Air Force Academy
Denver
Falcons Fall to DU, 1-0
10/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 11, 2008
Kyle Christensen scored the game's only goal and Joe Willis posted his third shutout of the season to lead the University of Denver men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Air Force Saturday night at a foggy and cold Cadet Soccer Stadium. With the win, Denver evened its overall record at 5-5 and remains in first place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with a 3-0 league record. The Falcons, meanwhile, fell to 3-8 overall and 1-2 in MPSF action.
Christensen took a pass from Sam Garza and fired a shot from 16 yards out that beat Air Force goalie Jim Gullo in the 59th minute. Collin Audley started the play with a run down the middle of the field, then fed a cutting Garza, who found Christensen open just inside the top of the goalie box.
DU then applied defensive pressure from then on, allowing the Falcons just one shot on goal the rest of the game. Air Force's Aaron Eshkenazi had two solid scoring opportunities in the first half, both headers off of corner kicks. In the 24th minute, Eshkenazi was just in front of the net, but his point-blank header was saved nicely by Willis. Then, with five seconds remaining in the half, his header glanced off the crossbar and went just over the net.
Gullo tied his career-high with eight saves for Air Force, while Willis saved all three shots on goal by the Falcons. DU held an 18-12 advantage in total shots, while Air Force took nine corner kicks, compared to five for Denver.
Air Force heads to California for a pair of conference games next weekend, beginning on Friday, Oct. 17 at Sacramento State. The game begins at 4 p.m. (CT).
