Air Force Academy

Aug. 30, 2012

Game #2
Air Force Falcons vs. UC Davis Aggies
Friday, Aug. 31 / 7 p.m.
Cadet Soccer Stadium / USAFA, CO

Game #3
Air Force Falcons vs. Drexel Dragons
Sunday, Sept. 2 / 1 p.m.
Cadet Soccer Stadium / USAFA, CO

Weekly Release

Air Force Blanked by Army in Season Opener
The Falcons dropped their 2012 season-opener to service academy rival Army, 3-0, last Saturday in West Point, N.Y. Air Force controlled the action in the first 10 minutes but could not capitalize despite attempting four corner kicks and three shots in that time span. Army went on to score three goals in the first half to put the game away.

Air Force Head Coach Doug Hill
Doug Hill is in his sixth season as head coach at Air Force. Last year, Hill led the Falcons to a 12-6-2 record, the team’s first winning season since 2003. The Falcons finished second in the MPSF’s Mountain Division and third in the entire league. Their season came to an end in the semis of the MPSF tournament with a 1-0 loss to CSU Bakersfield.

In his five seasons at the helm, Hill has coached 20 Falcons to all-conference honors, including five last season, all of whom were underclassmen. This season, Hill has 19 letterwinners and nine starters returning from last year’s squad. In fact, 12 of the 15 players that notched at least one point last season are back.

Hill, who holds a United States Soccer Federation "A" license, graduated from the Academy in 1983 and was a four-year varsity letterman on the men’s soccer team. He was chosen as team captain both his junior and senior seasons. In all four years, Hill helped the Falcons win the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Soccer League title. After graduation, he remained at AFA as the assistant soccer coach and a physical education instructor for one year before leaving the Academy in 1984 for Dyess AFB, Texas, where he was an instructor navigator in the C-130 aircraft. He returned to the Academy in 1992 and was an assistant coach for 12 of the next 15 years.

Army 3, Air Force 0
The Air Force men’s soccer team opened its 2012 regular season Saturday night with a 3-0 loss to service-academy rival Army in West Point, N.Y. The Black Knights scored all three goals in the first half in the season-opener for both teams.

Air Force actually carried the play over the first 10 minutes, posting three shots and four corner kicks during that time. The Falcons were unable to capitalize, however, and it was Army that broke on top and seized momentum over the remainder of the half and into the second stanza.

Parker Dixon opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a blast from 15 yards out that snuck past Air Force goalie Matt Underwood. Josh Koeppe and Arnold Chun also scored before intermission to give Army an insurmountable 3-0 lead. Air Force, which had its two-match winning streak against the Black Knights snapped, did not allow more than two goals in any game last season.

Senior midfielder Kevin Durr and junior forward Brian Klazura each led the Falcons with two shots on goal as both teams had seven shots on net. Underwood made four saves while Army keeper Winston Boldt saved all seven shots by Air Force. The Falcons were outshot 14-13 in total shots but held a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Falcons Picked Third in MPSF Preseason Rankings
The Falcons were picked to finish in a tie with Denver for third place in the MPSF Preseason Coaches’ Poll. New Mexico was predicted to repeat as MPSF champion after advancing to the round of 16 in last year’s NCAA Tournament, picked just ahead of CSU Bakersfield, which earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament last year.