Thursday, October 31
USAFA, CO
6:00 PM MT
Air Force Academy
6-9-0, 5-4-0
4
vs
3
Grand Canyon University
4-7-4, 1-5-3
1
2
3
4
F
Grand Canyon
0
3
0
0
3
Air Force
1
2
0
1
4
Photo by: U.S. Air Force photo / Trevor Co
Air Force Tops GCU in Double-Overtime, 4-3
10/31/2019 9:28:00 PM | Men's Soccer
U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. - A goal headed in by sophomore Lathan Spadafora in the waning minutes of double-overtime lifted Air Force to a 4-3 win over Grand Canyon University, Thursday evening at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium, USAFA. The Falcons, now 6-9 overall with a 5-4 mark in Western Athletic Conference action, keep their playoffs hope alive heading into the second match of the week.
The Falcons were led by Tristan Trager who notched his first collegiate hat trick, scoring all three Air Force goals within regulation. The hat trick performance marked Air Force's second of the season-- sophomore JT D'Emidio notched his first career hat trick against CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 12. Spadafora and Trager made it clear they were on the same wavelength all night as Spadafora assisted Trager in each of his three goals. Trager also led the team in shots, taking five on the match while sophomore teammates Spadafora and Michael Neacsu tallied three and two shots, respectively. Air Force put 13 shots up on the match, seven were on goal.
Sophomore defender Jared Dove and freshman defender London Aghedo clocked 108 minutes apiece on the pitch, anchoring the Falcons' defense in overtime along with senior team captain Nick Blessing who clocked 104 minutes on the match. Sophomore keeper Kainoa Likewise had his work cut out in the cage making nine saves on the night, just one shy of his career-high mark. The win marks Likewise's sixth victory in Air Force's goal.
The Falcons struck early on with Trager's seventh goal of the season in the ninth minute-- it was the only goal of the half.
Just 45-seconds into the second half, the Lopes' Justin Rasmussen fired off an equalizing goal in from 20 yards out. The Trager-Spadafora connection struck back in the 51st minute to regain the lead, 2-1. In back-and-forth action, GCU's Julian Armaroli responded with the equalizer in the 69th minute via an assist from Austin Day.
The Lopes took their first lead of the evening in the 76th minute as Tyler Hughes headed in a goal by way of Rey Gaytan's assist. With the clock winding down, the Falcons proved they could remain cool under pressure as the Falcons offense got back to work. In the 87th minute, Spadafora and Trager made their final connection of the night as Trager notched the equalizer. The hat trick goal marked Trager's ninth goal of the season. The regulation clock expired with the teams knotted at three apiece.
The first overtime period was neck-and-neck as both teams took fair share of the possessions. GCU held the advantage in shots in the first overtime period, 2-1.
With the clock ticking towards a tie in the second overtime period, freshman midfielder Elijah Bussey had the possession on the near-side wing where sent a beautifully placed ball over 20-yards to Spadafora in mid-flight. The sophomore out of Collierville, Tennessee, made head contact to send the ball to the top-right 90 over George Tasouris' reach, putting an end to the match.
"I couldn't be more proud of the guys and the way the found a way to win in double-overtime," exclaimed head coach Doug Hill. "We've been on the other side of that and it's not fun. We set an objective of three goals tonight and we achieved that goal and some."
"It was unbelievable the way Tristan Trager played scoring those three goals," continued Hill. "The results of the hard work we've been putting in on the weekdays is showing on the weekends-- Elijah [Bussey] is a good example of that, his cross to Spadafora to put the game away in overtime was perfect. I'm proud of all the men's effort on the pitch tonight. I wish we could have gotten more players in but it wasn't that kind of game, but if we keep playing our winning brand of soccer, we'll get more guys on the pitch this Saturday."
Next up, the Falcons take on UNLV at 1 p.m. MT, on the turf at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium. The match will serve as Air Force's Senior Day as the Falcons honor three seniors in team captain Nick Blessing, his twin brother Ben Blessing, and Julian Flores. Managers Wyatt Dial and Andrew Stant will also be recognized for their service to the team. A live stream will not be available for the match.
The Falcons were led by Tristan Trager who notched his first collegiate hat trick, scoring all three Air Force goals within regulation. The hat trick performance marked Air Force's second of the season-- sophomore JT D'Emidio notched his first career hat trick against CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 12. Spadafora and Trager made it clear they were on the same wavelength all night as Spadafora assisted Trager in each of his three goals. Trager also led the team in shots, taking five on the match while sophomore teammates Spadafora and Michael Neacsu tallied three and two shots, respectively. Air Force put 13 shots up on the match, seven were on goal.
Sophomore defender Jared Dove and freshman defender London Aghedo clocked 108 minutes apiece on the pitch, anchoring the Falcons' defense in overtime along with senior team captain Nick Blessing who clocked 104 minutes on the match. Sophomore keeper Kainoa Likewise had his work cut out in the cage making nine saves on the night, just one shy of his career-high mark. The win marks Likewise's sixth victory in Air Force's goal.
The Falcons struck early on with Trager's seventh goal of the season in the ninth minute-- it was the only goal of the half.
Just 45-seconds into the second half, the Lopes' Justin Rasmussen fired off an equalizing goal in from 20 yards out. The Trager-Spadafora connection struck back in the 51st minute to regain the lead, 2-1. In back-and-forth action, GCU's Julian Armaroli responded with the equalizer in the 69th minute via an assist from Austin Day.
The Lopes took their first lead of the evening in the 76th minute as Tyler Hughes headed in a goal by way of Rey Gaytan's assist. With the clock winding down, the Falcons proved they could remain cool under pressure as the Falcons offense got back to work. In the 87th minute, Spadafora and Trager made their final connection of the night as Trager notched the equalizer. The hat trick goal marked Trager's ninth goal of the season. The regulation clock expired with the teams knotted at three apiece.
The first overtime period was neck-and-neck as both teams took fair share of the possessions. GCU held the advantage in shots in the first overtime period, 2-1.
With the clock ticking towards a tie in the second overtime period, freshman midfielder Elijah Bussey had the possession on the near-side wing where sent a beautifully placed ball over 20-yards to Spadafora in mid-flight. The sophomore out of Collierville, Tennessee, made head contact to send the ball to the top-right 90 over George Tasouris' reach, putting an end to the match.
"I couldn't be more proud of the guys and the way the found a way to win in double-overtime," exclaimed head coach Doug Hill. "We've been on the other side of that and it's not fun. We set an objective of three goals tonight and we achieved that goal and some."
"It was unbelievable the way Tristan Trager played scoring those three goals," continued Hill. "The results of the hard work we've been putting in on the weekdays is showing on the weekends-- Elijah [Bussey] is a good example of that, his cross to Spadafora to put the game away in overtime was perfect. I'm proud of all the men's effort on the pitch tonight. I wish we could have gotten more players in but it wasn't that kind of game, but if we keep playing our winning brand of soccer, we'll get more guys on the pitch this Saturday."
Next up, the Falcons take on UNLV at 1 p.m. MT, on the turf at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium. The match will serve as Air Force's Senior Day as the Falcons honor three seniors in team captain Nick Blessing, his twin brother Ben Blessing, and Julian Flores. Managers Wyatt Dial and Andrew Stant will also be recognized for their service to the team. A live stream will not be available for the match.
Team Stats
GCU
AFA
Goals
3
4
Shots
21
13
Shots on Goal
12
7
Saves
3
9
Corners
5
3
Fouls
8
5
Scoring Plays
Tristan Trager (3)
Assisted By: Lathan Spadafora
GOAL by AFA Trager, Tristan Assist by Spadafora, Lathan.
08:27
Justin Rasmussen (1)
GOAL by GCU Rasmussen, Justin.
45:45
Tristan Trager (3)
Assisted By: Lathan Spadafora
GOAL by AFA Trager, Tristan Assist by Spadafora, Lathan.
50:06
Julien Armaroli (1)
Assisted By: Austin Day
GOAL by GCU Armaroli, Julien Assist by Day, Austin.
68:55
Tyler Hughes (1)
Assisted By: Rey Gaytan
GOAL by GCU Hughes, Tyler Assist by Gaytan, Rey.
75:40
Tristan Trager (3)
Assisted By: Lathan Spadafora
GOAL by AFA Trager, Tristan Assist by Spadafora, Lathan.
86:52
Lathan Spadafora (1)
Assisted By: Elijah Bussey
GOAL by AFA Spadafora, Lathan Assist by Bussey, Elijah.
107:18
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
5
SOG
4
Goals
3
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
3
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's SoccerMidfield
/ Men's Soccer
Midfield
/ Men's Soccer
Manager
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's SoccerMidfield
/ Men's SoccerForward
/ Men's SoccerMidfielder
/ Men's SoccerFalcons draw 1-1 against South Dakota Mines
Sunday, September 14
Falcons win first game of the year over Mercer
Thursday, September 11
Greg Dalby Interview Sept 9, 2025
Tuesday, September 09
Falcons fall 3-0 to Cal Poly
Friday, September 05
