UNLV roundup: 3 men’s soccer players honored by league

UNLV senior midfielder Timo Mehlich, senior defender Tyler Allen and junior forward Marco Gonzalez were named to the 11-member preseason all-league team by Western Athletic Conference men’s soccer coaches, and the Rebels were picked to finish fifth in the 12-team conference.

Mehlich, a two-time All-WAC honoree, had three goals and four assists in an injury-plagued 2018. Gonzalez had 10 goals and 23 points, ranking in the top five in the WAC in each category, last season en route to all-league honors. Allen has started 45 games over the past three seasons.

The Rebels, who matched Seattle with the most preseason all-league picks, return seven of 11 starters from last season’s team, which finished 10-10-1.

Seattle was picked to win the WAC with 112 points and five first-place votes, followed by Texas-Rio Grande Valley (104, two first-place votes), with Air Force (three first-place votes) and Grand Canyon (one first-place vote) tied for third with 88 points.

UNLV was next with 87 points, followed by San Jose State (77, one first-place vote), Utah Valley (75), California Baptist (49), Cal State Bakersfield (37), Houston Baptist and Missouri-Kansas City (27 each) and Incarnate Word (20).