Rebels’ NCAA soccer run ends at Denver

DENVER — UNLV’s men’s soccer team was ousted from the NCAA tournament with a 3-0 loss to fourth-ranked University of Denver in the second round Sunday night.

The Rebels’ momentum from a five-game winning streak dwindled in the first half as the Pioneers controlled possession and outshot UNLV 9-2. Denver, the No. 6 national seed, clearly was the aggressor, getting its first scoring chance off a missed penalty kick only six minutes in.

“They had chances. They had the penalty kick chance, there were different opportunities that they created,” Rebels coach Rich Ryerson said of Denver. “We weathered the storm, but you can only do that for so long. We have to create some offense, put them under pressure, and we were never able to do that.”

Denver broke through in the 55th minute when defender Scott Devoss scored off an assist from senior midfielder Karsten Hanlin. Midfielder Alex Underwood made it 2-0 in the 69th minute, scoring from 25 yards on Sam Hamilton’s assist, and the Pioneers sealed their Sweet 16 appearance in the 80th minute on Kortne Ford’s header.

Rebels junior forward Danny Musovski was kept at bay with two shots on goal.

“Hats off to Denver. They’re a very good team,” Ryerson said. “They limited our opportunities on goal and they did a great job against Danny. They closed down the midfield.”

UNLV freshman goalkeeper Enrique Adame made eight saves, six in the second half.

“There a good offense, no doubt about that,” Adame said of Denver. “I think there’s a couple of things I can pick up on in the offseason. That’s the time to really improve and get better.”

The Rebels will return next season with a roster virtually intact.

“We try and build from this year,” Ryerson said. “We had some injuries, we had some youthful mistakes early on, but the guys gelled together and have done a great job this last month. The spring is a great opportunity to teach and train. We only lose one player. We’ve got to continue what we’re doing. The message is the right message for the ride. ”

Musovski said the Rebels’ late-season surge, which included a WAC championship, was proof of the program’s strides.

“It was a good year,” he said. “A lot of people doubted us, especially starting off 2-7 then going to the WAC tournament and winning it. I think we upset a lot of people and proved them wrong.

“Obviously we aspired to do more in the tournament than to get out of the round of 32, but when you look back at the end of the year, I think we’ll see it as a success.”