Falcons Continue League Play at UNLV, UNM
10/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 6, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game #10
Air Force Falcons vs. UNLV Rebels
Friday, Oct. 8, 2010
7 p.m. (PT) at Las Vegas, NV
Game #11
Air Force Falcons vs. New Mexico Lobos
Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010
1 p.m. (MT) at Albuquerque, NM
Falcons Continue Conference Play at UNLV and UNM
The Air Force Falcons continue Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action this weekend with a pair of road games. On Friday, Oct. 8, Air Force travels to Las Vegas to face UNLV at 7 p.m. (PT), then heads to Albuquerque, N.M, to face New Mexico on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m. The Falcons are 2-7 after losing a 5-1 decision to Denver at home last Saturday. UNLV is 3-6 after falling to UNM, 2-1 in overtime last Saturday, while the Lobos are 4-2-2 entering their game Friday against Denver at home.
Air Force Drops 5-1 Decision to DU
Jarod Stigall notched a hat trick Saturday night to lead the University of Denver men's soccer team to a 5-1 victory over Air Force at Cadet Soccer Stadium in the first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game for both teams. With the victory, DU improved to 4-3-2 overall and 1-0 in the MPSF, while the Falcons fell to 2-7 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Stigall scored his first goal of the night in the 29th minute to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead. After receiving a nice back pass from Matt Kirby, he put a shot past Air Force goalie Matt Underwood from 15 yards that just snuck inside the far left post. Stigall also scored in the 53rd and 86th minute to complete the hat trick.
Senior Kyle Moses scored AFA's only goal in the 57th minute when he gathered a loose ball and fired a shot from 15 yards past DU keeper Joe Willis. It was Moses' second goal of the season. Sophomore Zane Dydasco had a great chance earlier in the second half, but he hit the crossbar.
Underwood's Still Up There in Saves
Sophomore keeper Matt Underwood is tied for second in the MPSF in saves with 36 and sixth with a .679 saves percentage. Underwood, who earned his first career start in the season opener against Houston Baptist, has a 2.05 goals-against average.
Falcons Lead The League in Shots
Despite scoring just seven goals in its first nine games, Air Force continues to lead the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with 146 shots taken. UNLV is second with 133 shots. Unfortunately, only 42 of AFA's 146 shots have been on goal.
Individually, sophomore Kevin Durr is tied for the conference lead with 30 total shots. Durr leads the team with eight shots on goal, followed by junior John Melcher and senior Kyle Moses with seven and sophomore Zane Dydasco with five.
Series vs. Opponents
The Falcons hold a 15-9-3 advantage in the overall series with UNLV. Air Force defeated the Rebels, 2-1, last season at Cadet Soccer Stadium, and has won the last four games against UNLV. AFA also owns an advantage in the all-time series against New Mexico, holding a 16-15-1 lead. Last year, the Falcons snapped a seven-game losing streak and 11-game winless streak to the Lobos with a 1-0 victory at home.
Young Guys are Making Plays
Of the seven players that have registered at least one point this season, just one (Moses) is a senior. In fact, three are sophomores (Durr, Dydasco and Conor Henry) two are juniors (Melcher and Kyle Cressy) and one is a freshman (Brian Klazura).
Falcons Picked Eighth in Preseason Poll
The Falcons were picked eighth in the 2010 MPSF preseason coaches poll, voted on by the league's eight head coaches. New Mexico received 46 points and four of eight first-place votes in earning the No. 1 spot, while defending MPSF champion Sacramento State collected 43 points and three top votes in taking second in the poll. Denver was picked third with 31 points, followed by CSU Bakersfield, San Jose State, Seattle, UNLV and Air Force.
