Friday, April 9
USAFA, CO
6 PM MT
Air Force Academy
4-4-1, 4-4-1
2
vs
1
Houston Baptist
0-9-2, 0-9-1
1
2
F
Houston Baptist
0
1
1
Air Force
0
2
2
Air Force Downs HBU on Senior Night
4/9/2021 9:25:00 PM | Men's Soccer
USAF ACADEMY - Air Force finalized the regular season on a high note, defeating Houston Baptist, 2-1, in a Friday evening Western Athletic Conference matchup at the Academy. The Falcons, who celebrated their senior class prior to the match, finalized the regular season campaign at 4-4-1 while the Huskies put their season in the books at 0-9-2.
Garrett Miyaoka, Ryan Clary, Max Sole and Reece Cooke, all starters in the match, were celebrated before kickoff. The Class of 2021 has helped Air Force to two WAC regular season titles, visited four-straight WAC tournaments, two NCAA tournament appearances, including a visit to the Sweet 16, and helped the Falcons to a program-record 17 win season in 2018.
The Falcons dominated the possessions early on and saw plenty of opportunities to score as they outshot the Huskies, 7-0, in the first half, but it was not until the 77th minute when Air Force finally made good on their efforts. Jared Dove lined up for a free kick from behind the midfield line and sent a well-placed long ball to Elijah Bussey who one-touched passed it to junior midfielder and team captain Giuliano Daniel for the finish. Bussey leads the team with four assists this season while Daniel recorded his first goal this season.
With the momentum in their favor, the Falcons continued to press their attack. London Aghedo fed Tristan Trager the ball in stride who then sent an excellent cross to Lathan Spadafora-- but the Huskies on their heels made an error as their defender tried to deny the cross and ended up meeting the ball at a bad angle, sending it into his own goal.
With an insurance goal and time ticking down, the Falcon reserves made it to the pitch to get some well-deserved minutes. Moments later, the Huskie offense went on the attack with a shot on frame that was brilliantly denied by junior keeper Kainoa Likewise in a diving save. In a dash to prevent a reshot, Likewise fouled the attacker in the box, yielding a penalty kick opportunity for HBU. Luis Poblacion was sent forth to handle the task, finishing low-left on Likewise.
HBU, high on hope, rallied one last time against the Falcon defense but were met with staunch resistance and denied to the final horn. When the dust settled, the Falcons quadrupled the Huskies in shots (16-4). Trager led the squad with four shots while Aghedo, Reece Cooke, Spadafora and Ayman Bushara were credited with two shots apiece.
Sole and sophomore defender Jake Chaffetz held down the defensive line for the full 90 minutes. Kainoa Likewise made two saves in his fourth win this season.
"It took a while to score but we did the right things and were patient," head coach Doug Hill said. "We got the ball in behind quite a bit and it was nice to see Eli [Bussey] finally get in behind and get a nice power finish. After that, it opened up and all of our seniors had the chance to contribute. There was a superstition that we couldn't win in blue-- but we won in blue and now we've set the standard that white or blue, we're coming through. Now we're going to shift our focus to the conference tournament and see if we can't make our season last a little longer."
Air Force will play the three-seed, yet to be determined, in the second match of the first round of the WAC Tournament, hosted at Peter Johann Memorial Field, on the campus of UNLV. Match two is slated for a 2:30 p.m. PT kick-off on Tuesday, April 13.
Garrett Miyaoka, Ryan Clary, Max Sole and Reece Cooke, all starters in the match, were celebrated before kickoff. The Class of 2021 has helped Air Force to two WAC regular season titles, visited four-straight WAC tournaments, two NCAA tournament appearances, including a visit to the Sweet 16, and helped the Falcons to a program-record 17 win season in 2018.
The Falcons dominated the possessions early on and saw plenty of opportunities to score as they outshot the Huskies, 7-0, in the first half, but it was not until the 77th minute when Air Force finally made good on their efforts. Jared Dove lined up for a free kick from behind the midfield line and sent a well-placed long ball to Elijah Bussey who one-touched passed it to junior midfielder and team captain Giuliano Daniel for the finish. Bussey leads the team with four assists this season while Daniel recorded his first goal this season.
With the momentum in their favor, the Falcons continued to press their attack. London Aghedo fed Tristan Trager the ball in stride who then sent an excellent cross to Lathan Spadafora-- but the Huskies on their heels made an error as their defender tried to deny the cross and ended up meeting the ball at a bad angle, sending it into his own goal.
With an insurance goal and time ticking down, the Falcon reserves made it to the pitch to get some well-deserved minutes. Moments later, the Huskie offense went on the attack with a shot on frame that was brilliantly denied by junior keeper Kainoa Likewise in a diving save. In a dash to prevent a reshot, Likewise fouled the attacker in the box, yielding a penalty kick opportunity for HBU. Luis Poblacion was sent forth to handle the task, finishing low-left on Likewise.
HBU, high on hope, rallied one last time against the Falcon defense but were met with staunch resistance and denied to the final horn. When the dust settled, the Falcons quadrupled the Huskies in shots (16-4). Trager led the squad with four shots while Aghedo, Reece Cooke, Spadafora and Ayman Bushara were credited with two shots apiece.
Sole and sophomore defender Jake Chaffetz held down the defensive line for the full 90 minutes. Kainoa Likewise made two saves in his fourth win this season.
"It took a while to score but we did the right things and were patient," head coach Doug Hill said. "We got the ball in behind quite a bit and it was nice to see Eli [Bussey] finally get in behind and get a nice power finish. After that, it opened up and all of our seniors had the chance to contribute. There was a superstition that we couldn't win in blue-- but we won in blue and now we've set the standard that white or blue, we're coming through. Now we're going to shift our focus to the conference tournament and see if we can't make our season last a little longer."
Air Force will play the three-seed, yet to be determined, in the second match of the first round of the WAC Tournament, hosted at Peter Johann Memorial Field, on the campus of UNLV. Match two is slated for a 2:30 p.m. PT kick-off on Tuesday, April 13.
Team Stats
HBU
AFA
Goals
1
2
Shots
4
16
Shots on Goal
3
5
Saves
4
2
Corners
3
11
Fouls
10
8
Scoring Plays
Giuliano Daniel (1)
Assisted By: Elijah Bussey
GOAL by AFA Daniel, Giuliano Assist by Bussey, Elijah.
76:52
0
GOAL by AFA TEAM.
79:00
Luis Poblacion (1)
HBU Luis Poblacion PENALTY KICK GOAL.
85:33
Game Leaders
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
4
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfield
/ Men's SoccerMidfield
/ Men's Soccer
Midfield
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's SoccerMidfield
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's SoccerMidfielder
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