USAF, Colo. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's soccer team dropped their first Western Athletic Conference match of the season falling 2-1 to the Air Force Falcons Friday at Cadet Soccer Stadium.
The Falcons (5-4-1, 4-0-0 WAC) got the scoring started in the first half as Tristan Trager took a ricochet pass from Elijah Bussey and tapped it passed UTRGV goalie
Oliver Padilla (2-1) for the 1-0 lead.
The Vaqueros (5-4-0, 2-1-0 WAC) answered back in the 60
th minute. After a yellow card set up a free kick, junior
Elyad Shojaei attempted a shot on goal that was saved by Kainoa Likewise but sophomore
Michael Washington tapped in the rebound for his second goal of the season tying the match at 1-1.
The Falcons took the 2-1 lead in the 66
th minute after Trager converted on a penalty kick for his second goal of the match.
The Vaqueros put the pressure on the Falcons late in the match as graduate student
Yusuf Cueceoglu put a shot on goal that looked like the equalizer, but a Falcons defender slid to knock it out of the goal.
Padilla finished with a career-high five saves while Likewise made one save.
The Falcons outshot the Vaqueros 16 to seven and seven to three on goal.
The Vaqueros will be back in action on Sunday when they travel to Phoenix, Arizona to face No. 17 Grand Canyon at 7 p.m. at the GCU Stadium. Fans can watch in the United States on
ESPN+ or internationally on the
WAC Digital Network.
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