Falcons Face Army and Navy This Weekend in Birmingham
9/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 17, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game #6
Air Force Falcons vs. Navy Midshipmen
Friday, Sept. 19, 2008
5 p.m. at Birmingham, AL
Game #7
Air Force Falcons vs. Army Black Knights
Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008
11 a.m. at Birmingham, AL
RECORDS
Air Force; 0-5-0
Navy; 3-1-0
Army; 0-5-0
RECENT RESULTS
Air Force -- CS Fullerton, L 2-0; SDSU, L 2-0
Navy -- @St. Joseph's, W 1-0
Army -- St. Francis (Pa.), L 3-0
COACHES
Doug Hill (USAFA, 1983)
Air Force; 5-17-1, Second Season
Overall; Same
Rich Miranda (William & Mary, 1985)
Navy; 23-24-6, Fourth Season
Overall; Same
Kurt Swanbeck (Columbia, 1981)
Army; 31-65-15, Seventh Season
Overall; 176-180-24, 21st Season
Navy and Army Up Next For Falcons
The Air Force Falcons take on both of their service-academy rivals this weekend. As part of the Birmingham-Southern Tournament in Birmingham, Ala., Air Force plays Navy on Friday, Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. (CT), and Army on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 11 a.m.
The Falcons fell to 0-5 after dropping a pair of 2-0 decisions last weekend. The Falcons lost to Cal State Fullerton at home last Friday and to San Diego State on Sunday in Denver. Navy enters the weekend with a 3-1 record, while Army is 0-5.
Last Time Against S-A Rivals
The Falcons will look to avenge a pair of 1-0 losses to Army and Navy last season. Navy defeated the Falcons in the second game of the campaign, then Army scored a double-overtime victory later in the season. Air Force has not defeated Navy since the 1984 season (1-0 at AFA), while the Falcons last win over Army was in the first game of the 2005 campaign (1-0 at Army).
Gullo in National Stats
Junior goalie Jim Gullo is ranked 26th in the country with 5.2 saves per game. That mark is tied for No. 1 in the MPSF with Bryan Oliver of Sacramento State. Gullo, who had three saves against Cal State Fullerton and six vs. San Diego State last weekend, is tied for second in the conference with 26 saves.
0-5 For First Time Since `81
The Falcons are 0-5 for the first time since the 1981 season. That team turned things around immediately and went 8-4-1 in its remaining games to finish the season with an 8-9-1 record.
Tough Time Finding The Net
Despite several top-notch scoring opportunites this past weekend, the Falcons have been shut out in four straight games. Counting the last 20 minutes of the UC Santa Barbara games, the scoreless streak covers 388 minutes.
Last Weekend's Recaps
Cal State Fullerton 2, Air Force 0
Sept. 12, 2008 @ USAFA, Colo.
Shay Spitz and Kevin Venegas each scored for Cal State Fullerton as the Titans shut out Air Force, 2-0, Friday in men's soccer action at Cadet Soccer Stadium. With the victory, CSF improved to 2-3 this season, while Air Force fell to 0-4.
Air Force dominated most of the first half, placing five shots on goal against CSF goalie Trevor Whiddon in the initial 20 minutes. Whiddon was up to the task, however, saving all five shots, including a diving save off a rocket from Falcon senior Reid Gaiser in the 13th minute.
The last minute of the first half was full of action, starting with Air Force co-captain Kevin Rosser receiving his second yellow card of the game and an ejection with exactly one minute remaining. Twenty seconds later, Falcon defender Ryan Robinson saved a shot off the goal line from Fullerton's Mario Alvarez that had snuck by Air Force goalie Jim Gullo.
Gullo wasn't as lucky just a few seconds later as Spitz put the Titans up 1-0 with nine seconds left in the first half when he fired a shot from 22 yards out that deflected off an Air Force defender and into the net.
The Falcons, who outshot CSF 10-6 in the first half, could not muster many scoring opportunities playing a man down in the second stanza. The Titans outshot AFA 15-2 and increased their lead to 2-0 in the 66th minute when Venegas' shot from 20 yards grazed the crossbar above Gullo and went in the net.
Whiddon finished the game with five saves and Gomez saved a shot for CSF in the second half. Gullo made three saves for the Falcons.
San Diego State 2, Air Force 0
Sept. 14, 2008 @ Denver, Colo.
Jamel Wallace and Matt McManus each scored a second-half goal to lead the San Diego State men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Air Force Sunday afternoon at the University of Denver. With the victory, SDSU improved to 2-2 on the season, while the Falcons fell to 0-5.
Following a scoreless first half, Wallace placed a header past Falcon goalie Jim Gullo in the 78th minute. Evan Toft sent a free kick into the box that found Nick Cardenas, who headed a pass to Wallace. With the Falcons pushing up in the final minutes, McManus increased the lead to 2-0 in the 88th minute by firing a shot past Gullo after receiving a crossing pass from Michael Rocha.
San Diego State enjoyed a 22-14 lead in total shots and an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal. Steven Noller led the Falcons with four total shots. Morgan Maestas made five saves for SDSU in posting his first victory of the season. Gullo made six saves for Air Force, which has not scored since the first game of the season, a span of 388 minutes.
The Falcons played without team co-captain Kevin Rosser, who was issued a red card during AFA's game vs. Cal State Fullerton on Friday.
