UNLV men’s soccer head coach Rich Ryerson finished his last season with the team with an overall record of 7-11 and a conference record of 3-8 as he moves on from the Rebel name.
Ryerson spent the last 11 years coaching the Rebels, while previously being a Rebel on the team himself as a starter for all four years.
He helped UNLV to three NCAA Tournament appearances and three conference championships, as well as an 18-2-2 record and a No. 4 national ranking in 1985.
“There’s nothing better than walking across the field with the Las Vegas Strip in the background and either being a player or coach,” Ryerson said. “The most memorable times would be walking across the field, whether it’s sunset or dark, and just looking up at the Strip and realizing we’re representing UNLV.”
Ryerson currently holds the UNLV records for most career games played and started while being a member of the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame for the 1985 squad that was inducted on Oct. 1, 2010.
Ryerson graduated from UNLV in 1987 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration.
“When I was a player, I was only concerned with playing, and then after that, playing professionally,” Ryerson said. “It wasn’t till later on when I got into coaching that I wanted then to become the head coach of UNLV.”
He went on to play a total of 10 years in several professional soccer leagues, including two in Kinna, Sweden and finished his career in 1998 with the Baton Rouge Bombers of the Eastern Indoor Soccer League, where he was named the Defensive Player of the Year.
Ryerson became the fifth head coach in UNLV history on April 7, 2010. In his first season, he led the Rebels to a win at Pac-10 member Standforc, as well as two shutouts against the regular season champion Denver.
Ryerson was named the WAC and NSCAA Region Coach of the Year in 2014. He coached the fourth-seed Rebels to the 2016 WAC Tournament Title.
He concludes his years with UNLV with an overall coaching record of 96-108-16.
“We’re spent a lot of time with these guys, and really, just missing those aspects are going to be pretty hard,” Ryerson said. “It will be harder being a fan than it was being as involved, but it’ll be fun to watch with no pressure.”
Coach Ryerson’s Final Message
“Get to class and make sure you do well with the finals. This is the hard push right now, we are done with our season and I want to make sure that you finish strong academically. Give it everything you have on the field and make sure there are no regrets.”
