Women’s soccer misfires in Mountain West opener against Colorado State

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force Women's Soccer, after a nearly two-week hiatus, fell flat in its Mountain West opener, going down 4-0 at the hands of Colorado State on Thursday evening at Cadet Soccer Stadium.

The Falcons put up 16 shots and six on goal, led by freshman Mai Mateaki's four; Sophomore forward Kendall Rippley followed up with three of her own, all of which were on-frame.

Air Force (4-3-1, 0-1-0 MW), in the space of 12 minutes, found itself down 3-0 early on in its contest with CSU and was forced into playing catch-up the remainder of the evening. The Rams exerted control over the game script throughout the first half, starting in the 17^th minute with a Kaja Dionne, advancing along the left wing, put up a light cross which looked threatening and left Air Force keeper Kylie McElroy out of position on the save. Dionne's look and the resulting rebound from McElroy was hunted down by an attacking Maggie Altman, who landed the 1-0 goal.

At 21', Ram sophomore Mia Casey, at the top of the Air Force 18, hitched possession out to senior Liv Stutzman who attempted a high-center strike from range. McElroy managed to get fingers on the shot, forcing it into the crossbar, but the deflection landed right at the feet of Casey for a chip-in and 2-0 CSU lead.

CSU earned its third goal of the evening off of a corner kick in the 29^th minute; Kacie Laurie got the initial shot within the scrum off the set piece but was blocked, which set up Kenady Leighton for a strike into the top-left of the Air Force net and ultimately left the Falcons with a 3-0 deficit to contend with after halftime.

Air Force, acting with a sense of urgency, came out of the locker room and managed to even the pressure in the second half and ultimately out-shoot CSU 11-7 – but none of the Falcons' four second-half shots on-frame proved threatening. Air Force's fate was effectively sealed in the 74^th minute with CSU's fourth goal of the night, as Casey put the ball in play near the top of the 18 for Sofia Coulombe, who took on McElroy solo, banking her shot off the right post and into the Air Force net.

Up Next:
Air Force Women's Soccer closes on a five-match home stand on Sunday afternoon, hosting Wyoming at 1 p.m. at Cadet Soccer Stadium.

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