Oct. 21, 2010
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) -
UNLV weekly soccer notes
After posting a 2-2-1 mark against its fellow Mountain Division members, the UNLV men's soccer team (5-7-1) is ready to step out of division play and see what the Pacific Division has to offer. The Rebels will play four straight games against the Pacific, beginning with this weekend's home games against Cal State Bakersfield and Seattle. UNLV will take on CSUB on Friday night at 7 pm on Breast Cancer Awareness night at Peter Johann Memorial Field, and all fans that wear pink will receive $1 admission. Sunday's game against Seattle will start at 1 pm.
CSUB comes in as the top overall team in the league with 11 points off three wins and a pair of ties, while Seattle is at the bottom with just four points (one win, one tie). In fact, there has not been a lot of wins in the Pacific, as of the 10 games played, four have ended in a tie. Sacramento State, San Jose State, and Seattle all have just one victory thus far in league play.
UNLV hopes to continue its strong play from their last weekend at home, when they topped Air Force 1-0 and tied Denver 0-0. The Rebels are 3-2-1 at home this year, while CSUB's road record is 4-2-1, and Seattle is 0-4.
Players To Watch
The Rebels are paced by their two starting forwards, senior Stephen Sifuentes and sophomore Nick Marshall. Sifuentes is third in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with 11 points off four goals and three assists, while Marshall is tied for fifth with three goals and two assists. Thanks to a four-point performance against Mount St. Mary's, Las Vegas native and junior forward Richard Abrego has moved up to a tie for ninth in the league with six points (two goals, two assists).
UNLV is playing two goalies this year. Junior Simon Cook has played the majority of the season, and has a 1.23 GAA with 38 saves. Freshman Ryan Harding meanwhile has appeared in three games, and has a 2.50 GAA with 10 saves.
Scouting Cal State Bakersfield
The Roadrunners led the Pacific Division with a 3-0-2 mark, and have not lost a game since a 2-1 defeat at Cal Poly on Sept. 29. CS Bakersfield has won with its defense, giving up just 12 goals all season in 13 games.
Jesus Sanchez is the team leader on offense with 13 points off six goals and an assist. Gyasi Zardes meanwhile has eight points off two goals and four assists. In goal is Eric Shannon, who holds a 0.79 GAA with 45 saves in 1,133:43 minutes of action.
Scouting Seattle
The Redhawks are 3-7-3 on the season, and 1-3-1 in league play coming into the weekend. Seattle has a strong defense, giving up only 1.3 goals per game, but has struggled on offense, with just eight goals through 13 games, and just one in the last five.
Leading the team is Kyle Peterman with four points off a pair of goals. Brady Ballew and Sean Morris both have a goal and an assist as well. In goal has been Ivan Dizdar (1.48 GAA, nine appearances) and Jake Feener (0.71 GAA, four appearances).
Rebels Claim Key Road Win
Thanks to Mike Mota's first-half score, UNLV claimed a road victory at Denver on Sunday afternoon by a 1-0 score. Not only was the win UNLV's first victory at Denver since the 2003 season, it was also only the two road win for UNLV in the past six seasons, and gave UNLV a 2-2-1 division record with one game left, the regular season finale against New Mexico.
Next Time Out
UNLV will be on the road at the final two Pacific members, as the Rebels will take on San Jose State on Friday, Oct. 29 at 7 pm, and then play Sacramento State on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 1 pm.
