UNLV Men’s Soccer took the lead early in the game. However, Seattle University netted two goals in the second half to secure a 2-1 win over the Rebels. The Rebels finish the regular season with a 3-3-2 conference record and 5-7-4 overall.
In the 7th minute of the game, Hermann Ragnarsonn would chip the ball over the Redhawk defense, setting up Nico Lopez, who would blast the ball but miss wide, hitting the side netting.
In the 15th minute of the game, Lopez pulled off a backheel flick over the defender and set himself up one-on-one against the keeper. Once there, he placed the ball to the right side of goalkeeper Charlie Lanphier and put the Rebels up 1-0 early in the game.
The Rebels did a fantastic job of keeping possession as they played the ball around, looking for an opening, then playing the opening and slowly progressing up the field.
In the 44th minute, as Lennard Fock made a dangerous run down the wing, Ethan Gonzalez made an excellent slide tackle, stopping the chance.
Straight into the second half, James Morris ran down the left wing before playing a chipped pass in the middle of the box over defender Brophy Howard, finding teammate Kotaro Hirokawa open. As the ball came to Hirokawa, he struck the ball on a first-touch volley, going past Lemos and equalling the game 1-1.
In the 59th minute, Lucas Gelebart and Ragnarsson caught the Red Hawks on a counterattack as they both ran up the field with Ragnarsonn playing a perfectly timed chip pass that found Gelebart alone who volleyed the ball but rattled the crossbar.
From that play, the Red Hawks launched a counter attack on the Rebels with Demian Alvarez switching the field to Yeider Zuluaga as he ran down the left wing before crossing the ball to Fock, who struck the cross on a power volley to the first post and, just like that, setting the score 2-1 to the Red Hawks.
In the 65th minute, Hirokawa made a dangerous run going straight down the middle. However, he was taken down just before reaching the penalty box by Theo Minard who was given a yellow card.
In the following play, Mikah Madrid put in a cross finding Ragnarsonn who headed the ball the bottom right, but Lanphier made an athletic dive to his left, denying the Rebels an equalizer.
In the 76th minute, Zuluaga from the left wing would cut into the middle and unleash a laser shot that Lemos was quick enough to get his hands onto and catch.
In the 83rd minute, As Tyler Ware ran down the field, he was taken down by Joon Lee for a freekick. On the freekick, Ware struck the freekick but was blocked by the wall with the rebound going to Sanchez who struck a power shot that was also blocked by the Red Hawk defense.
Despite the effort from the Rebels and an early lead, the relentlessness of the Red Hawks proved once again why they are the best team in the conference with a second half comeback winning the game 2-1. Seattle had a powerful offense and defense making them a big favorite to win the WAC tournament. The Rebels, however, gave Seattle a run for their money and showed that they are a team that should not be underestimated.
Up Next
The Rebels head into the Quarterfinals of the WAC tournament in Las Vegas at the Johann Memorial field.
