Victory takes an eternity

Steve Carp

Monday, Sept. 9, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

It took longer than expected, but UNLV got the result it wanted as it kicked off its 1996 soccer season.

Thanks to a beautiful goal by sophomore midfielder Andy Roell, the Rebels managed to shake off a huge mistake by goalkeeper Dan Abdalla and go on to defeat Old Dominion 3-1 in overtime Sunday in the Snickers/Fila Rebel Classic.

Roell, who rejoined the Rebels after taking a year off for personal reasons, collected a flat pass from midfielder Brian Wilson in the ODU zone, and as he beat his defender, Roell lost his balance. But he had enough on his shot to strike a hard, low blast that eluded Monarchs goalie Ryan Duncan and found the net just inside the right post.

It was a magical effort that made up for a half-dozen easy opportunities UNLV had squandered. This match had no business going overtime and because the Rebels failed to finish, they could pay the price tonight at 7 against No. 13 Santa Clara in the tourney finale at Peter Johann Field.

UNLV had to expend a lot of additional energy over the extra 30 minutes and it will have to deal with the Broncos' high pressure this evening. Santa Clara defeated Old Dominion Friday, 3-0, in the first round of the round-robin tournament.

"No question it will cost us," said Wilson, who scored the game's first goal in the 64th minute.

Wilson took Geoff Barto's long diagonal through ball, got some help from teammate Mike Griego, who let the ball go through while attracting the ball-watching ODU defense to him, ran onto the free ball and put it past Duncan. "But we knew it was real important we get this one first. We're a young team and to win the first one will help our confidence."

The Rebels dominated for the majority of the match as evidenced by their outshooting the Monarchs 30-9 and having a decided 10-3 edge in corner kicks. But the inability to put away golden opportunities would come back to haunt them.

With 19 minutes to go and its chances diminishing in the afternoon heat, ODU got its big break when Abdalla nonchalantly played a loose ball in the goal box and kicked it right at forward Carlos Vasco, who was applying pressure. The ball caromed off Vasco's body, past Abdalla and into an empty UNLV net.

"We lost the last two seasons because we'd give up a bad goal and we'd fall apart," Roell said. "But this year, it's different. We're more determined to not give up and we fought back."

Coach Barry Barto said Abdalla made a mental mistake.

"Danny didn't read it well," he said. "He knows he messed up."

But that, along with the lack of finish, were the only things in which Barto could find fault. And while things need to tighten up defensively with his back three, the Rebels were hustling back, tracking their man and helping each other.

"I saw a lot of good things," he said. "We played a lot of people because we want to see who can give us what. I liked the way our offense clicked and the finish will come with more match time and timing.

"But team defense is still the key. We had some confusion in the back and guys are still learning where they need to be and when they can move up."

At least UNLV was getting chances to score. And with Wilson, Roell and Philip Detmer finding the net, it's clearly apparent Griego will not have to do it all by himself.

"We needed to take the pressure off of Mike and it looks like we'll be able to do that," Barto said.