Rebels soccer squad denied NCAA bid

Nerves ran high Monday evening as the UNLV soccer team gathered in its campus office to watch the NCAA selection announcement on national television.

Rebels coach Kat Mertz hoped her team would be chosen to compete in its fourth consecutive postseason tournament with an at-large berth based on an 11-5-5 record that led to a regular-season Mountain West Conference championship.

But 64 teams were named to the tournament, and the Rebels were not among them.

"I'm disappointed for the kids," said Mertz, whose squad was the first in the league since 1999 to be shunned despite winning a regular-season title. "We really thought our (regular-season) wins over BYU and Utah would put us over the top."

They didn't. In fact, Brigham Young was the only MWC team to get in.

The Rebels failed to win the conference tournament for the first time in three years, falling to 25th-ranked BYU 2-1 in the final at Provo, Utah on Saturday.

The room fell silent Monday as it became apparent that the season was over.

"I don't know how it works," said forward Katie Carney, who along with five other seniors unexpectedly learned her career was done. "But it seems like we have a strong enough conference that more than one team should be there."

A week ago, it appeared UNLV's postseason chances were strong.

The Rebels were rolling as they headed into the league tournament. With only one loss in their final 10 regular-season games and a victory over BYU in the league finale on Nov. 2, they entered the tournament as the top seed.

A victory over Utah on Thursday lifted UNLV into the final, an accomplishment that many players thought would get their team into the postseason.

But tradition held as Eastern teams dominated the bracket.

"I feel like some of the teams in the West don't get the same respect as the teams back East," Mertz said. "But we knew going into tonight that we were right on the bubble."