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LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – In front of the largest crowd of the season, the UNLV men‘s soccer team used a brace from senior Nico Lopez to earn a 2-0 win over UTRGV in Thursday night’s WAC matchup at Peter Johann Memorial Field.
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The Rebels’ (4-6-3, 1-1-3) first conference victory of the season extended their unbeaten streak to four matches against the Vaqueros (3-6-2, 1-2-1) for a pivotal three points in the push for a spot in the WAC Tournament.
Lopez took center stage with over 1,100 fans in attendance, scoring goals in the 26th minute and 55th minute. After an unassisted first score, Lopez provided insurance with a header off a nice relay that started with freshman Claudio Lopez Alos and had senior counterpart Gabe Sanchez’s cross into the box.
It was nearly a hat trick for Lopez, who had his team-best fifth goal of the season, as his shot from 20 yards in the 76th minute just hit the left woodwork in aid of UTRGV’s backline.
Sophomore goalkeeper Hugo Lemos helped the Scarlet & Gray backline grab its second straight clean sheet and fifth this fall. Lemos, who tallied his fourth shutout on the season, made four saves and senior defender Theo Minard gave the Rebels another save in the final minute as the squad turned away ten total UTRGV shots in the contest.
STAT OF THE GAME: On the attack, the Rebels made their chances count by scoring on their only two shots on goal through the full 90 minutes in spite of finishing with three fewer shots on target than UTRGV.
QUOTABLE: “We needed a solid performance and I thought our guys were very professional with their attitude. It was a game where you had to get an early goal, which they did and then they kept going. I think that’s something that we’ve needed to do and by the end we almost snuck in another goal. Give credit to UTRGV, who had some dangerous pieces. I felt like we controlled the game well tonight and have had a lot of growth over the last two games, but now we’ve got to move on and get ready for Sunday. I think we’re starting to peak when we need to peak, when we have to get in position to play our best soccer.”
-UNLV Head Coach BJ Craig
UP NEXT: UNLV will close out its home slate with a Senior Night matchup with Grand Canyon at 6 p.m. on Sunday. Eight Rebel seniors will be recognized prior to the contest.
-UNLV-
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