UNLV men’s soccer team set to visit Denver University in NCAA playoff

By SAM GORDON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

8 years ago

The bracket that led to the UNLV men’s soccer team making the NCAA tournament is seen during a party to watch the tournament selection show on television inside the Mendenhall Center on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas on Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. (Daniel Clark/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @DanJClarkPhoto)

The UNLV men’s soccer team made history on Thursday night.

The Rebels (10-11-2) will have to make more history if they wan their season to continue.

UNLV, fresh of its first NCAA Tournament win since 1987, will visit No. 6 seed Denver University at 4 p.m. Sunday for a berth in the Sweet 16.

The Rebels, who are the only team in the tournament field with a losing record, upset No. 19 San Diego State via penalty kicks in San Diego on Thursday night.

“There was a lot of emotions going through us,” UNLV junior midfielder Oscar Velazquez said. “We were fighting a ton, we were arguing at times. We were sad. It was pretty crazy knowing that we ended up getting the win at the end of the day.”

The win sets the stage for a showdown with Denver, which sports an unblemished 17-0-3 record this season. The Pioneers’ regular-season success bought them a first-round bye and some key days off as the Rebels’ exhausted themselves with a couple overtimes on Thursday.

But Rebels coach Rich Ryerson is satisfied with the state of his team and is looking to build off its first-round victory.

“We’re all healthy,” Rebels coach Rich Ryerson said. “We’ve got great depth and we’re still able to play different players in different roles.”

Ryerson also said his team is confident right now, especially after its success late in the regular season. The Rebels struggled, at times, during the year but are in the midst of a five-game winning streak that including a Mountain West conference tournament championship.

“We’re a hot team right now. We’ve won five straight games,” Ryerson said. “I think that momentum is huge. That confidence coming into the tournament is huge.”