Women’s soccer falls late to New Mexico

Team	1	2	Final F
New Mexico	1	1	2
Air Force	1	0	1

New Mexico

Air Force

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – An early lead and overall strong performance on Thursday evening for the Air Force women's soccer team proved not enough to earn three points, as the Falcons fell, 2-1, to New Mexico at Cadet Soccer Stadium.

After both teams spent the majority of the evening looking to break a 1-1 stalemate, it was an 88^th- minute long shot from UNM's Alysa Whelchel that proved the game winner, leaving the Falcons little time to recover.

Air Force struck first in the contest, as sophomore Kendall Rippley, from just outside the Lobo 18, was able to shift possession to an attacking Annika Jost. Jost perfectly deflected the pass off the outside of her right foot into the top of the UNM net for a 1-0 lead. The goal marks the first of Jost's Air Force career.

The Lobos were quick to respond, finding the equalizer in the 38^th minute; Junior forward Presley Devey drove into Falcon territory along the right side and sent her pass forward to a ready-and-waiting Natalie Degagne, who placed her shot to the right and out of reach of Falcon goalkeeper Kylie McElroy, leading to a halftime score of 1-1.

With the score at an even draw for the majority of the match, the Lobos dictated pace throughout most of the second half but still allowed the Falcons to out shoot New Mexico 12-4 down the back half of the evening and 20-7 for the night, but Air Force struggled to capitalize on their position. Sophomore Julia Tierney, with five shots under her belt on the evening, continued to get looks along the left wing, but was unable to threaten UNM keeper Callie Droitsch (six saves). At 78', freshman Mai Mateaki took on Droitsch deep inside the box but backed down, not finding the shot she wanted.

Despite the shots advantage and opportunities to take a lead, UNM found its game winner at 88', as Alysa Whelchel fired one at McElroy who was able to dive to her right and get hands on the ball, but the deflection fell in the back of the Air Force net to leave the Falcons down 2-1 with little time to recover.

Rippley and Tierney both led Air Force in shots with five apiece, combining for three attempts on-frame; Including the score, Jost added three shots, all three proving on-goal.

Up Next:
Air Force Women's Soccer (5-5-2, 1-3-1 MW) is back at Cadet Soccer Stadium on Sunday afternoon, hosting San Diego State at 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Annika Jost

Mai Mateaki

Kylie McElroy

Kendall Rippley

Julia Tierney

Team Stats

Jost Annika

Rippley Kendall

Tierney Julia

Mateaki Mai

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