Air Force Drops Season-Opener In Overtime At Northern Colorado

Falcons fall in the 96th minute; Eissele scores goal in debut.

Sophomore Shannon Nail clears the ball in the Falcons' 2008-opener at Northern Colorado (Photo by Barry LaPoint ).
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Aug. 24, 2008

Box Score in PDF Format

GREELEY, Colo. - The Air Force women's soccer team dropped a 2-1 overtime match at Northern Colorado in its season-opener, this Sunday afternoon at Jackson Stadium. Ariel Cook scored the game-winning goal in the 96th minute of action to give UNC (1-1) the win.

It was a tough loss for the Falcons, who had rallied late in the match to tie it up.

Jessica Zimmerman gave Northern Colorado an early lead with a score off a rebound just six minutes into the game. The score remained in the Bears' favor for the next 71 minutes of play until freshman Meagan Eissele tied the game in the 77th minute, scoring on a header from senior Rachael Emory's corner kick.

Junior Ashlee Curtis took the loss in front of the net for Air Force, recording three saves. Kirsten Salminen had three saves and earned the win for UNC.

Northern Colorado attempted 15 shots in the match, compared to 11 by Air Force. The Falcons had eight corner kick attempts to UNC's six.

Eleven freshmen saw their first action as collegiate players for Air Force, with four earning starts. In addition to Eissele, Bridgett Murphy, Kelly Bieber, Cassie Wilson, Kelly Laurent, Brittany Szewc, Krystin Shanklin, Ashley Sikora, Amber Sikora, Kristen Connell and Sharon Aradine made their Falcon debuts.

Air Force returns to action next weekend, hosting a pair of matches. The Falcons take on Idaho State on Friday, Aug. 29 and Valparaiso on Sunday, Aug. 31. Admission is free to all Air Force women's and men's soccer matches.