By Anthony Lucido — Editor
San Jose State women’s soccer (7-9-1, 4-4-1 MW) lost 1-0 in its third to the last game of the season against UNLV (11-7-0, 4-5-0 MW).
The kickoff began with the Rebels taking first possession of the ball and pushing an advantage over the Spartans by keeping the ball by their goal post.
SJSU held its own and pierced through the UNLV defense .
The game remained fairly even for the early first half with both teams putting up strong offenses.
The Spartans moved with speed and urgency on the field by having quick and long passes, whilst UNLV had a more aggressive playstyle with shorter connecting passes.
The temperature began heating up 25 minutes into the first half after a yellow card was called on SJSU’s sophomore midfielder Cynthia Flores for dropping a Rebel after pulling their arm.
Turning heads were the Spartan freshman midfielder Taylor Phillips and UNLV’s junior midfielder Lourdes Bosch after they took control of the ball.
Bosch spoke more trouble for SJSU as she moved past them like a speeding bulldozer.
In the 38th minute of the first half, another yellow card was called on the Spartan sophomore midfielder Jordan Rowell, resulting in a free penalty goal kick for Bosch.
As said by the announcers, “You don’t want to give a player like Bosch the ball because they will not miss.”
Bosch catapulted the ball into the left corner of the net, scoring the first goal of the game in the 39th minute.
The urgency picked up like a gust of wind for SJSU each shot attempt as they try to score one goal before the end of the first half.
The Spartans made five shots on goal and shot five shots too wide, ending the first half trailing 1-0.
Similar to the first half, the second half started with SJSU trying to find its scoring opportunities and the Rebels trying to keep theirs.
UNLV nearly extended its lead in the 70th minute with a shot by senior defender Samantha Bailey.
Bailey sniped the ball through a tower of players only to be caught by the Spartan freshman goalkeeper Autum Monty.
Not too far after, another close call was made in the 78th minute by Rebel redshirt sophomore midfielder Izzy Perez after she volleyed the ball into the air only to miss the goal post by a hair.
In the last few minutes remaining SJSU desperately tried to find its equalizer for the game, but the Rebels held off its advance.
UNLV walked off with smiles on their faces, while SJSU walked away with another conference loss. UNLV continues its winning streak against the Spartans which stems from last season.
SJSU’s women’s soccer will next face off against the University of Nevada at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday in Reno, NV.
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