UNLV WOMEN’S SOCCER RUNS PAST AIR FORCE 3-1
Rebels get goals from three different players in the home victory
UNLV received goals from three different players and dominated the flow of the game for almost the entire afternoon in a 3-1 victory over Air Force on Friday afternoon in Mountain West women’s soccer action from Peter Johann Field. UNLV evened its record at 8-8-2 with the victory, and stand at 3-5 in league play, while the Falcons dropped to 2-11-2, 1-5-1 in the MW.
The Rebels went up 1-0 on an early score, as Jenn Wolfe lofted a pass into the box, and Dakota Blazak was in position to redirect the ball into the goal from five yards out. That was the freshman’s second score of the year, coming in the 12th minute. UNLV added a second goal 10 minutes later, and this time Blazak started the play with a pass into the box from the right side. Susie Bernal drove into the box, chested the ball down in front of her before sending a hard shot to the right side of the goal. That put UNLV up 2-0 in the 22nd minute, and that would be the halftime lead as well.
UNLV finished the opening half with a 6-3 edge on shots, and almost doubled the Falcons again in the second half, 9-5. The score remained the same however for the majority of the second stanza, until the final 10 minutes when Addy Guida notched her second goal of the year. This one came following a corner kick from Bernal that found a driving Guida 18 yards out from the goal. Guida slotted a hard shot to the right side, for a 3-0 Rebel lead.
“We came out on fire and had a few near misses before Dakota’s spectacular goal,” said UNLV head coach Michael Coll. “The whole team played with great confidence from the first minute to the last and it was well deserved to get three goals at home in front of our fans. Our third goal from the corner kick was impressive and gave us a nice cushion against an Air Force team who battled our players very hard for the whole match.”
The Rebels were just minutes away from a shutout, but the Falcons would get on the scoreboard in the 87th minute, which accounted for the final 3-1 margin. The score came after Katie Case hit the crossbar with a shot, that rebounded back to Megan Dozier who then placed it back in the net for the score.
The final shot total was 15-8 for UNLV, and 8-3 on shots on goal. Corner kicks were also in the Rebels’ favor at 5-2. Kylie Wassell finished with two saves in net for UNLV, while Erin Rost was credited with five.
“Tonight’s performance was vital to get us back on track for a conference finals place and I’m happy for the team to get another win at home. We fell asleep on their goal near the end and we have to learn how to close games out but even so it’s clear that some of the younger players are improving each week. This performance will give us confidence heading into a tough match with Wyoming.”
The Rebels now have a quick turnaround for their next game, a road contest at Wyoming in Laramie on Sunday afternoon at 12 pm (PT).