Falcons Head to San Diego for Marriott Tournament
9/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 8, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Game #3
Air Force Falcons vs. San Diego State Aztecs
Friday, Sept. 10, 2010
4 p.m. at San Diego, CA
Game #4
Air Force Falcons vs. UC Irvine Anteaters
Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010
11 a.m. at San Diego, CA
Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament
Falcons Travel to West Coast This Weekend
The Air Force Falcons travel to San Diego, Calif., this weekend for a pair of games in the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Central Tournament, hosted by San Diego State. The Falcons will face the host Aztecs on Friday, Sept. 10 at 4 p.m., then 12th-ranked UC Irvine on Sunday, Sept, 12 at 11 a.m. The University of Oakland is the fourth team in the tournament.
Air Force Splits First Two of Season
The Falcons split a pair of games last weekend at Cadet Soccer Stadium to open the 2010 season. On Friday, Air Force dropped a tough 1-0 decision to Houston Baptist in double overtime. HBU's Tanner Fyfe blasted a shot from 30 yards out with 2:50 remaining in the second overtime period Friday night to lead the Huskies to victory. Fyfe took a back pass from Mateo Jimenez and fired a shot that found the top shelf just over the outstretched arms of Air Force goalie Matt Underwood.
On Sunday, sophomore Conor Henry scored the first goal of his career 7:06 into overtime to give the Falcons a dramatic 2-1 victory over Cal Poly. Henry took a far-post cross from fellow sophomore Kevin Durr and headed the ball past Cal Poly goalie Patrick McLain to give the Falcons their first win of the 2010 campaign. It was Henry's first shot on goal of his career. Tim White gave the Mustangs a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute after taking a pass from David Zamora down the right side of the field and chipping a shot from about 20 yards over Air Force goalie Matt Underwood, then AFA sophomore Zane Dydasco evened the game at 1-all in the 65th minute when he converted a penalty kick.
Falcons Aggressive Offensively
Despite outshooting their two opponents by a 48-29 margin this past weekend, the Falcons could muster just 15 shots on goal and two scores, exactly the same number as its opponents. Air Force poured it on in the second half against Cal Poly on Sunday, outshooting the Mustangs 18-5 after giving up nine shots on goal in the first half.
Individually, sophomore Kevin Durr attempted 14 total shots in the two games, including a career-high nine against Cal Poly. Only three were on goal, but he hit a post against Houston Baptist on Friday and struck the crossbar against Cal Poly on Sunday.
Junior John Melcher led the team with five shots on goal during the weekend. Melcher, who has one career goal, was second on the squad with nine total shots.
Underwood Looks Good
When starting goalkeeper Mike Mauro transferred to Louisville during the summer, Air Force head coach Doug Hill knew he would head into the season with an untested, unproven keeper. Sophomore Matt Underwood earned his first career start in the season opener against Houston Baptist and came within 2:50 of posting a shutout. On Sunday, he kept the Falcons in the game with a couple of nice, diving saves in the first half against Cal Poly and finished with nine for the game. After two games, he has a 0.88 goals-against average and a .867 saves percentage.
There's Some Young Guys Out There
Of the 17 players that saw action in Air Force's two game last weekend, only three were seniors and four were juniors. Five sophomores and five freshmen saw significant action. In fact, the two goals and one assist against Cal Poly were all recorded by sophomores. Seven of the 17 players appeared in their first career game last weekend.
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.
