Friday, September 6
East Lansing, MI
5:00 PM MT
Air Force Academy
at
Michigan State
Men's Soccer Travels to Michigan State, No. 4 Western Michigan
9/5/2024 10:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
GAME 04 & 05
Air Force (0-3-0) at Michigan State (1-2-1)
7 p.m. ET, Friday, September 6
DeMartin Stadium, East Lansing, MI
Air Force at No. 4 Western Michigan
1 p.m. ET, Sunday, September 8
WMU Soccer Complex, Kalamazoo, MI
The Falcons hit the road for the first of a three-match road stint. Air Force will play Michigan State on Friday (Sept. 6) in East Lansing and follow up at Western Michigan on Sunday (Sept. 8), in Kalamazoo. Action on Friday is slated for 7 p.m. ET while kick off on Sunday is 1 p.m. ET.
THE SERIES
The Falcons and Spartans are meeting for the third time, the series is knotted up at 1-1-1. The first meeting was in 1968 where MSU blanked AF, 8-0. In the second meeting (1969), the teams tied one-one. The last time they played was 1973 where the Falcons blanked the Spartans, 4-0.
Air Force and Western Michigan meet for their second match all-time. The teams met for the first time last season (2023), where WMU outscored AF, 1-0, at USAFA. A veteran WMU squad, led by eight graduate players, struck early at USAFA as senior Charlie Sharp scored via touch from Carson Hodgson second minute. The Broncos went scoreless in the ensuing 88 minutes despite outshooting the Falcons in the match, 12-8.
SWITCH IN GOAL
Sophomore keeper Will Collins, who had an .813 save percentage and 1.5 GAA in two career appearances, was injured in the second minute of the third game of the season. Filling in was freshman keeper Brody Smith who made an incredible 10 saves against a talented Washington team in his collegiate debut. Smith has an .833 save percentage after one showing.
AIR FORCE YOUNG GUNS
Six freshmen have earned a starting spot this season in Kyle Skevington, Attila Toth, Weston Cantrell, Brody Smith, Oliver Becker and Menes Ajyeman (injured)— alongside four sophomores in Sean Flynn, Noah Higbie, Tyler Kato, and Will Collins (injured).
HEIGHT ADVANTAGE
Air Force's defensive unit is tall, Skevington, Higbie, and Smith are all 6'5". On the offensive side, Cantrell is also 6'5", while Kato is 6'2".
UP NEXT
The Falcons travel to Sunny California to take on UC San Diego, Sunday, September 15. Action at Triton Soccer Stadium is slated for a 7 p.m. PT start.
LAST TIME OUT
Despite a tremendous effort, Air Force was unable to secure an equalizer against Washington, falling 2-1 at Cadet Soccer Stadium.
The Huskies were the aggressors in the match, firing off 19 shots to AF's seven— 12 UW shots were on frame while the Falcons took five shots on goal.
Washington scored their first goal on a set piece with Chris Meyers servicing Charlie Kosakoff from the nearside corner. The Falcons went to the locker room at the half trailing one-nil. The Huskies increased their lead to 2-0 early in the second half as Kosakoff assisted Zach Ramsey for a goal in the 57th minute.
Undeterred, the Falcons kept their energy high and pushed possessions into the UW third. In the 64th minute, the team got a spark from sophomore Logan Zaa who executed a flying header via touch from senior team captain Carter Rizzo. With an equalizer on the table, Air Force pushed the pace and took it to Washington. The seasoned Huskies were able to fend off the attacking Falcons for the remainder of the match.
AROUND THE WAC
UNBEATEN POOL SHRINKS TO FOUR AFTER SECOND WEEK
A total of four WAC men's soccer members remained unbeaten two weeks into the 2024 season. Seattle U (1-0-1) and UTRGV (1-0-0) were both idle in the season's second week, while California Baptist (1-0-2) earned its first win of the new year and Utah Valley (2-0-1) picked up its second victory.
NUTORNUTSI OFF TO A HOT START FOR GCU
Grand Canyon junior forward Bright Nutornutsi kept up a blazing goal scoring pace for the Lopes for the second straight game against Duke on Aug. 30, scoring twice in a 3-2 win. After scoring two goals in a span of 45 seconds in the season opener against Western Illinois, Nutornutsi bagged a second brace of the year with goals in the 28th and 43rd minutes against Duke. Nutornutsi was believed to be the first WAC player to register back-to-back multi-goal games since Air Force's Tristan Trager in 2019.
DO REGO KEEP ROLLING FOR CBU
California Baptist sophomore goalkeeper Hugo Do Rego remained unbeaten in his debut season with the Lancers after registering eight saves in a 4-1 win over CSU Bakersfield on Aug. 31 for the first CBU victory of the year. Do Rego, who has allowed only one goal over his first 270 minutes played, ranks eighth in NCAA Division I with 6.33 saves per match and is tied for fourth nationally with two clean sheets.
SEATTLE U REMAINS 11TH IN UNITED SOCCER COACHES POLL
Following a bye week, Seattle U remained ranked 11th in this week's United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I men's soccer rankings at 1-0-1 on the season. The Redhawks moved up two places to sit at No. 22 in the Top Drawer Soccer DI top 25 entering the season's third week.
THE TOP-RANKED TEAM IN THE NATION HIGHLIGHTS THE WEEK THREE WAC SCHEDULE
Defending WAC champion California Baptist welcomes national number one ranked West Virginia to Riverside for a Friday night matchup on Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. PT at the CBU Soccer Stadium. The Mountaineers, a 2023 NCAA College Cup participant, are a perfect 3-0-0 after outscoring opponents 12-2 over their first three starts. Other ranked matchups featuring WAC members this week include San Francisco at No. 11/22 Seattle U on Sept. 6, Air Force at No. 4/10 Western Michigan and Utah Tech at No. 18/19 Portland on Sept. 8 and Seattle U at No. 24 Washington on Sept. 9.
Air Force (0-3-0) at Michigan State (1-2-1)
7 p.m. ET, Friday, September 6
DeMartin Stadium, East Lansing, MI
Air Force at No. 4 Western Michigan
1 p.m. ET, Sunday, September 8
WMU Soccer Complex, Kalamazoo, MI
The Falcons hit the road for the first of a three-match road stint. Air Force will play Michigan State on Friday (Sept. 6) in East Lansing and follow up at Western Michigan on Sunday (Sept. 8), in Kalamazoo. Action on Friday is slated for 7 p.m. ET while kick off on Sunday is 1 p.m. ET.
THE SERIES
The Falcons and Spartans are meeting for the third time, the series is knotted up at 1-1-1. The first meeting was in 1968 where MSU blanked AF, 8-0. In the second meeting (1969), the teams tied one-one. The last time they played was 1973 where the Falcons blanked the Spartans, 4-0.
Air Force and Western Michigan meet for their second match all-time. The teams met for the first time last season (2023), where WMU outscored AF, 1-0, at USAFA. A veteran WMU squad, led by eight graduate players, struck early at USAFA as senior Charlie Sharp scored via touch from Carson Hodgson second minute. The Broncos went scoreless in the ensuing 88 minutes despite outshooting the Falcons in the match, 12-8.
SWITCH IN GOAL
Sophomore keeper Will Collins, who had an .813 save percentage and 1.5 GAA in two career appearances, was injured in the second minute of the third game of the season. Filling in was freshman keeper Brody Smith who made an incredible 10 saves against a talented Washington team in his collegiate debut. Smith has an .833 save percentage after one showing.
AIR FORCE YOUNG GUNS
Six freshmen have earned a starting spot this season in Kyle Skevington, Attila Toth, Weston Cantrell, Brody Smith, Oliver Becker and Menes Ajyeman (injured)— alongside four sophomores in Sean Flynn, Noah Higbie, Tyler Kato, and Will Collins (injured).
HEIGHT ADVANTAGE
Air Force's defensive unit is tall, Skevington, Higbie, and Smith are all 6'5". On the offensive side, Cantrell is also 6'5", while Kato is 6'2".
UP NEXT
The Falcons travel to Sunny California to take on UC San Diego, Sunday, September 15. Action at Triton Soccer Stadium is slated for a 7 p.m. PT start.
LAST TIME OUT
Despite a tremendous effort, Air Force was unable to secure an equalizer against Washington, falling 2-1 at Cadet Soccer Stadium.
The Huskies were the aggressors in the match, firing off 19 shots to AF's seven— 12 UW shots were on frame while the Falcons took five shots on goal.
Washington scored their first goal on a set piece with Chris Meyers servicing Charlie Kosakoff from the nearside corner. The Falcons went to the locker room at the half trailing one-nil. The Huskies increased their lead to 2-0 early in the second half as Kosakoff assisted Zach Ramsey for a goal in the 57th minute.
Undeterred, the Falcons kept their energy high and pushed possessions into the UW third. In the 64th minute, the team got a spark from sophomore Logan Zaa who executed a flying header via touch from senior team captain Carter Rizzo. With an equalizer on the table, Air Force pushed the pace and took it to Washington. The seasoned Huskies were able to fend off the attacking Falcons for the remainder of the match.
AROUND THE WAC
UNBEATEN POOL SHRINKS TO FOUR AFTER SECOND WEEK
A total of four WAC men's soccer members remained unbeaten two weeks into the 2024 season. Seattle U (1-0-1) and UTRGV (1-0-0) were both idle in the season's second week, while California Baptist (1-0-2) earned its first win of the new year and Utah Valley (2-0-1) picked up its second victory.
NUTORNUTSI OFF TO A HOT START FOR GCU
Grand Canyon junior forward Bright Nutornutsi kept up a blazing goal scoring pace for the Lopes for the second straight game against Duke on Aug. 30, scoring twice in a 3-2 win. After scoring two goals in a span of 45 seconds in the season opener against Western Illinois, Nutornutsi bagged a second brace of the year with goals in the 28th and 43rd minutes against Duke. Nutornutsi was believed to be the first WAC player to register back-to-back multi-goal games since Air Force's Tristan Trager in 2019.
DO REGO KEEP ROLLING FOR CBU
California Baptist sophomore goalkeeper Hugo Do Rego remained unbeaten in his debut season with the Lancers after registering eight saves in a 4-1 win over CSU Bakersfield on Aug. 31 for the first CBU victory of the year. Do Rego, who has allowed only one goal over his first 270 minutes played, ranks eighth in NCAA Division I with 6.33 saves per match and is tied for fourth nationally with two clean sheets.
SEATTLE U REMAINS 11TH IN UNITED SOCCER COACHES POLL
Following a bye week, Seattle U remained ranked 11th in this week's United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I men's soccer rankings at 1-0-1 on the season. The Redhawks moved up two places to sit at No. 22 in the Top Drawer Soccer DI top 25 entering the season's third week.
THE TOP-RANKED TEAM IN THE NATION HIGHLIGHTS THE WEEK THREE WAC SCHEDULE
Defending WAC champion California Baptist welcomes national number one ranked West Virginia to Riverside for a Friday night matchup on Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. PT at the CBU Soccer Stadium. The Mountaineers, a 2023 NCAA College Cup participant, are a perfect 3-0-0 after outscoring opponents 12-2 over their first three starts. Other ranked matchups featuring WAC members this week include San Francisco at No. 11/22 Seattle U on Sept. 6, Air Force at No. 4/10 Western Michigan and Utah Tech at No. 18/19 Portland on Sept. 8 and Seattle U at No. 24 Washington on Sept. 9.
Players Mentioned
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GK
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GK
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/ Men's Soccer
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