RECORD-SETTING SCORER FROM NEVADA HIGHLIGHTS UNLV’S 2014 MEN’S SOCCER SIGNING CLASS
Rebels bring in a total of three high school players and one JC transfer
The top-scoring high school player in Nevada state history highlights the four-member signing class for the UNLV men’s soccer team for the fall of 2014, head coach Rich Ryerson announced on Friday.
All three high school players hail from the Las Vegas area, beginning with Danny Musovski, a 6-0 forward for Liberty High and a Henderson native. Named both the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year and the Las Vegas Review-Journal Soccer Athlete of the Year following his junior season, Musovski set both the Nevada high school (large-school) single-season (58) and career records (128) for goals. He received All-Southern Nevada, All-Sunrise Region and All-Southeast League honors as a senior while also being named the Southeast League Player of the Year. Musovski, who chose the Rebels over Northwestern and Washington, has been a member of both Heat FC and the Las Vegas Sports Academy, winning multiple state cup titles. Musovski will also be the recipient of the Peter Johann Memorial Scholarship at UNLV for the 2014-15 academic year.
Next is Edgar Duran, a 5-8 midfielder from Las Vegas. He played for El Dorado High and helped the Sundevils to the state championship this past season, while earning All-Southern Nevada, All-Sunrise Region and All-Southeast League honors. He was also selected to play in the 2013 Boys High School All-American game played in Downingtown, Pa., in December. Duran is also a member of the Vegas United Limon club team, while also making an appearance on the US Soccer youth National Team roster.
The final recruit is Oscar Velazquez of North Las Vegas, who graduated from SECTA in Henderson in 2013 before spending the past year with Chivas USA in Los Angeles in the Development Academy League, the highest youth league in the country. While at SECTA, he was named All-Southern Nevada and All-Sunrise League while leading the Roadrunners to a state championship his senior year. Velazquez earned his spot on Chivas USA after becoming a Sueño MLS finalist, which is a national competition to identify the best undiscovered amateur soccer players in the nation.
Portland, Ore., native Matthew Paine comes from national junior college power Yavapai College. He played forward for the Rough Riders for the past two years, including starting and serving as team captain last year. He helped the team to an 18-3-6 record in the fall of 2013 while leading them to a third-place finish at the national tournament, along with a district championship and a repeat regional title. Paine played his prep career at Centennial High in Gresham, Ore., and led the Eagles to a pair of conference championships. He was a three-team first team all-league selection, while setting a school record with 32 goals his senior year. He was also a three-year member of the baseball team as a pitcher, earning first-team all-league honors as a junior. A member of Man United, he helped the club team to the state cup title in 2012.
“This is the strongest class that has been recruited to the UNLV men’s soccer program in recent memory,” said Ryerson. “We have the best attacking player ever from the state of Nevada, we have a national team member, a Sueño finalist, and all from local high schools. In addition we have a junior college transfer from a traditional soccer power, while only losing a total of three players off last year’s squad. I feel very confident these players will carry the torch from the players that have left.”
