EDINBURG, Texas (UNLVRebels.com) - League-leading UTRGV scored three second-half goals to hand UNLV a 3-1 road loss in WAC men's soccer action Saturday afternoon from the UTRGV Soccer Complex. That snapped UNLV's unbeaten streak at three, dropping the Rebels to 1-2-2 overall, while the Vaqueros improved to 3-0-1.

UNLV was outshot 13-6 for the game, and 7-4 on total shots on goal for the afternoon. The Rebels did keep the home team off the scoreboard in the opening half though, and took an early 1-0 lead in the 25th minute thanks to a header in front of the goal by Valentin Hafner. Chilo Sanchez assisted on the score.

THE TURNING POINT: After UNLV took its 1-0 lead into halftime, the Vaqueros tied the score fairly early in the second half when they were awarded a penalty kick after falling down in the box. That led to not only the tying score in the 49th minute on the PK, but a momentum shift as well that led to another goal just five minutes later. Both goals came from William Akio, with his second at the 54th mark making it 2-1 in favor of UTRGV. The Vasquerors added to the edge in the 65th minute with another score. 

QUOTEABLE: ""We came out in the first half with a high level of commitment to competing and scored an excellent goal, a great cross to our freshman forward Valentin. We unfortunately gave away a penalty in the third minute of the second half, and that truly changed the momentum of the game.  When you play the top team in the conference, you cannot afford any lapses in focus.  We will now travel home tomorrow and learn from this trip as we prepare for two very important matches on Peter Johann Memorial Field. 

REBEL NOTES

* - Of UNLV's five goals this season, four are from newcomers as Hafner notched his first career goal.

* - Both of UNLV's losses this year have come on the road.

* - UTRGV finished with a 13-6 edge on shots, and 7-4 on shots on goal.

* - Lukas Betz finished with four saves in the net for UNLV.

* - Chilo Sanchez's assist was the first of his career.

NEXT TIME OUT: UNLV comes back to Las Vegas to host a pair of games at Johann Memorial Field, beginning Friday night with a 7 pm contest against Utah Valley. That will be followed by a rescheduled contest with California Baptist on Monday, March 22 at 1 pm.