Air Force Academy

Oct. 10, 2010

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Sophomore Zane Dydasco scored a goal and added an assist and Air Force scored three goals in a span of 5:32 in the second half as the Falcons posted their first conference win of the season with a dramatic 3-2 victory over New Mexico Sunday afternoon in Albuquerque, N.M. The Falcons, who defeated UNM in Albuquerque for the first time since 2001, improved to 3-8 overall, while the Lobos fell to 4-4-2. Both teams are now 1-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

New Mexico dominated the first half, outshooting the Falcons 12-2, although Air Force had perhaps the best chance as freshman Brian Klazura hit a rocket that Lobo keeper Justin Holmes deflected over the crossbar with two seconds left in the half to keep the game scoreless.

New Mexico drew first blood just 4:59 into the second half when Michael Reed took a pass from Josh Caffey, touched it into the middle of the field and hit a low liner that Falcon keeper Matt Underwood never saw. The ball went into the lower left corner, giving New Mexico a 1-0 lead. Caffey nearly made it 2-0 just 1:20 later, but his header off a Blake Smith cross rang off the crossbar behind Underwood.

The Falcons tied it at 1-all when Dydasco took a ball into the box, beat a defender to the right side of the six and hit the far left side netting past a sliding Holmes. Just 38 seconds later, the Falcons took the lead for good. Senior Kyle Moses took a shot from 15 yards out, and it hit Holmes up high, and he couldn't control the rebound. The ball bounced to the six where freshman Caleb Downey came flying in and just beat Holmes to it, crushing the ball into the back of the net for the first goal of his career and a 2-1 Falcon lead.

Air Force then got an insurance goal when Dydasco found sophomore Kevin Durr about 25 yards out, and he rocketed home a shot to the lower left corner and in just a span of 5:32 it was 3-1 Air Force.

New Mexico tried to rally, but couldn't penetrate until it was too late. Patrick Pacheco took a shot from around 30 yards out that clanged off the crossbar within a minute of the third Air Force goal. UNM finally got it back to a one-goal game when Reed hit a long ball to the back edge of the six, where Lance Rozeboom headed it back across the goal mouth. Michael Kafari raced in a slid into the ball to score it with just 14 seconds left, but it was too late.

The two teams combined for 22 shots in the second half, and the game was a bit chippy with 31 fouls total. Holmes had five saves for UNM, while Underwood had six for the Falcons.

The Falcons return home next weekend for a pair of divisional matches. Air Force hosts UNLV on Friday and New Mexico on Sunday.