BERNAL NAMED NSCAA THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICAUNLV forward Salvador Bernal became the first Rebel in 24 years to be named All-American after being selected to the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America ) All-America Third team. Bernal, a Las Vegas native, is the third player in UNLV history to earn All-America honors, and the first since Daniel Barber in 1991.
16 NAMED TO NSCAA ALL-REGION TEAMS
16 WAC men’s soccer players were named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-West Region teams. First team: K-Ryan Harding, Sr., UNLV; D-Kyle Mellies, Sr., UNLV; M-Christian Duarte, Jr., Bakersfield; M-Rodrigo Fuentes, Jr., UNLV; M-Ian Hines-Ike, Jr., Seattle U; F-Sal Bernal, Sr., UNLV; F-Julian Zamora, Fr., Bakersfield; Second team: D-Kyle Bjornethun, So., Seattle U; M-Alejandro De La Garza, Sr., Incarnate Word; F-Matt Gay, Fr., Utah Valley; F-Hamza Haddadi, Jr., Seattle U; Third team: M-Tayna Chiaparro, Sr., UMKC; M-Joe Masumiya, Sr., Bakersfield; M-Karson Payton, Fr., Utah Valley; M-Julian Portugal, Sr., UNLV; F-Alberto Sanchez-Garcia, Jr., Grand Canyon.
UNLV COACHING STAFF EARN HONORS
UNLV head coach Rich Ryerson was named the NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year, while Liam Connors received the Glenn “Mooch” Myernick NSCAA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year honor.
MELLIES AND KELLY NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS
UNLV senior defender Kyle Mellies and Incarnate Word junior forward Dylan Kelly were named to the Capital One Academic All-America Division I Men’s Soccer second and third teams, respectively.
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 advanced to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot.
UNLV EARNS NCAA TOURNAMENT BID, DROPS FIRST ROUND MATCH
UNLV earned the WAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament to make its sixth appearance in the championship and first since 1988. The drought of 26 years was the longest of any of the 48 teams in this year’s field. Head coach Rich Ryerson was 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. The Rebels faced UC Irvine in the first round, losing 3-0. UNLV was outshot only 13-12, in just its second road loss of the season.
REBELS WIN WAC REGULAR SEASON AND TOURNAMENT TITLES
After winning the WAC’s regular season title outright with a record of 7-2-1, 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
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.
FIVE WAC TEAMS EARN NSCAA COLLEGE TEAM ACADEMIC AWARDS
Five WAC men’s soccer squads were recognized with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award. The teams were honored for outstanding work done in the classroom by each school’s student-athletes. The teams posted a team GPA of 3.0 or higher, thereby earning the NSCAA Team Academic Award for the 2013-14 academic year.
School, Coach, Team GPA
Houston Baptist-Steve Jones, 3.17
Incarnate Word-Vince Martinez, 3.15
UMKC-Rick Benben, 3.11
Seattle U-Pete Fewing, 3.17
Utah Valley-Greg Maas, 3.36
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 was 33-39-9 (.463) 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 led the WAC in shots (329) and corners (128) while UNLV led in points (121), goals (44) and assists (33). Seattle U led the WAC in saves (104) while Utah Valley led in goals against average (0.75). UNLV posted the most shutouts with 10.
Individually, Grand Canyon’s Alberto Sanchez Garcia led the WAC in shots with 69. Bakersfield’s Julian Zamora led the WAC with 26 points and 12 goals. San Jose State’s Jonathan Colunga led the WAC in assists with eight. Five goalkeepers lead the WAC in different statistical categories as Utah Valley’s Collin Partee led the WAC in goals against average (0.81), while Air Force’s Jake Schenk led the WAC in save percentage (.837), Seattle U’s Shane Haworth led the WAC in saves (99) and UNLV’s Ryan Harding led in shutouts (9.1). Houston Baptist’s Kevin Suarez led 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 WAC-high attendance of 3,209 against Gonzaga on Sept. 12.
2015 SEASON
For 2015, the WAC will be expanding to 11 teams with the addition of Texas-Rio Grand Valley (currently UTPA). 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, Texas-Rio Grand Valley and Utah Valley. Regular-season play will consist of a single round-robin format between all 11 teams 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. The top six teams will advance to the WAC tournament Nov. 12-13 and 15. Grand Canyon and Incarnate Word are ineligible due to their transition from Division II to Division I.
UMKC TO HOST COLLEGE CUP
UMKC and the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation will host the 2015 College Cup at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Mo., Dec. 11 and 13.