Men’s Soccer Travels to UC Riverside for Labor Day Matchup

MATCH 04
Air Force (0-3) at UC Riverside (0-2)
7:15 pm PT, Monday, September 1
UCR Soccer Stadium
 
The Falcons and Highlanders will meet at UCR Soccer Stadium with sights set on getting into the win column for the first time this season. A live stream will not be available for the contest.
 
A LOOK AT UCR
The Highlanders will take the pitch under the command of Tim Cupello in his 13th year at the helm of UC Riverside Men’s Soccer in 2025. Cupello, joined the men’s soccer staff as an assistant coach in June of 2010 before being named interim head coach prior to the 2013 season. He earned the program’s first Big West Coach of the Year honor in 2022 and led the Highlanders to the Big West regular season title, Big West postseason title and the program’s second ever NCAA Tournament appearance. UCR has seen 13 First Team All-Big West nods since Cupello’s first full year, including five in 2022.
 
UCR has yet to tally a strike this season and have taken just three shots on target in two matches. Andre Hermosillo is expected to get the start in frame with a 2.00 GAA and a .750 save percentage. The Highlanders boast an impressive eight yellow cards in 180 minutes of play.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE HIGHLANDERS
AF and UCR are meeting for the sixth time in program history with the Highlanders controlling the series, 3-2. The teams met last season at USAFA where UCR was victorious, 2-0. The Highlanders are on a two-match win streak (2024, 2019) and have yet to be defeated by Air Force while playing in Riverside. Four-of-five contests have been settled by a one-goal margin.
 
DO NOT GO QUIETLY
The Falcons have denied the shutout in every showing, despite being outshot, 61-18, by opponents so far this season. Contrarily, AF is ranked 10th in the nation in shot accuracy (11-18, .611), and 15th in the nation in saves per game (5.67). Sophomore keeper Brody Smith has been tested in the early season, making 16 total saves for the fourth most in the NCAA.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Following lightning delays and a change of venue, Air Force came up short against SIUE in the 2025 home opener, 2-1, Thursday evening in the Holaday Athletic Center.
 
Action kicked off at Cadet Soccer Stadium with Air Force and SIUE battling for control of the early possessions up to the 19th minute when a nearby lightning strike warranted a delay. Despite the will to play, multiple lightning strikes resulted in a delay over two hours where-then the decision was made to move the match into Air Force’s indoor facility, the Holaday Athletic Center (HAC).
 
Following a brief warm-up on the indoor turf pitch, the teams played on with the clock set to 19:11. The Falcons’ Oliver Becker was the first to attempt a shot in the HAC at 22′, sailing wide right; however, it was the Cougars who went on to strike first as Evan Howard scored an unassisted strike at 27′.
 
Air Force forward Marcos Goni made a quality attempt in the 32nd minute but SIUE keeper, Noah Scheidweiler was up to task and made the save. The Cougars pressed on and saw success in the 42nd minute as Wes Gibson serviced Colin Bastianoni for the second strike. SIUE took the sideline at halftime with a two-nil advantage. The Falcons took eight shots in the first half, equaling their season shot total prior to the evening’s match.
 
Undeterred by the deficit, Air Force pressed on. In the 52nd minute, an errant pass by the Cougars in their own third found its way to C3C Attila Toth who capitalized for a goal one-on-one with Scheidweiler, igniting the Falcons.
 
Despite the change in momentum, SIUE was able to quell the AF uprising, denying the Falcons a shot for the remainder of the match. The Cougars maintained control of the possessions until the final horn.
 
When the dust settled, Air Force fired off a season-best 10 shots, led by Goni with three attempts all on frame. Teammates Toth and Quinn Muderlack took two shots apiece while team captain Oliver Becker, Sean Odle, and Maximilan Perez took a shot each.
 
Falcon keeper Brody Smith made three saves on the night against 14 SIUE shots, five coming on frame. Scheidweiler finished the match with six saves. The Air Force defense was anchored by team captain Andrei Bulankou, Abhinav Ramaraju, and Oliver Wagner who all clocked 90 minutes of action.
 
NEXT UP
Air Force returns home for the second match of the week, hosting Cal Poly on Friday, September 5. Action at Cadet Soccer Stadium kicks off at 7pm MT.