Air Force stands tall to claim 3-2 thriller over Stetson

DELAND- The Falcons were boosted by a variety of goal scorers on Sunday, as Air Force managed to stave off the Hatters to notch its first win of the season by a score of 3-2.

"We certainly had to deal with adversity on the road this weekend," said head coach Laura Busby. "I thought the team responded well after a lackluster performance on Thursday. It was great to see a few freshman stepping into the starting lineup and perform well."

One such freshmen was Addie Doyle, who notched her first career goal in the 35th minute. Doyle tucked away Air Force's first score of 2023, cleanly receiving a pass from Mia Otero to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.

Following a Hatters goal to equalize the score in the 42nd minute, Otero eventually notched a score of her own less than a minute later. The junior received a well-placed cross into the box from freshman Julia Tierney, picking up her first collegiate point as the result of her assist. Otero, recording her first goal since 2021, gave the Falcons a 2-1 lead heading into the halftime break.

Just two minutes into the 2nd half, Caeli Sherman extended the Falcons advantage with a bit of individual magic. Fed by Grace Sublette, Sherman maneuvered through traffic before firing right-footed rocket to the right of the keeper to build a 3-1 Falcons lead.

The Hatters did convert a penalty kick in the 54th minute to trim the Air Force lead, but the Falcons defense did well to stave off a potential equalizer over the game's final 36 minutes.

"It was a total team effort with three different goal scorers and solid contributions off the bench," said Busby.

The Falcons were the aggressors for most of the match, attempting 24 total shots to just 10 for the Hatters, as 14 of their 24 attempts were on target.

Next, Air Force will make its home debut on Sunday, August 27 when the Falcons host Northern Colorado. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm MT.

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