UNLV EARNS NCAA TOURNAMENT BIDUNLV earned the WAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will be making its sixth appearance in the championship and first since 1988. The drought of 26 years is the longest of any of the 48 teams in this year’s field. Head coach Rich Ryerson is one of five coaches to lead his alma mater into the tournament while also having participated as a player in the NCAA Tournament for his school.
UNLV FACES UC IRVINE IN NCAA FIRST ROUND
UNLV (14-4-3) opens the NCAA Tournament with a first round matchup at UC Irvine (14-5-3) on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7:00 p.m. PT. This will be the 24th meeting all-time between UNLV and the Anteaters. While the Rebels hold a commanding lead in the series (18-5-1), UCI has won the past three meetings, including the most recent this season in Las Vegas on Sept. 26, 4-2. The Rebels’ 14 wins are tied for the third-most in the nation this year, just one behind Syracuse and Coastal Carolina. While UNLV has turned in one of its best defensive seasons in years in leading the WAC with 10 total shutouts, its the offense that’s carried the team to the next level. UNLV has scored 44 goals this season, tying for second-highest in the NCAA this year and the most by a Rebel squad since scoring 50 in 1989.
REBELS WIN WAC TOURNAMENT TITLE
UNLV was the top-seeded team heading into the WAC men’s soccer tournament and received a bye into the semfinals. The Rebels defeated UMKC, 3-0, on goals by Julien Dragomir, Kevin Partida and Danny Musovski. Goalkeeper Ryan Harding added five saves in recording his ninth complete shutout of the season. In the championship, UNLV and No. 6 Bakersfield played 110 minutes of a 1-1 draw. The Rebels earned the WAC title after winning a penalty kick shootout, 4-2. Corey Ackley scored the regulation goal off of an assist by Musovski and Harding stopped two of the four penalty kicks in the shootout. Musovski was successful on his penalty kick and earned the NSCAA’s National Player of the Week award for his play during the tournament.
WAC All-Tournament Team
Julian Zamora, Fr., F, Bakersfield
Wes White, Fr., F, UMKC
MVP: Danny Musovski, Fr., F, UNLV
Joe Masumiya, Sr., MF, Bakersfield
Kevin Partida, So., MF, UNLV
Ian Hines-Ike, Jr., MF, Seattle U
Alex Flores, Sr., D, Bakersfield
Guerrero Pino, Jr., D, UMKC
Kyle Mellies, Sr., D, UNLV
Kyle Bjornethun, So., D, Seattle U
Ryan Harding, Sr., GK, UNLV
UNLV WINS REGULAR SEASON TITLE
UNLV won the WAC’s outright regular season title following its 2-1 win at Grand Canyon in the regular season finale. The Rebels were 7-2-1 in conference play and are the number one seed in this week’s WAC Tournament.
ALL-WAC TEAMS
WAC regular-season champion UNLV led all schools with five players selected to the all-WAC team, including four on the first team and one on the second team. UNLV senior forward Salvador Bernal was named the WAC’s Offensive Player of the Year, while his teammate, senior defender Kyle Mellies, received Defensive Player of the Year honors. Bakersfield forward Julian Zamora was named the league’s Freshman of the Year and UNLV’s Rich Ryerson was named Coach of the Year.
THREE PLAYERS NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS
Three WAC men’s soccer players have been named to the Capitol One Academic All-District Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. UNLV’s Kyle Mellies, Air Force’s Tucker Axhoj and Incarnate Word’s Dylan Kelly all earned first team honors. All three will advance to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot where first, second, and third team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
FOUR TEAMS IN REGIONAL RANKINGS
The WAC had four teams in the top 10 of the final NSCAA West Regional Rankings including the number spot held by UNLV. Seattle U was second, Utah Valley eighth and Bakersfield ninth.
WAC’S NON-CONFERENCE RECORD MUCH IMPROVED
The WAC is 33-38-9 (.469) versus non-conference opponents this year. A year ago, the WAC finished the 2013 season with a non-conference mark of 14-46-8 (.265).
WAC STAT LEADERS
As a team, Bakersfield leads the WAC in shots (329) and corners (128) while UNLV leads in points (121), goals (44) and assists (33). Seattle U leads the WAC in saves (104) while Utah Valley leads in goals against average (0.75). UNLV has posted the most shutouts with 10.
Individually, Grand Canyon’s Alberto Sanchez Garcia leads the WAC in shots with 69. Bakersfield’s Julian Zamora leads the WAC with 26 points and 12 goals. San Jose State’s Jonathan Colunga leads the WAC in assists with eight. Five goalkeepers lead the WAC in different statistical categories as Utah Valley’s Collin Partee leads the WAC in goals against average (0.81), while Air Force’s Jake Schenk leads the WAC in save percentage (.837), Seattle U’s Shane Haworth leads the WAC in saves (99) and UNLV’s Ryan Harding leads in shutouts (9.1). Houston Baptist’s Kevin Suarez leads the WAC in saves per game (6.11).
UTAH VALLEY IN TOP 15 OF ATTENDANCE
In its inaugural year, the Utah Valley men’s soccer team averaged 1,750 fans per match, the 15th best in the nation. The Wolverines had a high of 3,209 against Gonzaga on Sept. 12.
WAC MEN’S SOCCER EXPANDS TO 10 TEAMS
For the first time since 1999, the WAC sponsored men’s soccer during the 2013 season. Seattle U won the 2013 regular season title with an undefeated mark of 7-0-3 and earned the WAC tournament title to advance to the NCAA tournament where it won its first round game. For 2014, the WAC added two more teams to expand to 10. The league is made up of both full time members of the WAC and affiliates: Air Force (affiliate), Bakersfield, Grand Canyon, Houston Baptist (affiliate), Incarnate Word (affiliate), Missouri-Kansas City, San Jose State (affiliate), Seattle U and Utah Valley. New this season are Incarnate Word and Utah Valley. UIW comes to the WAC after starting its transition from Division II to Division I last season in which it played as an independent. Utah Valley is in its first season of sponsoring men’s soccer.
REGULAR SEASON FORMAT
Regular-season play consists of a single round-robin format between all 10 teams and an additional match against each team’s travel party for a total of 10 matches. The points system will be used to determine conference standings. Each team will receive three points for a win and one point for a tie.
2014 WAC TOURNAMENT
The WAC Men’s Soccer Tournament will be held at Seattle U, November 13-14 and 16. The top six eligible teams will participate (Grand Canyon and Incarnate Word are ineligible due to their transition from Division II to Division I).
FUTURE MEMBER
The WAC will expand its men’s soccer league next year with the addition of Texas-Pan American in 2015. The Broncs have hired Paul Leese as their head coach. Leese spent the previous five seasons as the head coach at Coker College.