It was a tremendous season with an anti-climatic ending as the UNLV men’s soccer team was shut out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by UC-Irvine, 3-0. Head coach Rich Ryerson led the Rebels back to the postseason for the first time since 1984, when he was a player on the field, not the sidelines. “I wanted these guys to be able to do and experience what I was able to do and experience,” Ryerson said. “It was pretty cool to be a part of it again.” UNLV and UC-Irvine grew to know each other throughout this season. In early March, the Rebels played a spring exhibition game in Irvine, defeating the Anteaters. Earlier in the 2014 regular season, however, Irvine extracted revenge, dropping UNLV at home, 4-2. The rubber match took place in California, as Irvine played host to the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and welcomed UNLV to settle the score. The game was tightly contested throughout, although the final score didn’t reflect that sentiment. The Rebels’ defense, which had been the backbone of the team for the entire year, fell victim to Anteater Iwasa Cameron, whose two goals in the first half eventually led UCI to the victory. Cameron opened the scoring early on in the seventh minute, off of an assist from Matt Bjurman. The lead swelled to 2-0 in the 36th minute when Cameron again received a pass from Bjurman, who sent a shot past UNLV goalkeeper Ryan Harding. The final dagger came in the 76th minute, this time off of a corner kick. Irvine’s Dennis Martinez sent it in to seal the win for the Anteaters. The score indicates the Rebels were dominated while the box score tells a truer tale. UNLV, even in defeat, showed grit and determination, even when victory seemed bleak. Irvine outshot UNLV by one (13-12) for the game, including 8-4 in shots on goal. Physicality also played a role, as the smaller UNLV squad was doubled in the amount of fouls called on each team, with Irvine receiving 16 calls throughout. Still, in victory or defeat, the Rebels have done something extraordinary. The 2014 season will go down in the history books, and not just statistically. Yes, UNLV notched the fifth-most wins in school history with 15, and yes, they scored the second most goals (44) in a single-season in school history. But what will be remembered most is not a team that had five fewer wins this season alone than its previous four combined, or a team that tied a single-season mark for shutouts. What will be remembered is a team that was close to never forming due to almost being cut entirely, restored faith to a dying program. “It’s a big step, what we’ve just done,” midfielder Rodrigo Fuentes said. “It was 27 years since the program’s achieved this, and it’s just an honor to be a part of it.”
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