Rebels face New Mexico in last match 
November 5, 2009 by Sean Jaramillo
One match stands between the Rebels and the MPSF tourney
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Only one match remains in the regular season for the UNLV men’s soccer team and the game will determine their fate for the postseason.
They face off with the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M. on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Rebels are seventh in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with a 1-3-2 conference record (7-5-4 overall).
A win, with some help from other teams in conference, could put the Rebels as high as the fifth seed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament next week, but a loss will lock them into seventh and end their season.
New Mexico is 10-6 this season with a 4-2 MPSF conference record. That record puts the Lobos in second place in the MPSF and a win would give them a first round bye in the tournament.
With everything on the line for the Rebels this Saturday, UNLV will need their best performance of the year to take down one of the conference’s big dogs.
One player the Rebels will look to is defender Jamie Calvo, who won the MPSF co-player of the week award for helping stifle two high-powered offenses. Last week, UNLV allowed one goal in 200 minutes against San Jose State on the road and conference champion Sacramento State.
Defense will be a key, as UNM has scored 23 goals in their 16 games, but they have been shut out in their two conference losses.
Another player UNLV will rely on for defensive strength is goalkeeper Roland Swanson, who has six shutouts on the year.
On offense, UNLV will look to their young players to step up. Underclassmen have accounted for 22 of the 27 Rebel goals this year.
Leading the offense are Nick Marshall and Stephen Sifuentes. The two each have seven goals on the year.
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