Air Force Academy
UC Irvine
Falcons Shut Out by No. 12 UC Irvine, 5-0
9/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 12, 2010
The No. 12 UC Irvine men's soccer team remained undefeated Sunday with a 5-0 victory over Air Force on the final day of the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament at the SDSU Sports Deck. The Anteaters, who have yet to allow a goal this season, improved to 5-0, while the Falcons fell to 1-3.
UC Irvine got on the board in the 10th minute as Spencer Thompson stole the ball from an Air Force defender and tucked the ball into the right corner for a 1-0 lead. Thompson made it 2-0 in the 17th minute as he took a cross from Amani Walker and hit it off AFA keeper Matt Underwood into the left corner. Thompson completed his first career hat trick as he dribbled down the left side and found the lower right side of the net in the 58th minute to put UCI up 3-0.
Brett Berman followed up a cleared corner kick by the Falcons with a shot from 22 yards to put the Anteaters up 4-0 in the 73rd minute, then Zlatan Kuckovic found the right corner of the net from 20 yards after gathering a rebound to make it 5-0.
UCI goalkeeper Andrew Fontein had four saves while picking up his fifth shutout of the season, while Underwood had four saves for the Falcons. The Anteaters outshot Air Force 18-8 in total shots and 9-4 in shots on goal.
The Falcons had a couple of chances to score in the first half, but sophomore Kevin Durr's blast in the 12th minute just cleared the crossbar and junior John Melcher got off a nice left-footed shot from 20 yards in the 22nd minute that was saved by a diving Fontein. Durr and fellow sophomore Zane Dydasco were named to the all-tournament team.
The Falcons return home for a matchup against Penn State next Friday, Sept. 17 Cadet Soccer Stadium beginning at 7 p.m.
