Air Force Tripped Up Against Army in 2-1 Loss

USAF ACADEMY – Air Force came up shy of an equalizer, falling to service academy rivals Army West Point, 2-1, Thursday evening at Cadet Soccer Stadium. The Black Knights notched their first win of the season (1-1-1), while the Falcons drop to 0-2.

The Falcons dominated the possessions in the first half of play, out-pacing Army and pushing the ball deep in the defensive third. Air Force attempted seven shots, three on target, in the first half. Army was able to get off just two shots in the same amount of time. The teams entered the locker room at the half knotted at zero.

The first strike of the match was scored by Army's Jack Drabenstott who was able to return a deflected shot past AF keeper Will Collins. The situation continued to deteriorate as a Black Knight was fouled in the penalty box, yielding Gage Lyons a PK that he connected on in the 75^th minute.

Down but not out, the Falcons continued to push the pace to get back in the match. Senior Nick Bisagno got the Falcons on the board in the 88^th minute, denying Army a coveted shutout victory while also breathing life into the team and fans at Cadet Soccer Stadium. The Falcons played intensely from the remaining 90 seconds, taking at least two more attempts on the Army keeper. Air Force ran out of real estate as the clock expired in Army's possession.

At the final horn, Air Force outshot Army, 13-11— a mark that is 11 more than they were able to fire off in the season opener. Noah Higbie and Kyle Skevington anchored the defense with 90 minutes of action each. Senior co-team captain Carter Rizzo alongside teammates Andrew Durkin and Steve Rasizzi led the offense with two shots apiece. The Falcons put five shots on goal in the match.

Collins, in his second career start, was brilliant in making six saves. His counterpart Blair Camargo finished the match with four saves.

"I thought it was a great game— two hard working, passionate teams that just came out and literally and figuratively battled with each other," Interim Head Coach Kevin Doyle said. "It's obviously a disappointing result for us, we had a lot of chances early on, some coulda shoulda woulda moments. Ultimately, I'm proud of the way the guys played, we just didn't get the result we wanted."

"We had a great turnout at Cadet Soccer Stadium on parents' weekend," Doyle continued. "We'd love to see if we could find a way to bring Navy out and replicate this for our fans. We only get one service academy match at home every other year and we would love to find a way to get both of them every season. I think our fans would love that too."

Next up, Air Force welcomes Washington to USAFA for a Sunday evening matchup. Action at Cadet Soccer Stadium is slated for 6 p.m. MT.

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