Coach Otagaki talking to player

File Photo/Nevada Sagebrush

Nevada Soccer lost 2-1 to its rival from down south, UNLV, in a tightly contested match at Mackay Stadium. The Wolf Pack finish the season with an overall record of 4-13-2, going 1-10 in Mountain West Conference games. After a 3-0-1 start to the season, the Wolf Pack won only one of their final 15 games. Nevada finishes the season last in conference, but only with the second-to-last in overall win percentage to Utah State who finished with a record of 3-13-2.

Before the game, the Wolf Pack honored their six seniors — Analyse Talavera, Mackenzie Robinson, Angel Meriwether, Eleanor Small, Bryanna Wiehe and Lauren Woodyard. Woodyard missed the entire season due to an injury suffered before the season. Wiehe and Meriwether started in all 19 games for the Pack in their final season. Wiehe, along with freshman goalkeeper Kendal Stovall, played all 1,750 minutes this season for Nevada.  

Nevada started out the game in a hole as they surrendered an own goal in the third minute of the game. The Wolf Pack would even the match in the 34th minute when Talavera scored her final goal in a Wolf Pack uniform.

Nevada’s excitement would be short lived as UNLV scored what would be the game-winning goal just seconds after.

The second half was uneventful for the Pack offensively as they only put one shot on goal, which was saved by UNLV keeper Emberly Sevilla. On the other end of the field, the Rebels bombarded Stovall with nine shots — five on target — in the second half. Stovall saved all five shots on target. She finishes the season with 99 saves, seventh-most in a single season in school history.

The Wolf Pack quadrupled their win total from 2017 this season and hope their young core can continue to improve in head coach Erin Otagaki’s third year at the helm in 2019.

 

Darion Strugs can be reached at dstrugs@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @dstrugs.