Oct. 21, 2016 Final Stats
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - In the first game of a doubleheader at Peter Johann Memorial Field on Friday night, UNLV Women's Soccer and Boise State battled until the last seconds ran off the clock, with neither team finding the game-winner in a 1-1 double overtime draw. While the Rebels would have preferred a win to build on its lead in the Mountain West standings, they will certainly take another point as the result allowed the team to clinch a Mountain West Tournament berth for the second straight year.
UNLV improves to 13-3-2 overall and 6-1-2 in league play. With 20 points, the Rebels are now tied with San Diego State for first place with two regular season games left to play. A victory would have set a new program record for most wins in a season, but the Rebels will have a couple more shots at it, the first coming on Sunday in the last home game of 2016.
Freshman Georgia Kingman recorded UNLV's lone goal of the game -- the first of her career -- in the 29th minute to put the home team up 1-0 early in the game. Kingman has filled in admirably after fellow freshman Katie Ballou was lost for the season due to a knee injury. Since moving into the starting lineup two weeks ago, Kingman had notched a couple of assists before finally connecting on the score tonight. The goal came on a give-and-go off of a cornerkick, with Kingman starting the sequence on a short pass to senior Susie Bernal, who tapped it right back. After a couple touches to her right, Kingman blasted a kick from the left side of the box that powered through box full of bodies to find the far right corner. With the assist, Bernal now has 19 in her career -- tying the program record for career assists held by Katie Carney, who had 19 from 2004-07.
UNLV held the slim lead through halftime and into the second half, until the Rebels were called for a foul in the half circle of the 18-yard box, directly in front of the goal. BSU's Baylee Blaser lined up to take the shot and rocketed it past UNLV's wall of defenders, placing it perfectly in the bottom right corner of the net.
From there, both teams had several dangerous chances on goal to take the lead, but neither could find the net. The Rebels were particularly aggressive in the two 10-minute overtime periods, registering eight shots to the Broncos' one and ultimately seeing several scoring chances come up empty. On the night, the Rebels dominated in the box score, out-shooting Boise State 31-9 to keep BSU keeper Janelle Flores busy, and she responded with 12 saves. Rebel keeper Jordan Sallee was again strong in the net, recording three saves on the night and several key catches in the back.
UNLV will head to the Mountain West Tournament for the second-consecutive year, and for the second time in three years under head coach Chris Shaw. With a regular season title within their grasp, however, the Rebels won't simply be satisfied with just going to the tournament this year as they have two games left to capture their first Mountain West championship since 2007.
The Scarlet and Gray return to action on Sunday at Peter Johann Memorial Field in the regular season home finale against Utah State (10-7-0, 6-3-0). The Aggies have also clinched a postseason berth and currently sit in third place with 18 points -- just two behind the Rebels -- so it should be an intense match between two teams vying for a championship. The game will also serve as senior day as the team will celebrate 11 seniors prior to the 1 p.m. kickoff.
-UNLV-
