Air Force
Cal Poly Falls at Air Force in Overtime, 2-1
9/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Junior Tim White's first goal of the 2010 campaign provided the Cal Poly men's soccer team a 14th-minute lead, but a penalty from Air Force sophomore forward Zane Dydasco in the 65th minute and an overtime strike from sophomore forward Conor Henry assisted the Falcons to a 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon at Cadet Soccer Stadium.
Through sophomore forward Chris Gaschen, who netted the game-winning goal in Cal Poly's 1-0 season-opening victory on Friday at Denver, the Mustangs (1-1) needed just 24 seconds to register the first of their 17 shot attempts. It was White (above), however, who broke though for the Mustangs and notched just his third career goal by taking a feed from senior forward David Zamora, outracing his defender and chipping Falcons sophomore goalkeeper Matt Underwood from 20 yards. The Mustangs forced five saves from Underwood during the remainder of the first half, but were unable to breach the Air Force goal.
Mustang junior goalkeeper Patrick McLain, who produced the clean sheet in Cal Poly's Friday victory at Denver, had his 2010 resume blemished in the 65th, when Mustang junior midfielder Evan Richter was shown a red card. Cal Poly, which yielded just two penalties last season, watched Dydasco bury his attempt from the spot to level the scoreline.
In a match that ended with nine players per side following three additional red cards, Cal Poly mustered just one shot on target during the final 33 minutes of action. A 96th-minute corner by Gaschen proved Cal Poly's lone attacking opportunity of the overtime period and the Mustangs were whistled offside for the fourth time during the match shortly after the kick was taken. Just a minute later, Henry headed a cross from sophomore midfielder Kevin Durr past McLain to secure victory for Air Force.
"It was wide-open game as you can tell from the number of shots (29 for Air Force, 17 for Cal Poly). I thought we played very well in the first half and crated a number of attacking opportunities," fifth-year Cal Poly head coach Paul Holocher said. "That unneeded red card put us under the gun in the second half. That said, we fought hard and are very disappointed to have given up that second goal."
Cal Poly continues its four-match road trip against No. 20 Indiana at Notre Dame's Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament on Friday, Sept. 10. Match time at Alumni Stadium is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT.
