Rebels upset Aztecs in NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament
SAN DIEGO — UNLV is still the only team in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament with a losing record.
Even after a first-round victory.
The Rebels (10-11-2) earned the right to play No. 6 Denver after beating No. 19 San Diego State via penalty kicks after tying 1-1 in regulation in the first round of tournament play Thursday night at San Diego State’s Sports Deck.
It was UNLV’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1987.
UNLV players gleefully sprinted across the pitch after the game, knowing their unlikely postseason run is set to continue, as the Aztecs retreated to their bench for the final time this season.
The Rebels will play at Denver (17-0-3) in the second round at 4 p.m. Sunday.
“The guys have worked hard this year. We’ve really had some ups and downs this season,” UNLV coach Rich Ryerson said. “What’s helping us at this point is that we’re all healthy. We’ve got great depth, and we’re still able to play different players in different roles.”
The Rebels struggled through the regular season without the services of star Danny Musovski, who missed five games in which UNLV went 1-4.
Musovski, a former star at Liberty High School, rejoined the team in time for the beef of the regular season and helped the Rebels win the Mountain West tournament title and the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
The Rebels and Aztecs traded barbs in the first 30 minutes, and officials even had to stop play early in the first half after a scuffle near San Diego State’s bench.
But UNLV regrouped and broke through in the 30th minute when defender Adam Musovski headed in a gorgeous free kick from Oscar Velazquez for the program’s first NCAA Tournament goal since 1988.
San Diego State tied the game early in the second half when A.J. Vergara buried a rocket from 30 yards out. Neither team converted again in regulation — or in 20 minutes of overtime — despite a multitude of premium scoring chances.
That meant penalty kicks, and time for Rebels backup goalie Richard Garness to shine. Ryerson summoned Garness, who is 6 feet 5 inches tall, to be in net for UNLV during penalty kicks. And sure enough, he delivered.
Garness made two diving saves during the initial round of best-of-five penalty kicks Both teams converted three of their five chances, and San Diego State’s Daniel Sagno missed his sudden-death attempt wide left.
Velazquez stepped up to the goal line for his turn — he was the eighth shooter for UNLV — and sent his team into the second round.
“I was the eighth shooter. That was warming me up a little bit,” Velazquez said. “I got up there. I was a little nervous, but then I ended up executing pretty well. I’m proud that I ended up scoring it, and the team did really well in getting us to that point.”
Garness said he was confident the Rebels would win if the game reached penalty kicks. He was right.
“I knew going into it that if it was a PK situation that I would be in goal for that,” Garness said. “I saw the time winding down, and I was so pumped and excited that I knew no matter what … I was going to pull through for us.”
Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com.
