Falcons Open MPSF Play By Hosting UNLV and New Mexico
9/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 27, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Schedule: Friday, Sept. 29 vs. UNLV, 7 p.m. (Cadet Soccer Stadium)
Sunday, Oct. 1 vs. New Mexico, 1 p.m. (Cadet Soccer Stadium)
Live Stats: www.goairforcefalcons.com (Gametracker)
Recent Results: Air Force (1-6-1) defeated Creighton, 1-0 in double overtime
UNLV (0-6-2) lost to Cal-State Fullerton, 3-2
New Mexico (5-2-2) def. American, 1-0; def. College of Charleston, 3-2
Coaches: Air Force is coached by Lou Sagastume (San Francisco, 1968), who is in his 28th season with the Falcons. Sagastume has a record of 278-182-43 at the Academy and a career mark of 299-189-43 in 29 seasons.
UNLV is coached by Mario Sanchez (Fresno State, 1999), who is in his first season with the Rebels. Sanchez was an assistant coach at Akron for three years before joining the Rebel program.
New Mexico is coached by Jeremy Fishbein (UC Santa Barbara, 1989), who is in his fifth season with the Lobos. Fishbein has a record of 66-18-10 at New Mexico. He led UNM to the national championship game last season.
Top Players: Air Force is led by freshman Josh Rhynard, who has scored a team-high three goals, good for six points, this season. Junior Chris Mathews, who scored the only goal in AFA's 1-0 win at Creighton, has four points.
UNLV is led by Nicholas Patterson, who has nine points (2g, 5a) this season. Lamar Neagle and Marcos Balladares follow with five points each (2g, 1a). Goalies Calvin Bailey and Brett Hafeman have split time all season.
New Mexico is led by Brandon Barklage, who has six points (2g, 2a). Chris Wright and David Gualdarama follow with four points each (2g). Goalie Mike Graczyk is second in the MPSF with a 0.63 GAA.
Falcons Open MPSF Action
The Air Force Falcons (1-6-1) open play in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation this weekend with a pair of home games. The Falcons will host UNLV (0-6-2) on Friday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m., then New Mexico (5-2-2) on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. Air Force earned its first win of the season last Saturday with a 1-0 double overtime victory at Creighton.
Up Next
Air Force continues MPSF play on Saturday, Oct. 7 by hosting Denver at 7 p.m.
Finally an Overtime Win
Air Force's win over Creighton was the team's first overtime victory in over two years. The last overtime win was on Sept. 21, 2003, a 3-2 triumph over Oral Roberts. During the two-year span, Air Force was 0-6-3 in extra-period contests.
Sagastume Closing In On 300
With the Falcons' victory at Creighton, Air Force head coach Lou Sagastume has 299 career victories, which places him 12th on the list of the Division I winningest active coaches. He needs one more win to become the 25th coach in Division I history to win 300 games. Sagastume has a career record of 299-187-43.
Mathews MPSF Player of the Week
Air Force junior midfielder Chris Mathews, who helped the Falcons gain their first win of the season last Saturday, was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's soccer Player of the Week, announced today by the conference.
Mathews booted home the game-winning goal 31 seconds into double overtime Air Force downed Creighton, 1-0, in Omaha, Neb. Mathews, who scored his first career goal in the Falons' previous game against Alabama A&M, also saved a shot with 2:33 remaining in the first overtime. Creighton's Chris Schuler knocked a header toward the net, but Mathews cleared it just before crossing the goal line.
Mathews, from Euless, Texas, is currently second on the team and seventh in the MPSF in scoring with four points.
Last Weekend's Recap
Air Force 1, Creighton 0 (2 ot) Junior Chris Mathews netted his second goal of the season just 31 seconds into the second overtime period Friday, giving the Air Force men's soccer team a 1-0 victory over Creighton in Omaha, Neb. The win, Air Force's first of the season, improved the Falcons' record to 1-6-1, while Creighton fell to 4-3-2
Mathews took a pass from freshman Josh Nannen and blasted a shot to the far post past Creighton goalie Matt Alen to snap the Bluejays' six-match unbeaten streak and their nine-match unbeaten streak at Morrison Stadium. It was the first point of Nannen's career.
Despite getting outshot 22-7 in total shots, the Falcons played a solid defensive game. Creighton outshot Air Force 13-3 in the second half and earned eight corner kicks to Air Force's one in the match. The Falcons had just three shots on goal in the game and did not even attempt a shot in the second half until 27 minutes into play.
With 2:33 remaining in the first overtime, Creighton appeared to have a game won. Chris Schuler knocked a header toward the net, but Mathews cleared it just before crossing the goal line. In addition to that save, Falcon goalkeeper Brian Guyette made five saves en route to his first shutout of the campaign.
While the Falcons could muster just seven shots in the game, Creighton's Michael Kraus had eight shots, but only one on goal. Freshman Josh Rhynard led the Falcons with two shots.
