Aug. 19, 2016 Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF)
EDINBURG, TEXAS (UNLVRebels.com) -- UNLV Women's Soccer began its 2016 campaign on a high note, besting Fairleigh Dickinson 3-1 in the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley Invitational in Edinburg, Texas, on Friday afternoon.
Redshirt freshman and Las Vegas-area native Michaela Morris dazzled in her UNLV debut, netting two goals on the day for the Rebels to secure the victory. Morris was playing in her first collegiate game and making her first-career start after missing all of 2015 with an injury. Senior forward Lily Sender also got in on the action, scoring a late insurance goal to put the Knights away in the final 10 minutes.
An evenly played first half by both squads left the score knotted at zero after 45 minutes of play, with Fairleigh Dickinson holding a slight edge in shots (8) over UNLV (7). Junior keeper Jordan Sallee recorded two saves in the opening frame to keep the Knights off the board, while FDU keeper Ashley Fitzgerald made three saves of her own to keep the Rebels at bay.
The game wouldn't remain scoreless very long as Morris and redshirt senior Susie Bernal took matters into their own hands. In the 48th minute, the pair connected to steal an outlet pass from a Knight defender, which ended with Morris burying it in the left corner of the goal to put UNLV up 1-0. The lead was short-lived, however, as Fairleigh Dickinson mounted a quick comeback, scoring off a penalty kick less than a minute later in the 49th minute.
The Rebels regained the lead for good in the 64th minute on another Morris score, this time off of a header in the box after a double assist from Isabella Myers and Sophie Cortes. Myers got things started with a pass to Cortes, who sent it into the box and gave Morris a chance to knock it in. Sender closed the door on the Knights in the 84th minute, finding the net off of a rebounded shot on goal by teammate Brittney Gideon for the final score of 3-1.
After losing the shot battle in the first half, UNLV stormed back to hold a 20-13 advantage for the game, 11 of those being shots on goal. Senior midfielder Jordan Magnin led the Rebels with five shots, while Sallee finished the game with six saves and gave up just the lone goal.
The Rebels (1-0) wrap up opening weekend on Sunday at the UTRGV Invitational, taking on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 11 a.m. PT.
-UNLV-
