Men's Soccer Hosts Mercer on Thursday

MATCH 06
Air Force (0-4-1) vs. Mercer (2-2-2)
7pm, Thursday, September 11
Cadet Soccer Stadium, USAF Academy, Colo.

INSTALLATION ACCESS REQUIREMENT
Access procedures at the U.S. Air Force Academy continue to affect athletic events. While the installation remains open, anyone without a DoD ID card must obtain a visitor pass to enter the base.

New this year: Passes will now be issued monthly instead of requiring a separate submission for each event. This means ticket holders only need to complete the form once per month to gain access to all events during that time. Ticket holders can request a base pass using the link provided below.

After registering, you will receive a message on our phone to present at the gate when entering the Academy. Fans must also present their game tickets at each venue. All tickets and credentialed attendees can enter through the North or South gate. North gate is recommended for access to athletic fields; while fans are encouraged to use the North and South gates for football games.

Note: When completing the information from the link, please use the information directly from your driver's license (Robert vs. Bob). Your ID must also be REAL ID compliant. Anyone under 18 will not be required to do a QR code.

Intercollegiate Athletics Access Link, Sept. 1-30, Click HERE.
(Includes all intercollegiate events in September, except football)

A LOOK AT MERCER
The Bears will take the pitch under the command of head coach Brad Ruzzo, the winningest coach in program history with over 150 victories as the skipper in Macon. Ruzzo has led the Bears to seven conference championships and five NCAA Tournament berths in 17 seasons at the helm.

Mercer (2-2-2) is coming to town after two winning finishes at Betts Stadium. Last Wednesday, Junior Casillas scored an 88th minute, game-winning goal to secure the 1-0 win over Georgia State. This past Sunday, Tolu Adeyemi scored from near the corner with just 41 seconds on the clock to nab the 1-1 draw against then-No. 22 South Florida.

THE SERIES WITH THE BEARS
AF will be taking on Mercer for just the second time in program history with the Bears controlling the series, 1-0. Last season (Sept. 28, 2024), Mercer blanked Air Force, 3-0, in Macon.

LAST TIME OUT
Last week, Air Force played to their first positive results with a tie at UC Riverside, 2-2, Monday evening at UCR Soccer Complex. C3C Marcos Goni scored the first goal for his second strike this season while Tucker Kern scored his first collegiate goal. On Friday, AF was blanked for the first time this season, dropping a 3-0 contest to Cal Poly at USAFA.

SEMPER SUPRA
The Falcons will be dawning the Space Force kits for Thursday's match, marking the inaugural use of the new uniform. All Air Force teams will wear a Space Force alternate uniform for a game or series to honor the service. The Space Force is partnering with Air Force Athletics to provide the uniforms for each team. The U.S. Air Force Academy is the premier undergraduate commissioning source for the Space Force. Each year, about 10% of each class commissions as Guardians. The Academy has always been the place for space, housing one of the only undergraduate programs in the nation to design, develop and fly real-world satellites, and offering space-focused majors. Additionally, the academy hosts Azimuth annually, which is a three-week program to introduce cadets to operations in the space domain modeled after NASA's two-year Astronaut Training Program." Space is critical to our way of life and vital to our nation's defense. The Space Force was created to protect US interests in, from, through and to space. The U.S. Air Force Academy is here to train and inspire the men and women who are ready to lead these efforts.

NEXT UP
Air Force hangs around the Academy to welcome South Dakota School of Mines in non-conference action, Sunday, September 14. Action at Cadet Soccer Stadium is slated for 1pm kickoff.

AROUND THE WAC
UTAH VALLEY CONTINUES ROLLING WITH FIVE STRAIGHT SHUTOUTS
Utah Valley remained the only unbeaten WAC team after improving to 5-0-0 last weekend, shutting out the first five opponents in the process. The No. 16 ranked Wolverines are the first WAC program since Tulsa in 1997 to shut out five straight opponents at any time during a single season, which the Golden Hurricane accomplished in matches two through six of the 1997 campaign. Both Grand Canyon and San José State have opened the year 4-1-0, while California Baptist compiled a 3-1-1 mark in its first five starts.

BRACE FROM ROGERS GIVES UTAH TECH ITS FIRST WIN OF 2025
In his first season competing at Utah Tech since 2022, sophomore forward Taylor Rogers ignited the offense in a 3-0 win over CSU Bakersfield on Sept. 6 for the first Trailblazer victory of 2025. Rogers bagged the first collegiate brace of his career after breaking a scoreless tie in the 80th minute and adding an insurance goal in the 83rd minute for a 2-0 Utah Tech lead. Rogers was named WAC Offensive Player of the Week in recognition of his second half heroics in the Utah Tech triumph.

SESSIONS' CLEAN SHEET STREAK CONTINUES
The start to the 2025 season has been as good as it gets for Utah Valley redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Kolby Sessions. In his debut year with the Wolverines, Sessions has registered 450 consecutive shutout minutes to help lead Utah Valley to an undefeated 5-0-0 start. Session was one of nine goalkeepers in NCAA Division I with a spotless goals against average as of Sept. 10 and ranked second nationally with his five shutouts.

ANOTHER LATE COMEBACK FOR UNLV
A 1-0 lead is not safe when you are playing UNLV, especially in Las Vegas. The Rebels completed their second late comeback from a goal down at home this season in a 2-1 victory over CSU Bakersfield on Sept. 9. Andres Robles scored at 67:27 and Jonah Craig converted a penalty at 69:49 to bring UNLV all the way back against CSUB.

GCU'S DIOUF EXTENDS CONFERENCE GOALS LEAD
Grand Canyon freshman Junior Diouf continues to find the back of the net for the Lopes, tallying his conference-high fifth goal while adding an assist in a 4-0 win against Santa Clara on Sept. 8. Diouf has accounted for a league leading 12 points (five goals, two assists) in just four appearances for GCU, ranking second in the nation in goals per match (1.25) and in a tie for sixth in total goals behind five players who have scored six goals as of Sept. 10.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Marcos Goni

Tucker Kern

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