Saturday, March 6
Phoenix, AZ
7 PM MT
Air Force Academy
at
Grand Canyon
Men's Soccer Takes on GCU in WAC Matchup
3/5/2021 12:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
THIS WEEK
Air Force travels to Phoenix, Arizona, to take on Grand Canyon University, Saturday, March 6. Kick off at GCU Stadium is slated for 7 p.m. MT.
THE SERIES
Air Force and Grand Canyon (2-0, 2-0 WAC) will be meeting for the 10th time in program history, the Falcons lead the all-time series, 5-3-1. Air Force has won four of the last six meetings; however, GCU won the won the match that ended Air Force's 2018 WAC tournament run in the opening round.
LAST TIME THEY MET
A goal headed in by Lathan Spadafora in the waning minutes of double-overtime lifted Air Force to a 4-3 win over Grand Canyon University, Thursday evening (Oct. 31, 2019) at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium, USAFA.
The Falcons were led by Tristan Trager who notched his first collegiate hat trick, scoring all three Air Force goals within regulation. 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 teammates Spadafora and Michael Neacsu tallied three and two shots, respectively. Air Force put 13 shots up on the match seven were on goal.
Jared Dove and London Aghedo clocked 108 minutes apiece on the pitch, anchoring the Falcons' defense in overtime along with team captain Nick Blessing who clocked 104 minutes on the match. 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 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.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley outscored Air Force, 3-1, in the home schedule opener at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 27). The Wolverines, successful in their season opener, are 1-0 in the WAC while the Falcons equal out to 1-1-1.
Utah Valley was first to strike in the eighth minute as Zach Maas plugged in a goal via assist from Jojea Kwizera. The Falcons were quick to respond with their own goal in the ninth minute as Lathan Spadafora scored his first goal of the season via assist from Max Sole.
The Wolverines took the advantage when Cameron Weston capitalized on a penalty kick by way of a foul in the 25th minute. The last strike of the match came from Kwizera in the 86th minute with help from Zahir Vazquez.
Junior goalkeeper Kainoa Likewise recorded six saves on the game. Utah Valley took 18 shots, nine on frame, to Air Force's seven shots. London Aghedo and Quinn Matulis took the lion's share of Air Force shots with two each.
"We didn't play our best soccer today," head coach Doug Hill said. "We set a goal of defending our home pitch and it's tough when you don't accomplish the mission. Now we have to get those points back on the road, so we are going to regroup and continue to get better. We've got a lot of soccer to play."
NEXT UP
The Falcons return to the Academy to host Seattle U on Saturday, March 13. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. MT. Due to pending weather field conditions, Saturday's match can be played in one of three places; Cadet Soccer Stadium, Cadet Lacrosse Stadium (lacrosse practice field) or the Holaday Athletic Center. An update will be provided as match day draws near.
Air Force travels to Phoenix, Arizona, to take on Grand Canyon University, Saturday, March 6. Kick off at GCU Stadium is slated for 7 p.m. MT.
THE SERIES
Air Force and Grand Canyon (2-0, 2-0 WAC) will be meeting for the 10th time in program history, the Falcons lead the all-time series, 5-3-1. Air Force has won four of the last six meetings; however, GCU won the won the match that ended Air Force's 2018 WAC tournament run in the opening round.
LAST TIME THEY MET
A goal headed in by Lathan Spadafora in the waning minutes of double-overtime lifted Air Force to a 4-3 win over Grand Canyon University, Thursday evening (Oct. 31, 2019) at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium, USAFA.
The Falcons were led by Tristan Trager who notched his first collegiate hat trick, scoring all three Air Force goals within regulation. 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 teammates Spadafora and Michael Neacsu tallied three and two shots, respectively. Air Force put 13 shots up on the match seven were on goal.
Jared Dove and London Aghedo clocked 108 minutes apiece on the pitch, anchoring the Falcons' defense in overtime along with team captain Nick Blessing who clocked 104 minutes on the match. 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 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.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley outscored Air Force, 3-1, in the home schedule opener at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 27). The Wolverines, successful in their season opener, are 1-0 in the WAC while the Falcons equal out to 1-1-1.
Utah Valley was first to strike in the eighth minute as Zach Maas plugged in a goal via assist from Jojea Kwizera. The Falcons were quick to respond with their own goal in the ninth minute as Lathan Spadafora scored his first goal of the season via assist from Max Sole.
The Wolverines took the advantage when Cameron Weston capitalized on a penalty kick by way of a foul in the 25th minute. The last strike of the match came from Kwizera in the 86th minute with help from Zahir Vazquez.
Junior goalkeeper Kainoa Likewise recorded six saves on the game. Utah Valley took 18 shots, nine on frame, to Air Force's seven shots. London Aghedo and Quinn Matulis took the lion's share of Air Force shots with two each.
"We didn't play our best soccer today," head coach Doug Hill said. "We set a goal of defending our home pitch and it's tough when you don't accomplish the mission. Now we have to get those points back on the road, so we are going to regroup and continue to get better. We've got a lot of soccer to play."
NEXT UP
The Falcons return to the Academy to host Seattle U on Saturday, March 13. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. MT. Due to pending weather field conditions, Saturday's match can be played in one of three places; Cadet Soccer Stadium, Cadet Lacrosse Stadium (lacrosse practice field) or the Holaday Athletic Center. An update will be provided as match day draws near.
Players Mentioned
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfield
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Midfield
/ Men's Soccer
Midfield
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
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