PHOENIX (UNLVRebels.com) — The UNLV men's soccer team (4-3-2, 0-1 MW) battled back from an early one-goal deficit before ultimately falling to Grand Canyon, 2-1, in Saturday's Mountain West opener at GCU Stadium.
In response to the Lopes' eighth-minute goal, the Rebels received an equalizer in the 56th minute from sophomore forward
Maxim Scordo on assists from freshmen defenders
Jacob Miranda and
Thomas Gulbrandsen. Just over two minutes later, however, GCU capitalized on a corner-kick play that led to a cross before the ensuing game-deciding score.
STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV held the upper hand in overall shots in the first half by nearly doubling up the Lopes, 9-5, in that category. The Lopes, however, flipped the script in the second half, winning the shots battle 12-3 for the half and edging the Rebels by five shots in the 17-12 final target tally.
Part of the Rebels' first-half shot advantage included three shots by senior forward
Nick Legendre, two of which were challenges on headers that just missed wide and high. Senior midfielder
Joaquin Eisenberg launched a shot on goal from inside the box that was scooped up. Adding other shots in the first 45, senior midfielder
Andres Robles had two, while senior midfielder
Mikah Madrid, junior midfielder
Pol Izquierdo and Miranda contributed one each.
Senior goalkeeper
Hugo Lemos did his best to keep the Scarlet & Gray in the match down the stretch, making three of his four saves on the night in the second half. Among those, he recorded key stops in the 77th minute and the 80th minute that kept the score within striking distance.
QUOTABLE: "It was a typical league game at the end after we did a great job getting back into the game. The second goal we needed to defend better on a set piece and that is on us. We had to chase it at the end and Hugo made some big saves to keep us in the hunt. It takes discipline and determination to win a league, and this group has it in them and maybe that is the lesson learned. We had a lot of positives and need to rebound quickly to get ready for Wednesday at home."
- UNLV Head Coach BJ Craig
UP NEXT: UNLV will play its Mountain West home opener vs. San Jose State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
NOTES:
- With his goal, Maxim Scordo took over as the team goals leader with four. He also leads the Scarlet & Gray attack in points (10) and assists (2).
- UNLV kept its goal scoring streak alive, finding the back of the net for the fifth consecutive contest.
- This was the Rebel men's soccer program's inaugural conference match as a member of the Mountain West.
