As his junior season at UNLV got underway, reality was thrown in Salvador Bernal’s direction. A season filled with regression, Bernal finished with career lows in goals, points and assists en route to a seven-win season. Despite his lackluster performance, Bernal was named to the NSCAA All-Far West team for a second straight year and was an All-Conference (now the Western Athletic Conference) player for his third straight season. But that wasn’t good enough. Bernal wanted to not only improve himself, but improve his team’s way of winning. In his previous three years, the team had win totals of three, six and seven. The improvement was there, but it wasn’t good enough. “What I had in my head prior to this season was, ‘This is my last year, I have to give it my all,’” Bernal said. “Coming into my senior year, I just wanted to make it go big.” So, as any good leader would do, Bernal set out to make himself better, knowing the team would follow suit. He spent time playing with the Las Vegas Mobsters, a local soccer club in the United Soccer League’s Premier Development League. The PDL features 60 teams in four conferences spread out across the U.S. and Canada. “Playing [with the Mobsters] helped me out a lot,” Bernal said. “I was playing there and then at night going to the gym, running, you know, just working.” Bernal, a native from Morella, Mexico, spent the offseason training relentlessly. He was named All-Conference since he’s been at UNLV. He’s led the team in goals, points and assists at different points throughout his illustrious career. Bernal was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Newcomer of the Year in 2011. His sophomore campaign was even better, leading the team in goals (8), assists (5) and points (21) while being the only underclassman on the All-MPSF First Team. Yet the only thing Bernal hasn’t done his entire time at UNLV, was win on a consistent basis. On a team that was returning eight juniors and seven seniors, the Rebels’ captain knew the talent was there. “We knew we were going to have a good team this year,” he said. “Last year, we lost [only three players] so we knew we’d have basically the same team again.” The hard work done by Bernal, rubbed off on his teammates. The Rebels are off to one of the best starts in school history, starting the season with five straight wins, including knocking off the previous No. 14, UMBC, 1-0. UNLV (6-2-1) began conference play on Sunday over .500 for the first time since 2009, thanks in part to a veteran team, a resilient head coach and a captain who has always sought to make himself and the team around him better. He leads the team again in goals (4), points (10) and is tied-for-second in assists (2). “We knew coming into this year we were going to be a competitor,” Bernal said. “That’s why everyone on this team has high standards. We’re pushing hard. We’re trying to win a championship.”
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