Women's Soccer Blanks Creighton, 3-0

USAFA, Colo. – The Air Force Academy women's soccer team got its first victory of the 2018 season with a commanding 3-0 win over Creighton University, Friday evening, August 24, at Cadet Soccer Stadium. Omaha native sophomore Emma Nelson scored two of the goals against her hometown team.

"I'm very happy with our team effort tonight that was a full team effort," Head Coach Larry Friend remarked. "To go against a very tough Creighton team and come out on top, we just did a little better job capitalizing on our opportunities."

The Falcons (1-2) netted two of the goals in the first half, allowing for goalies, senior Jennifer Hiddink and sophomore Danielle Katz, to have a nice cushion as they combined for the shutout. It was Hiddink's 16^th win of her career, while recording two saves. Meanwhile, Katz saw her first action between the pipes in a Falcon jersey, tallying one save as well.

On the offensive end, the two goals were the first two in Nelson's career. Junior Kasey Stavig netted the third goal, also her first as a Falcon. Assisting on the evening were junior Erin Speer and freshman Micah Larkin on Nelson's first goal, while senior Rafaella Bucur helped on Nelson's second goal. Stavig's tally was assisted on a touch from freshman Mackenzie Kimmel.

"Great game by both Kasey and Emma, especially for her as this game had a lot of emotional meaning for her coming against her hometown team," Friend added. "You could really see that little bit of extra effort on the field tonight."

As a team, Air Force out-shot the Blue Jays (0-2) 12-10, getting five on net to Creighton's three. The Blue and Silver also notched four corner kicks to CU's one.

After a relatively uneventful first nine minutes, Air Force broke the ice in the 10^th minute after a shot from Larkin bounced off the crossbar and almost in, but Nelson was there to kick the rebound in and give AF the early 1-0 lead.

Fouls began piling up after the goal, as both teams each had three each over the next 15 minutes. The next shot on net came in the 27^th minute as sophomore Alex Giggie got a head on the ball off a corner, but it was easily saved. In the 32^nd minute, Creighton finally got a shot on net, which was saved with the fingertips from Hiddink.

Creighton then recorded the next three shots as they controlled possession over the next 10 minutes, but Air Force took full advantage of an opportunity from a corner in the 43^rd minute, as Stavig ripped a shot from outside the box that found the back of the net to make it 2-0 into the half.

Coming out of the locker rooms, both teams kept the pressure on, combining for seven shots over the first 15 minutes. In the 61^st minute, Nelson found the back of the net again on a touch pass from Bucur from just outside the box. Her second goal of the night gave AF the commanding 3-0 lead.

From there, both teams did not have much in the way of offense, as the Falcons' defense held the Blue Jay attack in check. Creighton's only shot the rest of the way was a try on net in the 89^th minute, but Katz was there with her first career save to maintain the 3-0 shutout win.

"There's still things we have to work on, but we're getting better every game," Friend said. "We're getting to know each other more everyday, and we're very happy with that."

Air Force now takes the next two weeks off from regular season play, but will be back at Cadet Soccer Stadium next Friday, August 31, for the Blue/Silver exhibition coinciding with Parents Weekend. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

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Team Stats

Emma Nelson

Kasey Stavig

Micah Larkin

Mackenzie Kimmel

Players Mentioned

Rafaella Bucur

Alex Giggie

Jennifer Hiddink

Danielle Katz

Mackenzie Kimmel

Micah Larkin

Emma Nelson

Erin Speer

Kasey Stavig

Players Mentioned

Rafaella Bucur

Alex Giggie

Jennifer Hiddink

Danielle Katz

Mackenzie Kimmel

Micah Larkin

Emma Nelson

Erin Speer

Kasey Stavig

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