Women’s soccer outscored in MWC opener against Boise State

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Sophomore Haley Halbersma kicks the ball for the Rebels during on an attempt to score. Sadly, she missed the shot. UNLV went on to lose the match against Boise 0-2. Photo by Sara Freels.

The UNLV women’s soccer team saw their three-game winning streak come to an end Friday night in their Mountain West Conference opener against Boise State. The Broncos scored the only two goals of the match in a 70-second span during the second half, handing the Rebels a hard fought 2-0 defeat. 

The loss sank the Rebels in the MWC standings with a 7-3 overall record but 0-1 in conference play. Boise State climbs to second at 7-2 and 1-0 in the MWC.

The Rebel back line, consisting of Taylie Liddell and Haley Halbersma, played strong in the first half, allowing none of the Bronco’s five shots to be on target and drawing four offside calls that annulled a Bronco goal. 

Boise State attempted to impose their physicality early on with seven fouls and a yellow card before halftime. 

The Broncos took the lead early in the second half after a lengthy Rebel possession led to a quick Bronco counterattack, culminating in Vegas-native Dorian Goodwin finding the side-netting for a goal. 

The Broncos capitalized on their momentum and shell shocked the Rebels with another goal a minute later. The Rebels mounted offensive opportunities but would ultimately be unable to respond. 

Despite the loss, head coach Jenny Ruiz-Williams is optimistic about what she sees from her team. 

“I can never be upset because of the ‘heart,’” Ruiz-Williams said. “That’s from anyone on the bench to on the field. The fight that our team has, I’m always so proud of them. This reminds me of our first game this year [versus Dixie State].” 

“We lost, but we went back and fixed some things, and then we rolled a bit,” Ruiz-Williams said. “We knew this was going to be a great test. Anything goes in conference play, so we have to get back and ready to battle for our Sunday game.”

The Rebels return to the field to host conference-leading Utah State Aggies at 1 p.m. on Sept. 26.

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