PEORIA, Ill. - UNLV won the 2014 Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic on the shoulders of a historic effort by forward Salvador Bernal, who registered three goals and an assist in a 4-3 win against host Bradley (1-1-0) Sunday afternoon at Shea Stadium.

Bernal became the first-ever opponent to record a hat trick on Bradley's home field and just the third player in Bradley's 28-year history to hit the net three times in a game. His seven total points also are the second-most ever recorded by a Bradley opponent, behind only the eight points on four goals by Frank Velez Oct. 11, 1991 at Tulsa.

Bernals's heroics came after Bradley stormed to a 2-0 lead 19 minutes into the game and the Braves opened the door to the rally by surrendering two penalty kicks. Bernal's first goal came in the run of play, pulling the Rebels to within 2-1 by popping Kevin Partida's counter attack flank service off the right post and into the net at 34:20. He converted his first penalty kick attempt at 41:19 to forge a 2-2 halftime tie.

The Rebels earned a second penalty kick in the 49th minute. Bradley goalkeeper Shay Niemeyer, who got a hand on Bernal's first-half PK, saved Bernal's second-half attempt with a dive to his left, but the ball came back across the face of the goal and the speedy UNLV forward won the race for the tap-in goal at the left post and a 3-2 lead at 38:55.

The Braves had a quick answer, however, and used a long throw from freshman Jacob Taylor to get the equalizer. Taylor's throw came from the left sideline. Cody Lofgren flicked the ball toward the far post with a back header and Grant Bell finished off the sequence with his second goal of the opening weekend.

On a hot and steamy day in Central Illinois, the teams combined for an 8-player substitution (five for UNLV, three for Bradley) prior to a Rebels corner kick in the 79th minute and the resulting scramble opened the door for the game-winner. Bernal's service from the left corner found defender Kyle Mellies, who nodded home the winner at 78:26.

Bradley grabbed the early lead when forward Christian Okeke worked the right flank, before feeding Cody Lofgren in a dangerous area. Lofgren's blast deflected back to the top of the penalty area, where Andrew Brown collected the ball and curled in a shot over UNLV keeper Ryan Harding just 6:31 into the game.

Okeke, who assisted two of Bradley's three goals Thursday night, also played a role in Sunday's second goal, this time blasting a shot off Espinosa. The richochet fell to Jason Lesch, who buried the rebound for his second goal of the young season at 18:34.

The loss snapped Bradley's 6-game (5-0-1) unbeaten streak in The Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic and halted a brief, 4-game home winning streak for the Braves.

In Sunday's preliminary game, Western Illinois used a 9th-minute goal by Armel Kouassi and six saves by Yves Dietrich to earn a 1-0 win against San Jose State. The Leathernecks, who suffered a 2-1 overtime loss to UNLV Friday night, took second in the tournament based on goals allowed (1, compared to 6 by Bradley). Sophomore Ben Fiddes, a Peoria native, assisted both of Kouassi's weekend goals to join the Leathernecks forward on the all-tournament team.

Bradley will return to action Thursday, when they host Big East Conference member Xavier in a 7 p.m. clash for President's Night Out at Shea Stadium. Bradley University President Joanne Glasser has invited the entire freshman class to Thursday's game, providing t-shirts, transportation and dinner vouchers Thursday night.

The Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic Summary

Team Standings
1) UNLV (2-0-0)
2) Western Illinois (1-1-0, 0 goal differential, 1 goal allowed)
3) Bradley (1-1-0, 0 goal differential, 6 goals allowed)
4) San Jose State (0-2-0)

All-Tournament Team
UNLV: Salvador Bernal (MVP), Connor Coletti, Kyle Mellies, Irvin Somera
Western Illinois: Armel Kouassi, Ben Fiddes, Yves Dietrich
Bradley: Andrew Brown, Christian Okeke
San Jose State: Kyle O'Mahoney, Johnathan Colunga

Friday, Aug. 29
UNLV 2, Western Illinois 1 (OT)
Bradley 3, San Jose State 2 (2OT)

Sunday, Aug. 31
Western Illinois 1, San Jose State 0
UNLV 4, Bradley 3

Notes:

• UNLV snaps Bradley's 6-game Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic unbeaten streak (5-0-1).
• Salvador Bernal becomes the first-ever Bradley visiting opponent to record a hat trick and just the third opponent in Bradley's 28-year history to record a hat trick. Bernal's seven points also the 2nd-most ever by a Bradley opponent (Frank Velez, 4 goals for 8 points at Tulsa Oct. 11, 1991).
• UNLV joins Drake (2003, 2008) and Western Illinois (1996, 2013) as the only opponents to twice score at least four goals against Bradly in Jim DeRose's 19 years as head coach. UNLV downed the Braves 4-1 last season in Las Vegas.
• Bradley sophomore forward Christian Okeke assisted four of Bradley's six goals during the weekend, matching his 2013 season total.
• Bradley junior goalkeeper Shay Niemeyer faced three penalty kicks during the opening weekend.  He got a hand on all three, including a save on Bernal's second PK attempt Sunday.

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