Thursday, August 22
USAFA, CO
6:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
vs
California Baptist
Women's soccer hosts California Baptist in Academy debut
8/21/2024 11:11:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Head Coach Laura Busby talks season opener, Musgrove hat trick, Falcons potential and previews CBU
Air Force vs. California Baptist
Thursday, Aug. 22 | 6 p.m. MT
Cadet Soccer Stadium | U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
Media:
Watch: Mountain West Network
Play-by-Play: Brian Jerman
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Debuting at Cadet Soccer Stadium on Thursday evening, Air Force women's soccer returns opens its 2024 home slate on the heels of a convincing shutout victory in the Falcons' home opener.
The Falcons aim to build upon their strong start, as Air Force welcomes California Baptist to the Academy as its first home challenge of 2024, set for Thursday evening at 6 p.m.
Follow Along:
Thursday's match will be streamed on the Mountain West Network free of charge; Live scoring can be found through via the women's soccer schedule page on goairforcefalcons.com.
Last Time Out:
The Falcons opened the season to the tune of a 4-0 shutout on Aug. 15 at Northern Colorado. Junior Eleanor Musgrove notched a hat trick against the Bears, scoring a pair in front of the UNC net and a corner kick goal off of a dual assist from freshmen Annika Jost and Jordan Dillingham. It was sophomore Kendall Rippley who put a bow on Air Force's evening in the 73rd minute, as junior Samantha Sharp found Rippley inside the Bears' 18, who took on UNC's Smith head-to head and emerged victorious, sinking the Falcons' fourth and final goal of the evening. Adding on to the Falcons' successes in their season opener, junior goalkeeper Kylie McElroy, logging the first minutes of her Falcon career and first career start, earned a shutout in her first career victory. McElroy, only being called up for one save on the evening, made a number of crucial plays in front of the Air Force net to maintain a clean sheet.
The Falcons' win over Northern Colorado represents the program's first four-goal game and first 4-0 shutout since defeating Fresno State in similar fashion on Oct. 24, 2014.
New-Look Falcons:
Air Force, sporting just 16 competitors from the 2023 season, brought in a freshman class nine strong, forming out an Air Force roster composed primarily of underclassmen for 2023. With nine true freshmen on the roster, Air Force has the second-most in the league behind Fresno State.
Non-Conference Outlook:
A challenge worthy of an Air Force program aspiring toward its first-ever Mountain West title, the Falcons will face a gamut of teams in the non-conference which combined for a 63-43-27 record in 2023, one conference tournament champion (Grand Canyon), two conference tournament runners-up (Army, Northern Arizona) and four programs which finished in the top-half of the final RPI rankings for 2023 (California Baptist, 142; Grand Canyon, 80; Montana, 96; Army, 113).
Renewed Firepower:
Junior forward Caeli Sherman, making a return from injury in 2023, led the Falcons as a freshman in goals (4), points (9), shots (41) and shots on goal (19), while putting up two game-winners against Nevada (Oct. 20) and Colorado College (Oct. 27). Prior to bowing out for the season in 2023, Sherman started in seven matches, earning three goals behind a 6 of 14 (.428 SOG%) effort attacking the net.
2023 Recap:
Looking to gain ground in the Mountain West in 2024, Air Force closed its 2023 season at 6-9-3 to finish eighth in points. The Falcons opened the season at 4-1 and was within striking distance of a playoff berth down the stretch, but ultimately found itself on the outside-looking-in following a scoreless draw in the City For Champions Cup match against Colorado College to close out the regular season. The 2023 Falcons finished the year top five among Mountain West programs in goals-against average (fifth, 1.111), save percentage (third, .804), saves per game (fourth, 4.56), shots per game (fifth, 13.44) and shots on goal per game (fifth, 5.72).
Now 2nd Lt. Sydney Davis proved one of the top goalkeepers in the Mountain West, as she finished her senior season with the best save percentage in the league (13th nationally, .863) while forcing two shutouts and three scoreless
contests for Falcon opponents.
Averaging 55 minutes in 2023, junior Mia Otero led the Falcon attack, putting up five goals and four assists on 43 shots, all team highs. As a whole, Air Force logged 20 goals on the season from ten players. The Falcons put up 127 shots on goal, with 43 combined being put up by Otero and junior Jordi Ives.
Thursday, Aug. 22 | 6 p.m. MT
Cadet Soccer Stadium | U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.
Media:
Watch: Mountain West Network
Play-by-Play: Brian Jerman
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Debuting at Cadet Soccer Stadium on Thursday evening, Air Force women's soccer returns opens its 2024 home slate on the heels of a convincing shutout victory in the Falcons' home opener.
The Falcons aim to build upon their strong start, as Air Force welcomes California Baptist to the Academy as its first home challenge of 2024, set for Thursday evening at 6 p.m.
Follow Along:
Thursday's match will be streamed on the Mountain West Network free of charge; Live scoring can be found through via the women's soccer schedule page on goairforcefalcons.com.
Last Time Out:
The Falcons opened the season to the tune of a 4-0 shutout on Aug. 15 at Northern Colorado. Junior Eleanor Musgrove notched a hat trick against the Bears, scoring a pair in front of the UNC net and a corner kick goal off of a dual assist from freshmen Annika Jost and Jordan Dillingham. It was sophomore Kendall Rippley who put a bow on Air Force's evening in the 73rd minute, as junior Samantha Sharp found Rippley inside the Bears' 18, who took on UNC's Smith head-to head and emerged victorious, sinking the Falcons' fourth and final goal of the evening. Adding on to the Falcons' successes in their season opener, junior goalkeeper Kylie McElroy, logging the first minutes of her Falcon career and first career start, earned a shutout in her first career victory. McElroy, only being called up for one save on the evening, made a number of crucial plays in front of the Air Force net to maintain a clean sheet.
The Falcons' win over Northern Colorado represents the program's first four-goal game and first 4-0 shutout since defeating Fresno State in similar fashion on Oct. 24, 2014.
New-Look Falcons:
Air Force, sporting just 16 competitors from the 2023 season, brought in a freshman class nine strong, forming out an Air Force roster composed primarily of underclassmen for 2023. With nine true freshmen on the roster, Air Force has the second-most in the league behind Fresno State.
Non-Conference Outlook:
A challenge worthy of an Air Force program aspiring toward its first-ever Mountain West title, the Falcons will face a gamut of teams in the non-conference which combined for a 63-43-27 record in 2023, one conference tournament champion (Grand Canyon), two conference tournament runners-up (Army, Northern Arizona) and four programs which finished in the top-half of the final RPI rankings for 2023 (California Baptist, 142; Grand Canyon, 80; Montana, 96; Army, 113).
Renewed Firepower:
Junior forward Caeli Sherman, making a return from injury in 2023, led the Falcons as a freshman in goals (4), points (9), shots (41) and shots on goal (19), while putting up two game-winners against Nevada (Oct. 20) and Colorado College (Oct. 27). Prior to bowing out for the season in 2023, Sherman started in seven matches, earning three goals behind a 6 of 14 (.428 SOG%) effort attacking the net.
2023 Recap:
Looking to gain ground in the Mountain West in 2024, Air Force closed its 2023 season at 6-9-3 to finish eighth in points. The Falcons opened the season at 4-1 and was within striking distance of a playoff berth down the stretch, but ultimately found itself on the outside-looking-in following a scoreless draw in the City For Champions Cup match against Colorado College to close out the regular season. The 2023 Falcons finished the year top five among Mountain West programs in goals-against average (fifth, 1.111), save percentage (third, .804), saves per game (fourth, 4.56), shots per game (fifth, 13.44) and shots on goal per game (fifth, 5.72).
Now 2nd Lt. Sydney Davis proved one of the top goalkeepers in the Mountain West, as she finished her senior season with the best save percentage in the league (13th nationally, .863) while forcing two shutouts and three scoreless
contests for Falcon opponents.
Averaging 55 minutes in 2023, junior Mia Otero led the Falcon attack, putting up five goals and four assists on 43 shots, all team highs. As a whole, Air Force logged 20 goals on the season from ten players. The Falcons put up 127 shots on goal, with 43 combined being put up by Otero and junior Jordi Ives.
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
F/M
/ Women's Soccer
D/M
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
F
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