scored from 10 yards out, putting UNLV up 6-2 in the 77th minute. Marshall then closed out the scoring for UNLV in the 80th minute when he received a through pass in the box from Kupfer, dribbled across the front of the goal past the goalie and sent his shot to the left side for a 7-2 lead for the Rebels.
UNLV finished the game with a 23-4 edge on shots, 15-4 on shots on goal, and 4-1 advantage on corner kicks. Roland Swanson finished the game with two saves for UNLV, while Gagliardi made eight for RMU while allowing seven goals.
The Rebels will return to action this weekend when they travel to Tulsa, Okla. for the Oral Roberts Tournament. UNLV will open up against the host ORU Golden Eagles on Friday, Sept. 11 at 5 pm (PST), and then finish the tournament taking on Centenary on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11 am (PST).
