Falcons travel to MWC Championships
11/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 5, 2002
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This Week: Air Force (7-11-0, 2-4 MWC) competes in the Mountain West Conference Championships, Wed.-Sat., Nov. 6-9, at the South Field in Provo, Utah. The Falcons are the sixth seed in the seven-team, single-elimination tournament. Sixth-seeded Air Force faces third-seeded New Mexico (10-7-1 overall, 3-2-1 MWC), Wed., Nov. 6, 4:30 p.m.
What's Next: The winner of the Air Force-New Mexico game plays the winner of the No. 2 Utah-No. 7 Wyoming game on Thur., Nov. 7, at 4:30 p.m. The loser is eliminated and the season is over.
More on the Tournament: BYU (14-5-0 overall) won the league with perfect 6-0 record and earned the first round bye. Second-seeded Utah (4-1-1 MWC) plays No. 7 Wyoming (0-6-0) on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. Fourth-seeded San Diego State (3-3-0) plays fifth-seeded UNLV (2-4-0) on Wednesday at 2 p.m. The winner of the UNLV-SDSU game plays BYU in the semifinals, Thursday, at 7 p.m. The championship game is Saturday, Nov. 9, at 12 p.m. at the South Field in Provo, Utah. The winner of the MWC Championships gets an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.
The Match-ups: Air Force played New Mexico two weeks ago and the Falcons defeated the Lobos, 1-0, in Albuquerque. The win was Air Force's first in conference play after four defeats. Sophomore Elaine Tatarek scored the game-winner in the 76th minute. Goalkeeper J.J. Wolf played the entire game and recorded the shutout. She made eight saves in the game. If Air Force advances, it will face either Wyoming or Utah. The Falcons beat Wyoming, 3-0, in the regular-season finale, Nov. 3, at the Cadet Soccer Stadium. Wolf posted her second consecutive and three different Falcons scored goals. Utah beat the Falcons, 3-1, on Oct. 12, at the Academy.
Series Records: Air Force and New Mexico have played nine times and the Falcons hold a 6-3 record in the series that began in 1993. Air Force has won the last two and three of the last four. AFA beat New Mexico, 1-0, earlier this season in Albuquerque. AFA and BYU have played six times and the Cougars have won all six meetings. BYU beat Air Force, 5-1, at the Academy this season. The Falcons and Rebels have played eight times and each team has won four games. UNLV beat the Falcons, 1-0 in double overtime, this season in Las Vegas. Air Force and San Diego State have played six times and the Aztecs have won five. SDSU beat Air Force, 1-0 in overtime, this season in San Diego. Air Force and Wyoming have played seven times and the Falcons hold a 6-1 lead in the series. Air Force defeated Wyoming, 3-0, last week at the Academy. Air Force and Utah have played four times and the Utes have won all four meetings. Earlier this season, Utah beat Air Force, 3-1, at the Academy.
Last Year at the Tournament: Fifth seeded Air Force defeated second-seeded New Mexico in the first round, 2-1. Jennifer Rowland and Marci Freund each scored in the second half. Jennifer Monson made two saves for the Falcons. Third-seeded UNLV beat Air Force, 2-1 in overtime, in the semifinals. UNLV's Cristyn Enca and AFA's Beth Boyer each scored in the second half. UNLV's Anita Pedford scored the game-winner in the 100th minute. Monson made three saves for the Falcons.
Never Out in One: In the three-year history of the MWC, the Falcons have never lost in the first round. The 1999 team was seeded fourth and beat fifth-seeded UNLV, 5-2, in the first round. The team was beaten by top-seeded San Diego State in the semifinals. In 2000, the fifth-seeded Falcons beat the fourth-seeded UNLV Rebels, 4-1. AFA lost to top-seeded BYU, 8-1, in the semifinals.
Last Week: Junior J.J. Wolf posted her second consecutive shutout as Air Force blanked Wyoming, 3-0, in the final regular-season Mountain West Conference game of the season, Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Cadet Soccer Stadium. Senior Wendy Emminger opened up the scoring for Air Force when she drifted a shot by the Cowgirls' goalie in the third minute. The Falcons out-shot Wyoming, 7-3, in the first period in an otherwise evenly matched first half. The Cowgirls came out strong in the second half but gave up another goal to Air Force when sophomore Jennifer Rowland scored in the 49th minute with an assist from senior Mary Cholko. Wyoming out-shot the Falcons, 10-8, in the second half, but was unable to score on any of its opportunities. Freshman Raegan McDowell scored in the 67th minute to round out the scoring. Wolf tallied her third shutout of the season with fives saves for the game. Lori Scheider also had five saves in goal for Wyoming.
Overtime: Air Force is 0-2 in overtime this season. In back-to-back games, Air Force lost to UNLV, 1-0 in double overtime, and to San Diego State, 1-0 in overtime. UNLV scored with eight seconds left in the second overtime to beat Air Force. SDSU scored 13 seconds into the first overtime.
Head Coach Marty Buckley: Marty Buckley (Cal State Chico, 1978) is in his 11th year as the Air Force women's soccer head coach. He is the only coach in the history of the program and has a career and Air Force record of 90-114-9. Buckley was the assistant men's soccer coach at the Academy under Luis Sagastume for six seasons before taking over the women's program.
Program History: Air Force competed as a Division II team from 1992 to 1995 and posted a 37-36-4 record. The Falcons were 14-3-2 in 1995, the last season at Division II, and finished 11th in the nation. All of Air Force's women's teams made the jump to Division I in the 1996-97 school year. Air Force was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1996-98. The Falcons were 8-10-1 in their first season at Division I and qualified for the WAC Tournament. AFA's best season at Division I came in 1999 when the Falcons were 11-10.
