AFA Men’s Soccer Visits England
7/18/2023 4:46:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Men's Soccer team embarked on a foreign Tour to England this year to make a memorable experience. After the graduation of nine seniors from a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular-season title last year in 2022, this trip is what the program needed to be ready for the 2023 season. The team's objectives were to gain extra team training sessions, play challenging matches, build team chemistry, and gain needed experience in preparation for the 2023 fall season.
The first warm-up match of the trip was played in Southampton against the Royal Air Forces (RAF) Icarus team at the Stoneham Lane Football Complex. All players played half a game and won as they worked on their finishing skills with many players scoring. Game two was much more competitive playing Salford City Football Club (owned by legendary Manchester United players David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt) outside Manchester. The match was against their Development Squad, composed of U23, U21, U18, transfers, first team players getting minutes and trialists.
In the match, the Falcons pinned Salford in their half of the field and jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Thaddaeus Dewing, a senior tri-captain, assisted by junior Carter Rizzo. In a physical, highly competitive match, the Ammies tied the score at 1-1, five minutes before the half ended. In the second half, the Air Force pressure resulted in possession at the top of attacking third where Dewing fed junior Ben Wunsch for the game winning goal with about 25 minutes to play. A late goal-saving effort by senior keeper Jake Stone cemented the match. Midfielders Remi Smith, Greg Hill, Luke Hill and backs Federico Mion, Alex Mercier, Kobey Stoup, Andrew Durkin and Ryan Daunt were strong throughout the match and caught the eye of the Manchester United staff.
The last match of the trip was in London against the Queens Park Rangers (QPR) Development Team at their new facility in Hounslow, West London. QPR finished 20th of 24 teams in the Championship League of the English Professional League in the 2022-2023 season. The Falcons started fast and scored in the 10th minute from a perfectly weighted ball from senior tri-captain Luke Hill to junior Nick Bisagno who volleyed it to the keeper's left. Fifteen minutes later, Carter Rizzo took a misplayed QPR pass and played it through to Dewing who beat the keeper in a one-on-one situation. Just before the halftime whistle, Greg Hill put the Falcons up 3-0 as he tucked away a bouncing ball inside the box following an Air Force restart. QPR gained some momentum in the middle of the second half and scored two goals within a minute of each other around the 65th minute. The Falcons regained their composure and prevented further changes in the score line while creating some counterattack chances in the late minutes of the match.
The team was able to take in three world-class facilities of Manchester City Football Club and Liverpool Football Club and St George Park. The Ethiad and Anfield facilities were full of history and current memories as well as access to behind-the-scenes details demonstrating how everything from nutrition to rest, to strength and conditioning, to media activities are managed by the top teams and professionals in the world. On the way to Manchester City the team bus stopped at St George Park, where the England National team trains. The 330-acre facility countryside home to England's 23 football teams and Education since 2012 has a stadium field and 14 elite fields, along with a full-sized indoor turf pitch, and futsal facilities.
At the end of the trip, Coach Doug Hill termed the journey a success. He commented "This was a very memorable trip for the lads and we met our objectives and left a great impression on the teams we played and became a much closer team!" He went on to say, "We want to thank those who made the England trip possible. These experiences cannot be accomplished without an active support group and athletic administration. We look forward to seeing our fans at Falcon Soccer Stadium this fall as the team takes on another challenging non-conference and WAC schedule."
The first warm-up match of the trip was played in Southampton against the Royal Air Forces (RAF) Icarus team at the Stoneham Lane Football Complex. All players played half a game and won as they worked on their finishing skills with many players scoring. Game two was much more competitive playing Salford City Football Club (owned by legendary Manchester United players David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt) outside Manchester. The match was against their Development Squad, composed of U23, U21, U18, transfers, first team players getting minutes and trialists.
In the match, the Falcons pinned Salford in their half of the field and jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Thaddaeus Dewing, a senior tri-captain, assisted by junior Carter Rizzo. In a physical, highly competitive match, the Ammies tied the score at 1-1, five minutes before the half ended. In the second half, the Air Force pressure resulted in possession at the top of attacking third where Dewing fed junior Ben Wunsch for the game winning goal with about 25 minutes to play. A late goal-saving effort by senior keeper Jake Stone cemented the match. Midfielders Remi Smith, Greg Hill, Luke Hill and backs Federico Mion, Alex Mercier, Kobey Stoup, Andrew Durkin and Ryan Daunt were strong throughout the match and caught the eye of the Manchester United staff.
The last match of the trip was in London against the Queens Park Rangers (QPR) Development Team at their new facility in Hounslow, West London. QPR finished 20th of 24 teams in the Championship League of the English Professional League in the 2022-2023 season. The Falcons started fast and scored in the 10th minute from a perfectly weighted ball from senior tri-captain Luke Hill to junior Nick Bisagno who volleyed it to the keeper's left. Fifteen minutes later, Carter Rizzo took a misplayed QPR pass and played it through to Dewing who beat the keeper in a one-on-one situation. Just before the halftime whistle, Greg Hill put the Falcons up 3-0 as he tucked away a bouncing ball inside the box following an Air Force restart. QPR gained some momentum in the middle of the second half and scored two goals within a minute of each other around the 65th minute. The Falcons regained their composure and prevented further changes in the score line while creating some counterattack chances in the late minutes of the match.
The team was able to take in three world-class facilities of Manchester City Football Club and Liverpool Football Club and St George Park. The Ethiad and Anfield facilities were full of history and current memories as well as access to behind-the-scenes details demonstrating how everything from nutrition to rest, to strength and conditioning, to media activities are managed by the top teams and professionals in the world. On the way to Manchester City the team bus stopped at St George Park, where the England National team trains. The 330-acre facility countryside home to England's 23 football teams and Education since 2012 has a stadium field and 14 elite fields, along with a full-sized indoor turf pitch, and futsal facilities.
At the end of the trip, Coach Doug Hill termed the journey a success. He commented "This was a very memorable trip for the lads and we met our objectives and left a great impression on the teams we played and became a much closer team!" He went on to say, "We want to thank those who made the England trip possible. These experiences cannot be accomplished without an active support group and athletic administration. We look forward to seeing our fans at Falcon Soccer Stadium this fall as the team takes on another challenging non-conference and WAC schedule."
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