Falcon Men's Soccer Announces 2017 Schedule
7/27/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
2017 AF Men's Soccer Schedule 
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - The Air Force men's soccer team opens the 2017 season with an exhibition match on Saturday, Aug. 12, against New Mexico, at 10:00 a.m. MT, in Albuquerque, N.M. The Falcons will take the pitch for the first time at home in an exhibition match against the University of Denver, Aug. 19, 3:00 p.m., at Cadet Soccer Stadium, USAFA, CO. Air Force will play 13 home games, including the exhibition game.
"I really like the strength of our non-conference schedule and how many home games we have this year," explained head men's soccer coach Doug Hill. "Playing this many home matches will give us an opportunity to establish a winning climate on our home pitch and hopefully we can transfer that climate over to conference play."
The Falcons open the regular season with seven-straight matches at Cadet Soccer Stadium. Service academy rival Army West Point will visit the Falcons' pitch, Sept. 9, for a 6:00 p.m. matchup. Air Force will play its first regular-season road match against Gonzaga, Sept. 22, in Spokane, Wash.
In its fifth season in the Western Athletic Conference, Air Force will play 10 conference games; five of which will be played at home. Conference play will begin with a trio of home matches between Sept. 29 and Oct. 10. Air Force will play its first conference road-matches against last year's conference front-runners, Utah Valley and Seattle U, on the weekend of October 14. Following a pair of conference home matches, Air Force will return to the road for its final three conference road matches of the season against San Jose St., CSU Bakersfield and UMKC.
"This year our conference partner is Utah Valley University and I think we are both tough teams to play against," explained Hill. "We know each year that the conference play will be a dog-fight down to the end but our non-conference games should prepare us well. We are looking forward to getting our home crowd behind us from the start with a few 'Pack the House' events. "
Air Force is coming off one of its most successful seasons in recent history. The Falcons concluded the 2016 season as WAC Championship runners-up, with a 14-7-1 overall record and a 6-3-1 mark in conference play. The Falcons were 6-2 while playing at Cadet Soccer Stadium and 5-3-1 on the road. The 2016 season marks coach Hill's most single-season wins since taking the helm of the Falcons in 2007. Air Force returned to the WAC Championship for the first time since playing Fresno State in the 1996 finals match; the same year that the Falcons had 14 single-season wins under legendary coach, Lou Sagastume. The 1993 team holds the program record of 15 single-season wins.
All regular-season home matches are expected to be broadcast via the Academy's Falcon Vision platform. Playoff matches will be broadcast live by the WAC Sports Network. All live streams will be available online at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com.
