Oct. 29, 2016 Box Score
OREM, Utah (UNLVRebels.com) -
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 | UNLV Rebels
(6-11-1, 4-4-1) | Clyde Field
FINAL
1-2 | Utah Valley
(15-3, 8-1) |  |
| Musovski '44 | Sackie '45, Hoffmeister '83 |
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UNLV gave 21st-ranked Utah Valley all it could handle on Saturday night, but the Rebels couldn't overcome playing shorthanded for the 23 minutes as a late goal allowed the host Wolverines to pull out a 2-1 victory on Saturday night in WAC men's soccer action from Clyde Field.
Despite the loss, UNLV is still in position for a potential third-seed in next month's league tournament, as the Rebels stand in fourth with 13 points (4-4-1), while Air Force was tied by San Jose State on Saturday and currently hold 16 points after nine games. With just one game left for both teams in the regular season, a UNLV win next week at home over 11th place UMKC, combined with an Air Force loss to Seattle would leave both teams tied at 16 points, and the Rebels would get the tiebreaker due to its home win over the Falcons on Oct. 21. Utah Valley jumped past idle Seattle into first place with 24 points (8-1) with its eighth-straight win.
"We had a tremendous effort especially playing just 10 the last 23 minutes," said UNLV head coach Rich Ryerson. "But you're not going to beat a ranked team down a man too often. For the positives though, we had a great goal from Danny (Musovski) and other strong individual efforts while Enrique (Adame) had a great game in goal. We'll get back to it next week and look to close out on a high note next Saturday."
Saturday saw a hard fought battle between both teams, and strong play from both defenses. The Rebels broke into the scoring column first late in the first half. Oscar Velazquez took the ball from the left side, and dribbled towards the middle just outside the box, before lofting a pass high into the box and just over the backline. The ball found the head of junior Danny Musovski, who headed it high to the back of the goal for the score, his 10th of the year. That gave UNLV a 1-0 lead in the 44th minute.
Utah Valley came back to tie the game just before the end of the half. A corner kick into the box led to a header by Alec Felix. That shot hit the crossbar just over the reach of Rebel goalkeeper Enrique Adama, and bounced back to Donnett Sackie just a few yards away from the goal. Sackie leaped up and headed the ball again past Adame, making it a 1-1 game just 26 seconds before halftime.
While the Wolverines held a 9-7 edge on shots in the first half, the defenders from both teams stepped up their play in the second, allowing just five shots from each team. The turning point of the game came in the 68th minute when Rebel midfielder Jason Eng received his second yellow card of the game. That resulted in a red card and left UNLV playing down a man the rest of the way. Playing 10 on 11 finally took its toll on the visitors in the 83rd minute, and for the third time in the game a goal was scored off a header. This final goal was provided by Paul Hoffmeister, his eighth of the year, when he ran into the box and headed in a cross from the right side. Sackie and Aaron Meyer were credited with assists on the score.
Utah Valley held a slight 14-12 edge on shots, and 6-2 on shots on goal, as well as a 3-2 advantage on corner kicks. Adame posted four saves for UNLV, and Mitch Jensen finished with one for the Wolverines.
UNLV closes out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 7 pm against UMKC at Peter Johann Memorial Field.
