SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word men's soccer team plays a pair of Western Athletic Conference matches this weekend at home.  They take on UNLV on Friday night at 8 p.m. and Grand Canyon on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Benson Stadium.

The Cardinals (5-6, 4-0) are flying high in the WAC and currently sit in first place, but the Rebels (10-3-1, 4-1) are right behind them in the conference standings.  UNLV is currently 30^th in the latest NSCAA poll and they were picked to finish second in the annual WAC preseason poll.

The Cardinals have played some stifling defense in conference play with three shutouts in four matches.  Junior goalkeeper Kieran O'Boyle (Blackpool, England/St. Mary's Catholic) has stepped up his play in recent weeks and now has a 1.19 goals against average and has stopped 77.4 percent of shots on goal.  The team's leading scorer, Noah Keats (Exeter, England/The King's School), remains out of the lineup with an injury, but the rest of the team has picked up the slack.  Dylan Kelly (Tucson, AZ/Salpointe Catholic HS), Alex de la Garza (Mission/Sharyland HS) and Ben Conway (Wigan, England/The Becket School) all have scored three goals apiece.

The Rebels had been the hottest team in the conference until a surprise 2-1 home loss to Missouri-Kansas City ruined their perfect WAC record.  They have an all-around strong team that has compiled eight shutouts on the season.  Eight of the 15 goals they have allowed came in a pair of losses to #3 UC-Irvine and Gonzaga.  Salvador Bernal leads the offense with seven goals and two assists while Danny Musovski and Rodrigo Fuentes have combined on nine goals.  Julian Portugal leads the team with six assists.  Ryan Harding is the No. 1 goalkeeper with a 1.09 GAA.

The Lopes (3-8-2, 1-3-1) are a program similar to UIW's in that both are in their second year of transition to NCAA Division I from the Division II ranks.  Last weekend was their best of the season with a win over UMKC and a tie against Air Force.  Alberto Sanchez Garcia and Niki Jackson lead the team with three goals apiece.  Kendyl Day has seen the majority of time in goal and sports a 1.78 GAA.
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