Hot Rebels eye upset, reaching soccer Sweet 16

The UNLV men’s soccer team made history on Thursday.

The Rebels (10-11-2) will have to make more history Sunday if they want their suddenly hot season to continue.

UNLV, fresh of its first NCAA Tournament victory since 1987, will visit No. 6 seed Denver University at 4 p.m. Sunday for a berth in the postseason’s Sweet 16.

The Rebels, who are the only team in the tournament field with a losing record, upset No. 19 San Diego State on penalty kicks in San Diego on Thursday night.

“There were a lot of emotions going through us,” UNLV junior midfielder Oscar Velazquez said. “We were fighting a ton, we were arguing at times. We were sad. It was pretty crazy knowing that we ended up getting the win at the end of the day.”

The win sets the stage for a showdown with Denver, which sports a gaudy 17-0-3 record. The Pioneers’ regular-season success bought them a first-round bye and some key days off as the Rebels’ exhausted themselves with two overtimes on Thursday.

But Rebels coach Rich Ryerson is satisfied with the state of his team and is looking to build off its firstround victory.

“We’re all healthy,” Ryerson said. “We’ve got great depth and we’re still able to play different players in different roles.”

Ryerson also said his team is playing with confidence, especially after its success late in the regular season. The Rebels struggled at times during the year but are in the midst of a five-game winning streak that includes a Mountain West tournament championship.

“We’re a hot team right now. We’ve won five straight games,” Ryerson said. “I think that momentum is huge. That confidence coming into the tournament is huge.”