UNLV women’s soccer team back on winning track

Chris Shaw saw it immediately.

The intensity, work ethic and positive attitude the UNLV women’s soccer team brought into the preseason were all higher than the head coach had ever seen.

Unsurprisingly, all of that has translated into results.

With a 1-0 victory over Utah State on Sunday, the Rebels are 14-3-2 and closing in on a Mountain West title, a season-long goal.

“I think it was from day one this year that they just came in with the right mentality,” Shaw said. “What we saw was when we did have some adversity in games and they were able to rebound from the adversity, then that continued to reinforce their self-belief.”

Shaw, who took over the Rebels in May 2014, said he thought some of the things the coaching staff had been preaching for years are now ingrained in his players.

That encompasses a lot of things.

He said the staff talks a lot about “doing the right things off the field,” including getting enough sleep, eating right, fueling after training and recovery after games.

Some of it is attitude, and Shaw has seen some improvement there as well.

In years past, if the Rebels fell behind, he said the team would get a bit deflated and self-doubt would creep in to the players’ minds . This year, the team has been better at fighting back after giving up early goals or having a bad half.

“This group has changed that mentality. They do have a lot of fight and a lot of grit and a lot of determination,” Shaw said. “Regardless of whether things are going well or not, they’ve been able to battle back from adversity … we’re hoping that’s been a culture shift now, and that’ll be a hallmark of this team down the road.”

A prime example is senior Jordan Magnin’s Oct. 9 goal against New Mexico earlier this month which came with three seconds left to cap a dramatic comeback victory. Magnin is one of 11 seniors, and that experience has aided the Rebels in their success this year .

Lily Sender, also a senior, leads the Rebels — who already have shattered single-season goals and assists records — with a conference-best 11 goals and seven assists. Sender played in just one game two years ago and scored just one goal last year. This offseason, she said she worked harder than in previous years to prepare for her final collegiate season.

“I did a lot over the summer to prepare myself for this year,” Sender said. “It’s my last year, so I wanted to make the most of my opportunities. I never really got much of a chance to play in my previous years, so I knew coming in that this would be my year. This is my time to prove (myself).”

Sender credited the team’s success partly to that extra emphasis from the large senior class.

Sender said it’s not uncommon to find players on the field before the team’s congregates for its early-morning practices, and she credits the motivation of the large senior class.

“We put in a lot of extra effort practicing and we put in extra effort during games, and I think that’s what’s helping us do better,” Sender said. “Because if you watch us on the field, we just play with so much more heart, I think, than previous years because it’s our last year for almost half of us on the team.”

SOFTBALL

UNLV’s softball schedule was released Thursday, and it has the Rebels playing three teams that appeared in last year’s NCAA Tournament — Oregon State, Fresno State and Oregon.

The Rebels will begin play in February with five tournaments, including three in Las Vegas. In Mountain West play, UNLV will play host to New Mexico, Boise State, Fresno State and San Jose State while traveling to Utah State, UNR, Colorado State and San Diego State.

MEN’S TENNIS

Senior Jakob Amilon will head to New York after winning the singles title without dropping a set at the 2016 ITA Mountain Region Men’s Tennis Championships on Sunday.

Seeded third and ranked 124th nationally, Amilon defeated ninth-seeded Kai Wehnelt of Utah State, 6-4, 6-3 to take home the regional singles title and advance to the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, Nov. 3-6 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center’s indoor facilities.

Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.