Lourdes Bosch battled to push the ball forward down the right side of the field to give her team’s offense a chance to score the winning goal. Bosch was 9-years-old when she won second place at her first soccer tournament in a co-ed division with her dad as the coach.
A decade later, Bosch found herself playing on a field twice the size in her scarlet and gray jersey. She went from watching the Rebels play on Peter Johann Memorial Field to being one of the girls on the team.
“There’s just something different about the game,” Bosch said. “The qualities of the state of mind during the game, and to just get more experience in games when you start to feel more comfortable, then it starts to feel normal.”
She grew up in the Valley playing for multiple club teams including Las Vegas Premier Soccer Club (2016-2017) and Heat FC (2018) during her high school career. She attended both West Career and Technical Academy and Spring Valley High School. During both seasons with her club teams, she helped them earn second place in the championships.
Former Rebel head coach Chris Shaw recruited Bosch to join UNLV’s soccer program her freshman year in 2019. It only took one official visit around the facilities for her to fall in love with the team.
“I didn’t know which team or which school I wanted to play for. I wasn’t really thinking about college,” Bosch said. “It’s a blessing, honestly, because it was my very first college game and being able to start those games and play again in my hometown was honestly the best feeling.”
Bosch started in 10 out of the 15 games she played in her first season as a Rebel, while recording a team-high of 45 shots, including 22 on goal. She totaled four goals and eight points on her way to landing on the All-Mountain West Newcomer list.
During the season finale against Southern Utah, Bosch registered a season-high seven shots. Earlier in the year, she totaled her season-high of four shots on goal against Air Force.
Going into sophomore year, the Rebel’s soccer season was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet Bosch was named to the Mountain West All-Conference Second Team. She appeared in every game besides one, while starting in all of them. She finished second on the team in points.
“I’m not too worried about individual accomplishments. It’s a team sport, and my goal is to help my team get to the championships in any way that I can. It feels pretty good to know I helped my team with an accomplishment like that.”
Bosch scored two goals in the 2020-2021 season, including the game-winner in overtime against San Diego State. She led the team with 23 total shots (nine on goal) and tied for the team lead in assists with two.
She is starting off the 2021 season with the same consistency of battling hard for a starting spot on the team. She has appeared in every game so far this season, starting in all of them except one.
The Rebels (5-2) start off strong with a tough offensive and defensive with 16 games left in their season. Bosch has scored one goal for UNLV along with three assists so far for a total of five points.
With a 0.077 shooting percentage, she has had 13 shots (five on goal) over the course of the last seven games.
“The team’s chemistry is on top,” Bosch said. “It is a much better competitive season compared to last season, considering the last three to six months. I’m pretty excited and optimistic.”
The Rebels are looking forward to a strong season heading into the WAC tournament at the end of the year. Bosch looks forward to making memories out of the last years she has left with the team before graduating.
UNLV travels for their next game against Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, California. on Sept. 19. The girls will kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Live stats for Bosch and the rest of the Rebels can be found at unlvrebels.com.
