Saturday, November 9
Orem, UT
1:00 PM MT
Air Force Academy
at
Utah Valley
Photo by: Bill Evans
Men's Soccer Heads to Utah Valley for Regular Season Finale on Saturday
11/8/2019 12:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Air Force men's soccer will kick off against Utah Valley at 1 p.m. MT in Orem, Utah
THIS WEEKEND: Air Force closes the 2019 regular season campaign at Utah Valley (10-6-1, 7-3-0 WAC), Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Orem, Utah. The Falcons and Wolverines enter the season finale hot off two-game win streaks, both win coming against GCU and UNLV last weekend.
THE SERIES: Air Force will be playing Utah Valley for the fifth time in program history on Saturday. The Wolverines are unbeaten in the four-game series, winning three matches and tying one. Last season Utah Valley was slated to play a high-powered Air Force team at the Academy where the Falcons boasted a 10-0 home record-- the match was cancelled due to snow. Air Force is 0-1-1 when playing UVU in Orem.
UP NEXT: With five spots clinched in the WAC Tournament, Air Force has elected to play the 3 p.m. game on Wednesday (Nov. 13), regardless of seed. One week after clinching a spot, Seattle U used a win at UIW to clinch the regular season title and top seed. Utah Valley, Air Force, CSU Bakersfield and San José State will await the results of the weekend to determine the remaining two selections and seeds.
LAST TIME OUT: Last weekend, Air Force clinched a berth into the Western Athletic Conference tournament following a 4-3 double-overtime win against Grand Canyon (Oct. 31) and a 3-2 win over UNLV on Saturday (Nov. 2)
TRAGER GOES BIG: Trager, a sophomore forward from San Clemente, Calif, recorded back-to-back hat tricks to clinch the Falcons' ticket for the upcoming WAC Tournament. Against Grand Canyon, he scored his first three goals in regulation, including the equalizer in the 87th minute that allowed the Falcons to send the game to overtime and eventually score the game-winner in extra time. He followed the hat trick up with another three goals on Saturday against UNLV, putting the ball in net for all three Falcon scores in a 3-2 win. He now leads the WAC with 12 goals and 28 points in 16 matches played. Tragers efforts yielded three weekly accolades; WAC Offensive Player of the Week, United Soccer Coaches Player of the Week and spot on Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week.
AROUND THE LEAGUE: It all comes down to this. The final two spots and plenty of seeding will be decided on Saturday on Decision Day around the WAC. Kansas City and Houston Baptist will be playing for a trip to Colorado when they face off on Saturday evening in Houston. UT Rio Grande Valley will also be playing for a trip to the tournament when they make the trip to UIW. Air Force and Utah Valley meet up in the afternoon with the second seed up for grabs. San José State and CSU Bakersfield will also be playing for seeding when they travel to Seattle U and California Baptist respectively. UNLV heads to Grand Canyon as both teams will conclude their season in Phoenix in the final game of the regular season.
BY THE NUMBERS: Seattle U continues to lead the WAC in shots (309), points (99), goals (34), shutouts (9) and corner kicks (122). Utah Valley holds the lead in assists (32) while UT Rio Grande Valley has the least goals allowed (12) and the top goals against average (0.77). California Baptist holds the top mark in saves (97).
Individually, UVU's Blake Frischknecht is the leader in shots (75), and game-winning goals (5). Straight off back-to-back hat tricks, AF's Tristan Trager holds the top spot in points (28) and goals (12). SU's Declan McGlynn and AF's Lathan Spadafora are tied for the assists lead (7). In goal, UTRGV's Andy Rios holds the top goals against average (0.77) and CBU's Albert Escuin is the leader in save percentage (.829) and saves (97). SU's Akili Kasim is the shutouts leader with nine.
In WAC-only play, Seattle U holds the top spot in shots (178), assists (22) and corner kicks (64) and is tied with Air Force for the lead in points (68). Air Force also leads the league in goals scored (25) while UTRGV is tops in least goals allowed (6) and goals against average (0.57). California Baptist is the leader in saves (61).
Individually, UVU's Frischknecht holds the lead in shots (48) and is tied with CSUB's Ryan Goldsmith for the top spot in game-winning goals (3). AF's Trager is the leader in points (22) and goals (9). SU's McGylnn and AF's Spadafora are tied for the assists lead (6). In goal, UTRGV's Rios hold a WAC-best 0.57 goals against average and six shutouts while CBU's Escuin holds the top mark in save percentage (.871) and saves (61).
THE SERIES: Air Force will be playing Utah Valley for the fifth time in program history on Saturday. The Wolverines are unbeaten in the four-game series, winning three matches and tying one. Last season Utah Valley was slated to play a high-powered Air Force team at the Academy where the Falcons boasted a 10-0 home record-- the match was cancelled due to snow. Air Force is 0-1-1 when playing UVU in Orem.
UP NEXT: With five spots clinched in the WAC Tournament, Air Force has elected to play the 3 p.m. game on Wednesday (Nov. 13), regardless of seed. One week after clinching a spot, Seattle U used a win at UIW to clinch the regular season title and top seed. Utah Valley, Air Force, CSU Bakersfield and San José State will await the results of the weekend to determine the remaining two selections and seeds.
LAST TIME OUT: Last weekend, Air Force clinched a berth into the Western Athletic Conference tournament following a 4-3 double-overtime win against Grand Canyon (Oct. 31) and a 3-2 win over UNLV on Saturday (Nov. 2)
TRAGER GOES BIG: Trager, a sophomore forward from San Clemente, Calif, recorded back-to-back hat tricks to clinch the Falcons' ticket for the upcoming WAC Tournament. Against Grand Canyon, he scored his first three goals in regulation, including the equalizer in the 87th minute that allowed the Falcons to send the game to overtime and eventually score the game-winner in extra time. He followed the hat trick up with another three goals on Saturday against UNLV, putting the ball in net for all three Falcon scores in a 3-2 win. He now leads the WAC with 12 goals and 28 points in 16 matches played. Tragers efforts yielded three weekly accolades; WAC Offensive Player of the Week, United Soccer Coaches Player of the Week and spot on Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week.
AROUND THE LEAGUE: It all comes down to this. The final two spots and plenty of seeding will be decided on Saturday on Decision Day around the WAC. Kansas City and Houston Baptist will be playing for a trip to Colorado when they face off on Saturday evening in Houston. UT Rio Grande Valley will also be playing for a trip to the tournament when they make the trip to UIW. Air Force and Utah Valley meet up in the afternoon with the second seed up for grabs. San José State and CSU Bakersfield will also be playing for seeding when they travel to Seattle U and California Baptist respectively. UNLV heads to Grand Canyon as both teams will conclude their season in Phoenix in the final game of the regular season.
BY THE NUMBERS: Seattle U continues to lead the WAC in shots (309), points (99), goals (34), shutouts (9) and corner kicks (122). Utah Valley holds the lead in assists (32) while UT Rio Grande Valley has the least goals allowed (12) and the top goals against average (0.77). California Baptist holds the top mark in saves (97).
Individually, UVU's Blake Frischknecht is the leader in shots (75), and game-winning goals (5). Straight off back-to-back hat tricks, AF's Tristan Trager holds the top spot in points (28) and goals (12). SU's Declan McGlynn and AF's Lathan Spadafora are tied for the assists lead (7). In goal, UTRGV's Andy Rios holds the top goals against average (0.77) and CBU's Albert Escuin is the leader in save percentage (.829) and saves (97). SU's Akili Kasim is the shutouts leader with nine.
In WAC-only play, Seattle U holds the top spot in shots (178), assists (22) and corner kicks (64) and is tied with Air Force for the lead in points (68). Air Force also leads the league in goals scored (25) while UTRGV is tops in least goals allowed (6) and goals against average (0.57). California Baptist is the leader in saves (61).
Individually, UVU's Frischknecht holds the lead in shots (48) and is tied with CSUB's Ryan Goldsmith for the top spot in game-winning goals (3). AF's Trager is the leader in points (22) and goals (9). SU's McGylnn and AF's Spadafora are tied for the assists lead (6). In goal, UTRGV's Rios hold a WAC-best 0.57 goals against average and six shutouts while CBU's Escuin holds the top mark in save percentage (.871) and saves (61).
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