FIVE FROM UNLV MEN’S SOCCER EARNS ALL-WAC RECOGNITION
Letherman, Jones lead the way with second-team honors
A total of five UNLV Rebels received season honors Monday afternoon, as the Western Athletic Conference announced its postseason awards prior to the start of the conference tournament on Tuesday. Billy Jones and Bailey Letherman both received second-team all-conference honors, while Miguel Duenas Jr. and Gabriel Claudio were Honorable Mention All-WAC. Louis Hiepen meanwhile was selected to the WAC All-Freshman squad.
This is the second straight year that Jones has earned WAC honors, as he was an honorable mention a year ago. The senior defender from Auckland, New Zealand is in his second year as a starter on the backline after playing his first two years at New Mexico, and helped the Rebels finish third in the WAC with a team GAA of 0.943, one year after the team had a 1.90 team GAA. Jones recorded a career-high three assists this season as well. Letherman meanwhile is another former Lobo player as he transferred in for the 2018 season. A native of Sammamish, Washington, the junior midfielder paced the Rebels in points (nine), goals (three) and game-winning goals this season while tying for the team lead in assists with three. He is the only player in team history to score golden goals in back-to-back games, thanks to his game-winners against Utah Valley and California Baptist.
Duenas Jr., a sophomore goalkeeper from North Las Vegas, has posted one of the top goalkeeper seasons in team history. He currently ranks fifth in the nation in save percentage (.886), eighth in goals against average (0.465) and is tied 10th in shutouts (five). He only allowed four goals all season in his eight appearances, and only two when the Rebels were at full strength. Claudio picked up honorable mention honors thanks to a strong debut season on the backline, as the junior college transfer and native of Yuma, Arizona appeared in all eight games with 10 starts, and also added a game-winner against Houston Baptist. The final honoree for the Rebels was Louis Hiepen, another member of the strong UNLV defensive group this season. A native of Mönchengladbach, Germany, Hiepen played and started in nine games while adding a score as well to earn all-freshman honors.
UNLV opens play in the 2020-21 WAC Tournament Tuesday at 11 am against Seattle at 11 am at Peter Johann Memorial Field on the UNLV campus. A limited number of tickets for the general public are still available at UNLVtickets.com.