Men's Soccer to Host No. 3 Denver in Exhibition
8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
THIS WEEK: The Falcon men's soccer team will take the home pitch for the first time of the 2017 season in an exhibition match against the third-ranked Denver Pioneers, Saturday, Aug. 19, at 3:00 p.m., at Cadet Soccer Stadium.
WELCOME BACK: The Falcons return seven starters to the 2016 season, led by last season's assists and goals leader, Austin Dewing. Five of the starters expected to play this weekend combined for 22 goals last season. Team captains Trey Pujats and John Wendt are linchpin defenders for Air Force and will look to quell the high-powered Pioneer offense. Wendt concluded his junior season with five shut outs and a 1.19 goals against average. He had a .753 save percentage in 20 games played last season.
LAST TIME THEY MET: Air Force tied Denver, 1-1, in last season's exhibition on Aug. 20, 2016. The last time the teams met in the regular season was 2012, Air Force lost, 2-3. In the last 10 years, the Falcons are 6-10-1 against the Pioneers in regular season play and 0-2-1 in exhibition matches.
LAST SEASON: The Falcons, who finished second at the Western Athletic Conference Championship and concluded the season with the second-most program wins, finished the season third in the WAC with an overall record of 14-7-1 and conference mark of 6-3-1.
COACH HILL SAYS: "We like to start the season with the toughest exhibitions we can get," explained head coach Doug Hill. "We recognized some strengths and weaknesses last weekend at New Mexico and now were ready to test ourselves against Denver. Both teams have always been a great test for us; it really gets us prepared for the season."
IN OTHER NEWS: Three Falcons were named to the preseason All-Western Athletic Conference team announced by the league's office, Tuesday. Junior forward Austin Dewing, junior midfielder Tucker Bone and senior goalkeeper John Wendt round out the preseason All-WAC selections for Air Force.
At the beginning of last season Air Force did not land a player on the league's preseason team. Just one season later, Air Force leads the WAC with three players while UNLV, Seattle U and Utah Valley tied for second-most with a pair apiece.
UP NEXT: Air Force will open the regular season slate against Missouri State, August 25, at 5:00 p.m. MT, at Cadet Soccer Stadium. The Falcons and Bears will meet for the eighth time in program history. Missouri State leads the series, 6-1.
