Air Force Academy
Furman
Furman Downs Air Force, 1-0
9/3/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Air Force came up short against Furman, 1-0, in the first loss of the 2017 season, Sunday afternoon, at Cadet Soccer Stadium. The Falcons, now 3-1, have three games remaining on the early-season home slate before hitting the road for the first time, Sept. 22.
The Paladins' Emery May recorded the only goal of the game via Connor Hubbard's assist in the 27th minute. The Falcons concluded the first half of play with the advantage in shots and possessions.
In the second half Air Force increased the pressure on the Furman defense, peppering the Paladin goaltender with seven shots. The Paladins only fired off one second-half shot. Furman goaltender, Ben Hale, finished the match with seven saves to his credit.
At the final whistle, the Falcons held the advantage in shots, 13-6, shots on goal, 7-3, and corner kicks, 10-2. Senior team captain and veteran goalkeeper, John Wendt, registered his first loss this season in the Falcons' cage. He is now 2-1 heading into the fifth game of the season.
"We had a lot more shots and possessions," explained head coach Doug Hill. "I feel that we played the better game but sometimes the soccer gods just aren't with you and we didn't see the results that we expected for the high level we were playing at."
Junior midfielder Klint Parker led the Falcons with three shots with one on frame. Jaric Marton and Luis Martinez recorded two shots with one on frame apiece. Twenty Falcons saw action in the match, nine of which recorded the team's 13 shots. Seven Falcons recorded the seven shots on frame.
"We didn't get the win but we did play much better than we did on Friday night and that's a good takeaway from this loss," Hill continued. "Furman is a good team but I think we were better at the end of it. We're going to learn from this loss, regroup, and refocus our efforts on beating Army next Saturday."
The Falcons will host service academy rivals, Army West Point, Saturday, Sept. 6, at 6:00 p.m. The Falcons are aiming to redeem last season's 3-1 loss to the Black Knights in West Point, N.Y.
