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Spartans Come Up Unlucky In Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nev. – A pair of late goals allowed the house to win on Sunday morning as homestanding UNLV edged San José State for a 2-1 victory in Vegas. 

Junior Rodolfo Castro was able to tally his team-high sixth goal of the season but it was the Rebels who emerged on top despite trailing for the first 70 minutes of the match. 

The Spartans were able to attack the UNLV defense and control possession for the majority of the contest, eventually finishing the day with double the shots on goal and a 14-8 total shot advantage. Castro would lead all players with five shots while midfielder Nicolas Brenes followed closely behind with three. 

Castro's goal came in the match's eighth minute, staking his team to a lead with a powerful shot from the left side of the box. The striker was able to gather a pass and fire it towards the goal with just one touch, the ball deflecting off both a Rebel defender and keeper before finding the back of the net. 
 



SJSU would hold that advantage for the next 60-plus minutes before the hosts equalized on a 72nd minute goal off the foot of Timo Mehlich. 

UNLV would grab the lead soon thereafter on another Mehlich strike and San José State was unable to pull any closer despite earning a pair of corner kicks and taking four shots in the match's final 17 minutes. The visitors from Silicon Valley ended the day with a 6-4 edge in corner kick opportunities.
 



Sunday's match marked the second of three consecutive away contests as the Spartans continue to face a challenging schedule. The club entered the day tied for fourth on the WAC table after earning an impressive draw just a little over 24 hours earlier at Grand Canyon. 

They will now set their sights on that final match of the road trip, heading to Riverside to face California Baptist as conference play rolls on. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.