Perseverance is a term in sports for players who overcome injuries, turmoil or heartache and make a triumphant return to the field. It is used as a tool by coaches in order to motivate a team or individual to get them to reach full potential. No athletic program has persevered more, nor has any program taken on its coach’s demeanor, than the UNLV men’s soccer team has with head coach Rich Ryerson after the program was nearly cut from the athletic department just five seasons ago. In 2010, long before UNLV garnered its first national ranking in 23 years, long before Las Vegas took a second look at the men’s soccer team, Ryerson quietly took over as head coach. His predecessor, Mario Sanchez, had left his head coaching post at UNLV after leading the program to its first winning season (8-7-4) since 2002, to take an assistant coaching job at Louisville. Players were left to wonder why Sanchez had left suddenly. Soon enough, players found out the truth: the UNLV men’s soccer program was going to be cut by the athletic department, no longer recognized as a varsity sport. The program was not generating enough revenue to be maintained. “I got hired in April,” Ryerson said. “And we lost 13 guys in May out of 23 on the roster. All of our National Letter of Intent guys were allowed to leave if they didn’t want to come.” With a shortened roster, and little money, Ryerson relentlessly set out to earn money to keep the program, one of which he played in himself, as one of only 200 men’s soccer programs in the nation. But help was on the way. Tim McGarry, a former player at UNLV in the late 1970s, married Kris Engelstad, daughter of the late Las Vegas casino tycoon Ralph Engelstad and founder of the Engelstad Family Foundation, a Las Vegas-based foundation that donates to various causes and charities. Ryerson knew the possibility of a connection was there for the program. “We were fortunate to have a couple families that really stepped up big,” Ryerson said. “The Engelstad Foundation and the (Gary) Hanna family and a few other individuals (benefactors Ken and Alice Johann) were big contributors for those first three years.” The Engelstad Foundation made the biggest contribution, donating $850,000 over five years. The program received $250,000 in 2011, $210,000 in 2012, $170,000 last season, $130,000 this season and finally $90,000 next season (2015). That was the largest donation given in the history of the UNLV soccer program, and provided over 66 percent of the team’s budget. In 2010, the program won six games. In 2011, it regressed to just three. In 2012, UNLV bounced back with six wins, and last season the Rebels won seven, the most during Ryerson’s tenure. “[Last season], the university had let me know that we were okay, we were solid again [financially] and the indication I get from the university is that we’re here to stay,” Ryerson said. With the weight off his shoulders, Ryerson and his team were able to finally do something they haven’t done in his time at UNLV: focus solely on the game that brought them all together. The Rebels are off to one of their best starts in school history this season. With a 5-1-1 record, and a win over No. 14 UMBC under its belt, UNLV has garnered the attention not only of the Las Vegas community, but the nation as well. The Rebels’ No. 23 national ranking is the first for the program in nearly 23 years. Goalkeeper Ryan Harding has recorded four straight shutouts, and is allowing a 0.64 Goals-Against Average. He leads the nation with 419 minutes, 57 seconds of straight shutout soccer, just ahead of the No. 1 North Carolina (419:12). Offensively, UNLV is fourth in the nation in total goals (15), 22nd in assists (10) and sixth in points (40). Captain Salvador Bernal is having his most spectacular season yet. The senior lead the Western Athletic Conference in goals (6) which is good enough for third in the country. Ryerson is the coach of this team; a team that was almost wiped away for good just a few years ago. Now, they’re one of the best in the country early on in 2014. “It’s been a long, tumultuous process, there’s no overnight success, and I was very fortunate there were people other than myself willing to take risks,” Ryerson said. “It’s taken five years, and at one point we were raising 73 percent of our budget. But, look at us. Just look at us now.”
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