Air Force Academy
Belmont
Falcons and Belmont Battle to 1-1 Tie
9/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 11, 2009
After 110 minutes of play, nothing was decided Friday night in front of 412 fans at Cadet Soccer Stadium as the Air Force men's soccer team battled to a 1-1 tie with Belmont University. Senior Steven Noller scored for Air Force, now 1-1-1 this season, while Brandon Tarr scored for the Bruins, who are 0-2-1.
The Falcons dominated the first half, outshooting Belmont, 10-4, but could only muster three shots on goal. One of them was by Noller in the 44th minute that got by Belmont keeper Wes Wray, but Alex Davis kicked the ball off the line to preserve a 0-0 tie going into halftime.
Air Force kept the pressure on in the second half and finally broke through when Noller placed a header just under the crossbar in the 79th minute off a corner kick by fellow senior Kevin Rosser. It was Noller's first goal of the season and Rosser's second assist.
The Bruins responded less than four minutes later when Tarr notched his second goal of the season with a shot past Air Force goalie Jim Gullo from 12 yards out. Will Moorad collected the assist on the play.
Air Force was forced to play a man short when junior Kyle Moses was given a red card with just over three minutes remaining in regulation. Tarr also got his second yellow of the game and was forced to leave the field in the final minute of the second overtime period.
Rosser had the only shot on goal in the overtime periods, a rocket from about 30 yards that was destined for the top part of the net, but Wray just got a piece of it and knocked it over the crossbar. Wray finished the game with five saves, while Gullo, who has allowed just one goal in each of AFA's three games this season, made just one save.
"Overall, we played well tonight" said Air Force head coach Doug Hill. "It was hard to score with the number of people they had in the box. We need to be a bit more precise, but I'm pleased with our play and hopefully it continues on Sunday. We had a great crowd with our pre-game clinic, the atmosphere was outstanding." The Falcons will host Dayton on Sunday, Sept. 13 at noon at Cadet Soccer Stadium.
