MATCH 14
\nAir Force (3-6-4, 2-3-1 MW) vs. San Jose St (6-6-2, 3-2-1 MW)
\nMW Conference
\n7pm, Saturday, October 24
\nCadet Soccer Stadium – USAF Academy, Colo.
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\nThe Falcons host the Mountain West’s third-placed team, San Jose State, Saturday evening at Cadet Soccer Stadium. Air Force, looking to make good an a loss to the Spartans earlier this season, can tie SJSU with 10 points and third in the conference with a win.
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\nThe match with the Spartans will be the 48th meeting between the teams, marking one of Air Force’s longest running series. SJSU leads the all-time series, 27-14-7, winning the last four meetings. AF’s last positive result against San Jose State was a draw at one in 2022. The last time the Falcons beat the Spartans was in 2021 at USAFA, 2-0.
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\nA LOOK AT THE SPARTANS
\nSJSU will take the pitch under the command of interim head coach Jesus Sanchez who enters his ninth season with the Spartans, joining as an assistant coach in 2018 before being named Associate Head Coach in 2024. “Chuy” Sanchez has helped lead the Spartans to an appearance in the WAC Tournament in every season since he joined the coaching staff.<\/p>\n
The Spartan’s Jordi Tortell Daly leads the offense with 12 points on four goals and four assists. Tortell Daly put up a pair of goals in SJSU’s 3-1 win over Air Force on October 9. Amir Anwary also has four goals, leading seven teammates with strikes this season. In goal, Ronin Axelson 1.50 GAA and .741 save percentage. He leads the MW with 4.36 saves per game.
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\nLAST TIME THEY MET
\nFalcon men’s soccer came up short against San Jose State, 3-1, at Spartan Soccer Complex on October 9. \u00a0SJSU’s Isac Enriquez notched the first goal in the 20th minute with help from Tiko Moodie and Diego Nieves.
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\nAir Force freshman Xidane Espinoza<\/a> scored the equalizer in the 37th minute, tallying his first collegiate goal. The teams took a halftime break knotted up at one.
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\nThe second half was all Jordi Tortell Daly as he scored a pair of goals in the 74th and 86th minute. The Falcons took five shots on target led by C3C Quinn Muderlak<\/a> with two shots on goal. SJSU attempted 22 shots on the match, 11 were on goal. C4C Hunter Anderson<\/a> made six saves in the effort.
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\nMW STANDINGS
\nIn the fifth week of MW play, Air Force claimed fourth place in the conference with a win over UC Davis last weekend. Grand Canyon remains undefeated with 18 points while UNLV is in second with 12 points after losing to SJSU last weekend. San Jose State is in third place with 10 points after besting UNLV, 2-1. The Trailblazers remain winless with 0-4-1 mark in the MW, just behind UC Davis with four points on a win and a tie in MW play. The top four teams will compete in the post-season MW Conference Tournament.
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\nTRENDING NORTH
\nThe Falcons’ seven positive results this season marks the best record since the 2022 season. Air Force’s three goals against UTRGV are the most since goals since playing the Vaqueros to a 3-3 tie in 2023. AF’s 14 goals so far are the goals most scored in the last three seasons. For the first time since 2023, four Falcons have multiple goals. The Falcons 2-0 clean sheet against UC Davis on the road marked the Falcons’ first two-goal lead of the season and first since the 2024 season.
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\nSTACKING UP
\nThe Falcons are second in the MW in shots on goal per game (4.92) led by Ben Brophy<\/a> with nine shots on target and Logan Zaa<\/a> with eight. AF is also second in the MW in saves per game (4.38). AF is third in the MW in both shots per game (12.31) and shot accuracy (.400). Zaa and Oliver Becker<\/a> lead the team with 16 shot attempts this season while Tucker Kern<\/a>, Brophy, and Menes Ajyeman<\/a> have 15 apiece.
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\nAF freshman goalie Hunter Anderson<\/a> is second in the MW in saves per game (4.15) and third in the conference in save percentage (.720). His 54 total saves on the season is second most in the MW.
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\nUP NEXT
\nThe Falcons close out the conference road schedule with a pair of matches next week. On Wednesday, October 28, AF takes the fight to Utah Tech to make good on a one-one draw earlier this season. Action in Saint Geroge is slated for 7pm MT. Air Force will follow with a road trip to Las Vegas to take on UNLV in the road slate finale, November 1.
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\nLAST TIME OUT
\nA strike in the 89th minute lifted the Falcons to a Mountain West Conference win over UC Davis, 2-1, at Cadet Soccer Stadium. The Falcons swept the Aggies in the inaugural conference series with the win.
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\nAir Force got on the board early as freshman forward Xidane Espinoza<\/a> struck in the 12th minute. A set piece led Espinoza to a shot that was blocked toward teammate Paxton Seghi<\/a> who toed the ball back to Espinoza who finished with the left foot to the right side of the goal. The goal is the second for Espinoza this season.
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\nDeep in the second half, a lucky deflection led to an Aggie equalizer as Nico Collins collected a deflection off freshman keeper Hunter Anderson<\/a>, returning the ball to the top of the net in the 81st minute.
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\nDefiant and unwilling to settle for a draw, the Falcons pushed the pace on both sides of the ball. Junior team captain Andrei Bulankou<\/a> was instrumental in setting up the equalizer as he picked the ball off at the midfield, getting it to Brayden Benner<\/a> who pushed it up field to Quinn Muderlak<\/a>. Muderlak, outrunning the defense, attacked the goal from the baseline, ultimately finding Benner in stride for the finish in the 89th minute.
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\nFreshman goalie Hunter Anderson<\/a> was exception in goal, fending off fierce attacks from the Aggies. He finished with seven saves and his seventh positive results of the season.
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\nFOLLOW ALONG
\nCatch all the action on the pitch on MW+, the official streaming destination for Mountain West men’s soccer. Stream every match live all season long on the web, the MW+ mobile app for iPhone and Android, or your connected TV, including Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. Subscribe today at watch.themw.com.
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