Air Force Rallies to Draw at One

USAF ACADEMY – A header in the 88^th minute kept Air Force's Western Athletic Conference unbeaten streak alive as the Falcons battled San Jose State to a draw at one. Air Force, still atop the league, is now 7-4-3 overall with a 6-0-1 mark in conference play. The WAC's second-place team, San Jose State, is now 8-4-3 with a 4-1-2 mark in the conference.

Despite Air Force being the clear aggressor in the opening half, San Jose State was first to strike with a combo play from Joel Garcia via touches from Herminio Padilla and Isaac Lomelli at the 19-minute mark. The Falcons didn't yield, instead continued to control the possessions in their attacking half.

The match turned into a defensive battle with SJSU digging in to fend off a trigger-happy Air Force offense. The Falcons outshot the Spartans 12-4 on the match, taking six shots in each half.

With time ticking away the Falcons took their sixth and final corner kick of the match. Jake Angeletti, AF's assists leader (7), serviced the ball into the box where Tyler Johnson headed it in for the equalizer. Angeletti leads the WAC in total assists and assists per game, five of which came from the set piece. The goal marked Johnson's third this season, all of which within 12-day span.

At the final horn, the Falcons and Spartans were knotted at one. Senior goalie John Byszewski notched a save while his counterpart David Sweeney recorded four saves of his own. Air Force defenders London Aghedo, Kobey Stoup, Tyler Johnson, Jake Chaffetz and Nick Bourgeois clocked 90 minutes of action in the effort.

WAC goals leader Thaddaeus Dewing took a match-high four shots while Angeletti took the second-most with three.

"I really like the way we started the match on the front foot," head coach Doug Hill said. "We had two or three chances to put one away early, but we didn't and that kept in the game. I was pleased with the way we controlled the possessions in the attacking half, but they were able to get one in before us with a good combo play. I thought we responded well in the second half and kept control of the possessions, but now we need to work on being more dangerous in the final third. The guys showed a lot of character to come back from one-nil and getting that point was huge. All focus is on Sunday for Senior Day."

The Falcons return to Cadet Soccer stadium on Sunday for the last time of the regular season to host the WAC's third-place team, Seattle U. Kick off is slated for 1 p.m. Prior to the match, Air Force will be honoring nine players and a manager for Senior Day. Team captain London Aghedo alongside senior teammates Jake Angeletti, Matt Benson, Nick Bourgeois, Elijah Bussey, John Byszewski, Jake Chaffetz, Luke Hill, Tyler Johnson, and manager Keenan Sweeney

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Team Stats

Tyler Johnson

Jake Angeletti

Thaddaeus Dewing

Jake Chaffetz

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