LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV women's soccer finished out its spring season in a big way, beating the Argentina National Team 1-0 in a friendly match at Peter Johann Memorial Field this past Saturday, April 6. The exhibition game, which was hosted by the UNLV Rebel Soccer Foundation, drew a raucous crowd of 1,500 that made for an incredible atmosphere for the match. 

The victory capped off an exceptional spring for the Rebels, which also included wins over Cal State Northridge, Weber State, Southern Utah and Westminster College, draws against Utah and Arizona State and close losses to Pepperdine and BYU. The Scarlet and Gray saved their best performance for last in pulling off the win over a national team preparing for the Women's World Cup this summer.

After dealing with some early possession struggles, UNLV settled into a very good rhythm 15 minutes into the game and went head-to-head with their counterparts the remainder of the half.  The second half started out the way the first half ended with both teams enjoying good attacking moments, but that changed in the 57th minute when the Rebels broke the scoreless deadlock. Midfielder Katie Ballou disrupted an Argentina attack and played a perfect forward pass to Michaela Morris' feet at midfield. Morris took the pass, spun to the inside of the field and served a fantastic diagonal pass in behind the defense for forward Robin Pollard to run on to. Pollard then took a quick touch around the charging Argentine goalkeeper at 25 yards out and ran onto it to finish in the open net. Fans erupted and the Rebels celebrated the goal, but there was still plenty of time left for an Argentina comeback. UNLV was up to the challenge though as it took a valiant team effort, led by goalkeeper Emberly Sevilla, to keep Argentina off the board over the last 30-plus minutes. When the final horn sounded, the Rebels victory over the No. 37th ranked team in the world was official.

"What a night, we couldn't ask for a better way to finish off the spring, said head coach Chris Shaw. "It was a unique opportunity to play against this caliber of team and to get the win makes it that much more special. It should give us a lot of confidence heading into 2019." Added Shaw, "We want to thank all the fans that were in attendance to cheer us on and we look forward to seeing them all again in August."  

 UNLV's 2019 fall schedule will be announced in late May or early June.