Thursday, August 21
Chicago, IL
6:00 PM MT
Air Force Academy
at
UIC
Falcon Men's Soccer Opens the 2025 Season at UIC
8/20/2025 11:53:00 AM | Men's Soccer
AIR FORCE (0-0) at ILLINOIS-CHICAGO (0-0)
7 p.m. CT, Thursday, August 21
Flames Field – Chicago, Ill.
Military Appreciation & First Responders Game
LET'S GET IT STARTED
Air Force opens the 2025 campaign with mostly all new faces and completely revamped coaching staff. The Falcons aim to turn the ship around on two consecutive one-win seasons in 2023 and 2024.
DALBY TAKES THE HELM IN 2025
Greg Dalby was named head men's soccer coach at Air Force in January 2025. Dalby comes to the Academy from Oregon State, where he was the head coach the last two seasons. He led the Beavers to great success in his two seasons, accumulating a 21-11-8 overall record. Oregon State went to the NCAA Tournament both years, including a run to the College Cup in 2023. The Beavers went 11-6-5 in Dalby's first season, with a run that included four NCAA Tournament victories before falling to Notre Dame in the national semifinals. Oregon State ended the season ranked No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, the highest postseason mark in program history.
Dalby built out his staff with coaches Clint Long and Christian Madrigal.
Long joined the Academy by way of Penn State where he served five years as assistant coach. During his stint at Penn State, he helped lead the team to a Big Ten Regular Season title and its 15th Big Ten Tournament Final appearance in 2023. Long helped coach four All-Big Ten honorees including Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Kris Shakes and Defender of the Year Femi Awodesu. He also coached Olympian Mohamed Cisset who represented Mali at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Madrigal comes to USAFA by way of Loyola Marymount where he served six seasons as assistant coach. During his stint at LMU, Madrigal coached three MLS Super Draft picks in Jacob Jackson (GK), Noel Caliskan (MF), and Tyger Smalls (W), while also helping the Lions to a WCC title in 2020-21. In six seasons, Madrigal helped LMU three NCAA Tournament appearances (2019, 2020-21, 2023) highlighted by an Elite 8 run in 2023. Prior to Loyola Marymount, Madrigal spent a season at Cal State Fullerton where he matriculated to earn his master's degree in kinesiology while helping the Titans to a Big West semifinals appearance.
THE SERIES AGAINST THE FLAMES
The Falcons and Flames are meeting for the second time in program history with Air Force holding the winning advantage. The last time the teams played was in September of 2004 when the Falcons extinguished the Flames, 2-1, at USAFA. Marcus Sagastume, then-senior and son of legendary AF head coach Lou Sagastume, scored both goals in the win.
UIC AT A GLANCE
The Flames will take the pitch under the command of head coach Sean Phillips who enters his 16th season leading the UIC men's soccer program. As UIC's head coach since 2010, and a staff member since 2005, Sean Phillips has been a key component in leading UIC to the winningest era in its history. In 2024, Phillips became the winningest Head Coach in school history, winning his 137th game in a 2-0 against Bradley on Nov. 1, 2024.
UIC senior midfielder Rui Reis was selected to the 2025 Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Team. The preseason squad was voted upon by the Valley's eight head coaches.
A native of Lisbon, Portugal, Reis is beginning his second season with the Flames after starting all 17 matches last year and ranking third on the squad with four goals and four assists (12 points). He also netted a pair of match-winning goals, and during MVC play, Reis tied for third in the conference with 10 shots on goal (1.25 per match) and tied for sixth with 16 total shots against Valley opponents.
The Flames concluded the 2024 season at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament semi-finals, wrapping the season with a 7-10 overall record, and a 3-5 mark in regular season conference play.
LEADING FROM THE FRONT
Air Force announced the team captaincy for the 2025 campaign. Sophomores Oliver Becker, Andrei Bulankou, and Brody Smith were voted captains. The trio combined for over 1,700 minutes on the pitch in their freshman season. Becker started in seven matches and attempted 10 shots on the season while Bulankou started in three matches on the AF defense. Smith made six starts in eight appearances with a career best 10 saves against in his collegiate debut at Washington.
AIR FORCE YOUNG GUNS
The Falcons returned just one starter from last season in sophomore defender Menes Ajyeman, and just eight players who saw action during their freshmen season. The Falcons welcomed 17 newcomers to the squad with 13 of them being freshmen and the remaining four sophomores. The Falcons brought on six walk-ons from preseason training in Braedon Gehring (Fr.), Marcos Goni (So.), Joshua Staus (Fr.), Joe Bennett (So.), Luke Dustin (So.), and Abhinav Ramaraju (So.).
UP NEXT
The Falcons hang around Chicagoland for the weekend where they will take on Northwestern on Sunday, August 24. Action at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium (Evanston, Ill.) is slated for a 1 p.m. CT start. The 'Cats open their regular season against Eastern Illinois on Thursday.
PRESEASON WAC
San Diego State, the regular season champion last season, was selected as the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) preseason favorite in the 2025 WAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll.
San Diego State received four first-place votes to finish atop the preseason predicted order of finish based on polling of the WAC's eight men's soccer head coaches. California Baptist added three first-place votes to check in second, followed by San José State (one first-place vote), UNLV and Utah Valley rounding out the top five teams in the predicted order of finish.
San José State senior midfielder Angel Iniguez, the reigning conference offensive player of the year, was tabbed as the 2025 WAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year by the conference's head coaches. Iniguez was a first-team all-conference midfield selection for a second straight season in 2024 after scoring 10 goals and adding seven assists over 19 matches to share the WAC lead with 27 points as a junior. Iniguez was particularly stellar in conference matches during his player of the year campaign, scoring six goals and adding four assists for a WAC-high 16 points in just seven league starts during the 2024 regular season.
San Diego State sophomore defender Cianole Nguepissi was voted the 2025 WAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Nguepissi was a WAC All-Freshman Team selection in 2024 after making 15 appearances (12 starts) on the back line for the Aztecs, contributing two assists while competing in seven team clean sheets. The San Diego State defense featuring Nguepissi ranked second in the WAC last season in shutouts and in fewest goals allowed (22), slotting in with the third fewest shots on goal allowed (79) across all competitions.
Utah Tech senior Stockton Short was selected as the 2025 WAC Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. Short led all conference goalkeepers with 105 saves and 5.83 saves per match across 18 starts in all competitions last season, registering the second-highest WAC save percentage at .784 after facing a league-high 134 shots on frame in 2024. Short and Utah Tech competed in 15 matches decided by one goal or less a year ago, earning a result in eight such contests.
San Diego State led all WAC teams with three players voted onto the 2025 preseason all-conference team, with two players each from California Baptist, Grand Canyon, San José State and Utah Tech.
LAST SEASON IN A NUTSHELL
The Falcons concluded the 2024 campaign with a 1-15-1 record, marking its second-straight one-win season since 2023. Air Force picked up its win at Grand Canyon (Oct. 10), and played Michigan State to a draw (Sept. 6) in East Lansing, 1-1.
7 p.m. CT, Thursday, August 21
Flames Field – Chicago, Ill.
Military Appreciation & First Responders Game
LET'S GET IT STARTED
Air Force opens the 2025 campaign with mostly all new faces and completely revamped coaching staff. The Falcons aim to turn the ship around on two consecutive one-win seasons in 2023 and 2024.
DALBY TAKES THE HELM IN 2025
Greg Dalby was named head men's soccer coach at Air Force in January 2025. Dalby comes to the Academy from Oregon State, where he was the head coach the last two seasons. He led the Beavers to great success in his two seasons, accumulating a 21-11-8 overall record. Oregon State went to the NCAA Tournament both years, including a run to the College Cup in 2023. The Beavers went 11-6-5 in Dalby's first season, with a run that included four NCAA Tournament victories before falling to Notre Dame in the national semifinals. Oregon State ended the season ranked No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, the highest postseason mark in program history.
Dalby built out his staff with coaches Clint Long and Christian Madrigal.
Long joined the Academy by way of Penn State where he served five years as assistant coach. During his stint at Penn State, he helped lead the team to a Big Ten Regular Season title and its 15th Big Ten Tournament Final appearance in 2023. Long helped coach four All-Big Ten honorees including Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Kris Shakes and Defender of the Year Femi Awodesu. He also coached Olympian Mohamed Cisset who represented Mali at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Madrigal comes to USAFA by way of Loyola Marymount where he served six seasons as assistant coach. During his stint at LMU, Madrigal coached three MLS Super Draft picks in Jacob Jackson (GK), Noel Caliskan (MF), and Tyger Smalls (W), while also helping the Lions to a WCC title in 2020-21. In six seasons, Madrigal helped LMU three NCAA Tournament appearances (2019, 2020-21, 2023) highlighted by an Elite 8 run in 2023. Prior to Loyola Marymount, Madrigal spent a season at Cal State Fullerton where he matriculated to earn his master's degree in kinesiology while helping the Titans to a Big West semifinals appearance.
THE SERIES AGAINST THE FLAMES
The Falcons and Flames are meeting for the second time in program history with Air Force holding the winning advantage. The last time the teams played was in September of 2004 when the Falcons extinguished the Flames, 2-1, at USAFA. Marcus Sagastume, then-senior and son of legendary AF head coach Lou Sagastume, scored both goals in the win.
UIC AT A GLANCE
The Flames will take the pitch under the command of head coach Sean Phillips who enters his 16th season leading the UIC men's soccer program. As UIC's head coach since 2010, and a staff member since 2005, Sean Phillips has been a key component in leading UIC to the winningest era in its history. In 2024, Phillips became the winningest Head Coach in school history, winning his 137th game in a 2-0 against Bradley on Nov. 1, 2024.
UIC senior midfielder Rui Reis was selected to the 2025 Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Team. The preseason squad was voted upon by the Valley's eight head coaches.
A native of Lisbon, Portugal, Reis is beginning his second season with the Flames after starting all 17 matches last year and ranking third on the squad with four goals and four assists (12 points). He also netted a pair of match-winning goals, and during MVC play, Reis tied for third in the conference with 10 shots on goal (1.25 per match) and tied for sixth with 16 total shots against Valley opponents.
The Flames concluded the 2024 season at the Missouri Valley Conference tournament semi-finals, wrapping the season with a 7-10 overall record, and a 3-5 mark in regular season conference play.
LEADING FROM THE FRONT
Air Force announced the team captaincy for the 2025 campaign. Sophomores Oliver Becker, Andrei Bulankou, and Brody Smith were voted captains. The trio combined for over 1,700 minutes on the pitch in their freshman season. Becker started in seven matches and attempted 10 shots on the season while Bulankou started in three matches on the AF defense. Smith made six starts in eight appearances with a career best 10 saves against in his collegiate debut at Washington.
AIR FORCE YOUNG GUNS
The Falcons returned just one starter from last season in sophomore defender Menes Ajyeman, and just eight players who saw action during their freshmen season. The Falcons welcomed 17 newcomers to the squad with 13 of them being freshmen and the remaining four sophomores. The Falcons brought on six walk-ons from preseason training in Braedon Gehring (Fr.), Marcos Goni (So.), Joshua Staus (Fr.), Joe Bennett (So.), Luke Dustin (So.), and Abhinav Ramaraju (So.).
UP NEXT
The Falcons hang around Chicagoland for the weekend where they will take on Northwestern on Sunday, August 24. Action at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium (Evanston, Ill.) is slated for a 1 p.m. CT start. The 'Cats open their regular season against Eastern Illinois on Thursday.
PRESEASON WAC
San Diego State, the regular season champion last season, was selected as the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) preseason favorite in the 2025 WAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll.
San Diego State received four first-place votes to finish atop the preseason predicted order of finish based on polling of the WAC's eight men's soccer head coaches. California Baptist added three first-place votes to check in second, followed by San José State (one first-place vote), UNLV and Utah Valley rounding out the top five teams in the predicted order of finish.
San José State senior midfielder Angel Iniguez, the reigning conference offensive player of the year, was tabbed as the 2025 WAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year by the conference's head coaches. Iniguez was a first-team all-conference midfield selection for a second straight season in 2024 after scoring 10 goals and adding seven assists over 19 matches to share the WAC lead with 27 points as a junior. Iniguez was particularly stellar in conference matches during his player of the year campaign, scoring six goals and adding four assists for a WAC-high 16 points in just seven league starts during the 2024 regular season.
San Diego State sophomore defender Cianole Nguepissi was voted the 2025 WAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Nguepissi was a WAC All-Freshman Team selection in 2024 after making 15 appearances (12 starts) on the back line for the Aztecs, contributing two assists while competing in seven team clean sheets. The San Diego State defense featuring Nguepissi ranked second in the WAC last season in shutouts and in fewest goals allowed (22), slotting in with the third fewest shots on goal allowed (79) across all competitions.
Utah Tech senior Stockton Short was selected as the 2025 WAC Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. Short led all conference goalkeepers with 105 saves and 5.83 saves per match across 18 starts in all competitions last season, registering the second-highest WAC save percentage at .784 after facing a league-high 134 shots on frame in 2024. Short and Utah Tech competed in 15 matches decided by one goal or less a year ago, earning a result in eight such contests.
San Diego State led all WAC teams with three players voted onto the 2025 preseason all-conference team, with two players each from California Baptist, Grand Canyon, San José State and Utah Tech.
LAST SEASON IN A NUTSHELL
The Falcons concluded the 2024 campaign with a 1-15-1 record, marking its second-straight one-win season since 2023. Air Force picked up its win at Grand Canyon (Oct. 10), and played Michigan State to a draw (Sept. 6) in East Lansing, 1-1.
Players Mentioned
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