Falcons Battle Black Knights to Scoreless Draw

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Air Force Academy women's soccer team battled to a scoreless draw against Army West Point Friday evening, Sept. 7, at Malek Stadium. Both sides saw plenty of opportunities, but the defenses stood tall at the end of the match.

It was another stellar performance in net from senior goalie Jennifer Hiddink as she recorded the 10th shutout of her career while recording nine saves. The Army (3-1-3) offense peppered shots at her all night, as the Black Knights recorded 23 total.

"Great game by Jennifer and the rest of the defense, in particular Kasey Stavig, Rafaella Bucur, and Brittany Mahowald," Head Coach Larry Friend stated. "West Point dominated the final parts of each half, but that group helped keep it scoreless."

Air Force's (1-2-1) offense managed eight shots on the evening, four of them on net. Senior forward Taylor Cobb had two shots on goal coming from headers off of corner kicks. The Falcon's also played a more disciplined match in the draw, only recording three fouls to Army's 17.

"Kaitlyn Cook provided us some dangerous opportunities, but we just couldn't capitalize," Friend added. "Both teams really created some great chances, but in the end it was a solid draw against a solid West Point program."

The first half began with a heavy attack from Air Force as they got two corner kicks and a pair of shots on net in the first three minutes, but Army was able to defend. Army countered with a couple opportunities of their own, but Hiddink withstood them to keep it scoreless after the first 15 minutes.

Air Force got another brilliant opportunity in the 22^nd minute as a Laub corner found the head of Cobb for a shot on net, but it was right at the Black Knight keeper for a save. Army countered off the corner with a shot of their own, but Hiddink notched her third save and kept it 0-0. From there, neither team got another shot on net as the match quietly went to half deadlocked.

The second half was even less eventful for the Falcon offense as their only shot was within the first few minutes of the second stanza. Meanwhile, Air Force's defense fended off 14 West Point shots, including five saves by Hiddink, to allow the game to get to overtime for the first time in 2018.

In the first overtime, neither team got particularly close to a scoring opportunity as both defensive sides controlled the 10 minute period. With both teams not recording a single shot, the game soldiered on into the second overtime.

Out of the gates in the second OT, Army had a shot that was saved by Hiddink. Coming back the other way, senior forward Kaitlyn Cook ripped a shot of her own that hit the crossbar, narrowly missing the game winning goal. After the flurry of activity to start the final period, neither team got many more opportunities, ending the match in the 0-0 draw.

Air Force returns to the pitch next Thursday, Sept. 13, when it hosts the University of Houston in non-conference action. Kickoff against the Cougars at Cadet Soccer Stadium is set for 6 p.m.

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