After their last two games ended with a tie, the UNLV men’s soccer team was determined to get a win under their belt. The Rebels earned that first win Friday night on their home field, defeating the Houston Baptist Huskies 1-0.
The first half of the game was spent scrimmaging up and down the field as both teams played the passing game in hopes of winning a goal, but coming up short each time.
After a confidence boost at halftime, UNLV came back ready to win against the Huskies. The two teams continued to put up a tough fight, but the Rebels were quick on their feet to finally score.
In the second half, Bailey Letherman kicked a penalty shot for the Rebels, lining it up perfectly for Gabriel Claudio to headbutt the ball into the net. With twenty minutes left in the game, the Rebels led 1-0.
“I felt a little out of it in the first half, and then some team talk from the team kept me going and kept me up. We looked good in the second half as a unit,” Claudio said. “I felt great [after my goal]. That’s why you play, for moments like that to celebrate in the corner with your team. There’s no better feeling than that.”
The Rebels managed to keep Houston Baptist from scoring for the remainder of the game, giving them a satisfying home victory. The first of the season.
Head Coach Rich Ryerson said he hopes to see the team score some more goals during the flow of the game instead of scoring during restarts. It’s one of the small improvements the team plans on making before their next game.
“Our confidence is building as a group. I think that the guys are working extremely hard in training,” Coach Ryerson said. “They knew that we needed to get three points with a win and by doing that we continue to stay in the hunt for that post-season play.”
The men’s soccer team now hit the road again, as they travel to Texas to compete against UTRGV on Sat. March 13th. The game will start at 10 am CST.
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