Air Force downs HBU, 3-2, Advances to WAC Semifinals

USAF Academy, Colo. - A goal in the 88^th minute lifted Air Force to a dramatic 3-2 victory over Houston Baptist in the first round of the WAC Tournament, Wednesday evening at Cadet Soccer Stadium. The Falcons improve to 8-10 as they prepare for Friday's semifinals matchup.

The Falcons looked right at home in their first 90-minutes of tournament action, outshooting the Huskies, 23-17. The Air Force offense put its depth on display as five Falcons tallied three shots apiece, led by sophomore defender London Aghedo who took two shots on frame.

Aghedo also helped anchor the Air Force defense along with teammates Nick Blessing, Jared Dove and Reece Cooke who all logged 90 minutes of action on the pitch.

HBU was the first to light the scoreboard as Luis Poblacion wrangled in a deflection from a corner kick and fired off from 20-yards out scoring to the left side of the Air Force cage in the 10^th minute.

In the 28^th minute, Lathan Spadafora punched in the equalizer by way of an Air Force corner kick that was relayed with head-to-head action from Nick Blessing and Tyler Johnson. The goal marked Spadafora's fourth of the season while Johnson and Blessing were credited with their second and first assists of the season, respectively.

The Falcons took their first lead in the waning seconds of the first half as London Aghedo punched in his first collegiate goal with a ringer off the crossbar from 18-yards straight out. Michael Neacsu initiated the goal as he fired off a shot that deflected to teammate Quinn Matulis, who also took a shot that deflected off an HBU defender into Aghedo's possession for the finish. The Falcons hit the halftime locker room with a two-one lead and 15 shots to the Huskies' six.

In the 63^rd minute HBU's Jordi Cobo notched the equalizer with a second-opportunity shot from a shot punched previously punched out by sophomore Air Force keeper Kainoa Likewise.

With the clock racing towards the expiration of regulation minutes, a hard-charging Falcon offense mounted an attack on the Huskies' defense. In the 88^th minute, a speedy Elijah Bussey took the ball in full sprint down the near-side wing were he sent a brilliant cross to Giuliano Daniel in a parallel stride. Daniel met the ball in step and finished high, putting the ball over the outstretched hand of the HBU goalkeeper to lift the Falcons to a 3-2 lead in the waning moments of the match. The Huskies were unable to find an equalizer before the final horn, ending their 2019 campaign.

Kainoa Likewise earned his eighth victory this season making five saves against an aggressive Huskies offense.

"Tonight was a great team effort with some unbelievable goals," head coach Doug Hill said. "I couldn't be more proud of this young team rising up to the occasion and advancing to the semi-finals in a tough WAC Tournament. The biggest thing for now is to rest up and get prepared for the winner of Utah Valley and Kansas City."

Next up, Air Force for will pair up with the winner of match No. 3 between Utah Valley and Kansas City. Match five is slated for 6 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 15), at Cadet Soccer Stadium. Match four will kick off at 1 p.m. between top-seeded Seattle U and CSU Bakersfield, who downed San Jose State one-nil in the first round.

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