OREM — The UNLV Rebels women’s soccer team came into Friday nights match at UVU with a perfect record. But they left Clyde Field with a perfect record no more. Kalli Suesue scored her first goal of the season and the Wolverines defense held of a late rally by the Rebels to earn the 2-1 victory.
“We knew it would be a tight match,” UVU head coach Brent Anderson said. “The team played really well in the first half. Obviously that’s where we did the damage and scored the goals. In the second half, UNLV pushed and gave us a lot more pressure. Our girls did a good job of handling it. I thought we could have played a little better in the second half but what’s most important is that we came away with the win and stayed undefeated at Clyde Field this year.”
The win extended a 12-match home winning streak for the Wolverines. The UVU women haven’t lost a home match since a 2-0 loss to Seattle University on November 1, 2014. The Wolverines also improved to 4-1-0 on the season.
Suesue put UVU on the board first. She took a cross from Sara Callister and put it in the back of the net to give UVU the 1-0 lead in the fourth minute. Suesue is known more for her defense as she was picked as the preseason Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. But on Friday night she showed more aggression and made the most of it.
Abby Jameson scored her second goal of the season. It was another rocket from about 20 yards out and gave UVU a 2-0 lead in the 22nd minute. It bounced off the left post and found its way into the back of the net.
In the second half, the Rebels put the pressure on the Wolverines. They outshot UVU 10-2 but reigning WAC Defensive Player of the Week Brooklyn Nielsen made save after save. It wasn’t until the 77th minute that UNLV finally broke through.
Lily Sender put one in the back of the net from just inside the 18 to get UNLV within one.
That’s as close as they got. The UVU defense stood tall and earned their fourth win of the season.
UVU has the weekend off. They will take on Wyoming in Laramie on Sept. 9 and then travel to Colorado Springs to take on Colorado College on Sept. 11.
