UNLV SELECTED THIRD IN PRESEASON WAC MEN’S SOCCER POLL
Rebels are playing in the Western Athletic Conference for the first time since 1998
UNLV was selected to finish in third place in the 2013 Western Athletic Conference men’s soccer preseason poll, which was released on Tuesday by the league office. Junior midfielder Julian Portugal was also selected to the preseason all-conference team.
UNLV is one of six teams that have made the move from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to the WAC this year, and four of those teams take up the top four spots in the poll. CSU Bakersfield was predicted to win the league title with 47 points and five first place votes, while Air Force received first place votes, and 43 total points to place second. UNLV was third with 30, just ahead of San Jose State with 29. UMKC was fifth with 26, Seattle sixth with 19, Grand Canyon seventh with 18, and Houston Baptist was eighth with 12.
The Rebels, under fourth-year head coach Rich Ryerson, bring back seven players from last year’s squad that finished in sixth place in the MPSF and reached the conference tournament. In addition to Portugal, who was third on the team last year with 11 points, the Rebels also feature junior forward Salvador Bernal, an all-region selection last year and the top returning scorer of any player in the league after posting eight goals and 21 points in 2012.
UNLV opens its season with a pair of road games, starting on Friday, Aug. 30 at Delaware at 4 pm (PT), followed by a Sunday, Sept. 1 contest at UMBC at 10 am (PT).
2013 WAC Preseason Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Poll
Place Team (1st place votes) Votes
1. Bakersfield (5) 47
2. Air Force (2) 43
3. UNLV 30
4. San Jose State 29
5. Kansas City 26
6. Seattle U 19
7. Grand Canyon (1) 18
8. Houston Baptist 12