SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word men's soccer team saw their Western Athletic Conference regular season title bid take a big hit on Friday night after losing to Air Force Academy, 2-1 at Benson Stadium.
The Cardinals (6-9-1, 5-3-1) attempted more shots and corner kicks in the match, but could not hold off the Falcons (7-6-4, 3-5-1). The Cardinals got on the scoreboard in the first half. Midway through the half, UIW earned four consecutive corner kicks and on the final one
Andrew Grossman (Arlington/Mansfield Summit HS) headed home Alex de la Garza's (Mission/Sharyland HS) corner at 21:26. The Falcons nearly tied the game in the 32
nd minute, but
Kieran O'Boyle (Blackpool, Eng./St. Mary's Catholic) made two important saves for UIW.
The Falcons evened up the game a little over 10 minutes into the second half. Zachary Modly dribbled the ball 30 yards until he fired a shot from 25 yards out that beat the goalkeeper in the lower left corner.
The Cardinals immediately responded by earning a free kick from 30 yards out.
Victor Pinal's (Dallas/Skyline HS) shot was blocked and then
Joe Brown (Nottingham, Eng./The Becket School) fired a shot that was saved by Jake Schenk. Ten minutes later, the Cardinals created two more scoring chances and each time Schenk was there for the stop.
The Falcons went on top in the 76
th minute. Austin Britt gave a short pass to Scott McGillivray who dribbled twice and then fired a hard strike to the left of the keeper just inside the post for the winning goal at 75:41.
The Cardinals nearly tied the game in the late stages.
Dylan Kelly (Tucson, AZ/Salpointe Catholic HS) entered as a late substitute and his header from inside the box hit the cross bar and bounced over the top of the goal.
The Cardinals will close out their home schedule on Sunday at 1 p.m. against UM-Kansas City.
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