Falcons Thunder Past UTRGV, 3-1

Team	1	2	Final F
UTRGV	0	1	1
Air Force	1	2	3

UTRGV

Air Force

USAF ACADEMY – Air Force led UTRGV wire-to-wire in their first win of the 2026 campaign, 3-1, Friday evening at USAFA. The Falcons (1-3-3), scoring a season best three goals, are back in the win column. The Vaqueros (2-2-1) close out a two-match road stint with a pair of losses.

Dawning the all black Space Force kit, the Falcons got off to a strong start with a strike in the 21^st minute. Braedon Ghering serviced a corner kick that was deflected straight back, which he then chipped back into the box where C4C Doran Farrell gave it the slightest touch to redirect it past the Vaquero keeper. The goal marked a collegiate first for Farrell while Gehring was credited with his first collegiate assist. It is the second straight match for AF to score first.

Later in the 53^rd minute, a max effort play by C1C Logan Zaa turned a turnover into a goal as the senior sniped a questionable pass and charged to the box where he finished left foot past the UTRGV keeper. Zaa, with his first goal of the season, finished with a cartwheel to backflip celebration.

With the momentum thundering in favor of Air Force, a nearby lightning strike in the 55^th minute initiated a weather delay. With the unrelenting lightning and rain, the match was moved into Air Force's indoor facility, the Holaday Athletic Center.

UTRGV capitalized on the change of pace and venue, scoring their first goal via penalty kick in the 73^rd minute. Mouhamed Pouye beat freshman goalie Hunter Anderson to the right side with a stutter-step kick. An ensuing tussle ended up with the Vaqueros receiving two yellow cards, effectively taking the wind from their sails.

In the 76^th minute, the Falcons put the dagger in the Vaqueros with a goal from Quinn Muderlak via feed from Ben Brophy. The goal marked Muderlak's second goal this season. Muderlak, Zaa, and Kern, Mountain West Preseason players to Watch, all have strikes to their credit.

Unable to mount a comeback, UTRGV retired from the pitch with their second loss of the week.

Falcon keeper Hunter Anderson made three saves in his first career win. Team captain Oliver Becker led the squad with three shots, all coming on target. The Falcons, for the third-straight match, outshot the opponent (14-11).

Next up, the Falcons finish up a three-game home stint in the Mountain West Conference opener against Utah Tech on Saturday, September 26. Last time they played, Utah Tech scored four goals and a clean sheet on the Falcons.

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Players Mentioned

Hunter Anderson

Oliver Becker

Ben Brophy

Doran Farrell

Quinn Muderlak

Logan Zaa

Logan Zaa

Quinn Muderlak

Doran Farrell

Joseph Bennett

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