California Baptist University
1-2-0, 0-0-0
Air Force
2-0-0, 0-0-0
CBU Falls to the Air Force in Colorado Springs
8/22/2024 9:20:00 PM | Women's Soccer
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO--- The California Baptist women's soccer team opened their first game of its away series against the Air Force on Thursday evening and fell to Falcons after an early set-piece goal secured the win for the home team. The Lancers move to 1-2 on the season, while the Air Force improves to 2-0.
The match was highly competitive between the two squads and saw the lone goal come off a set piece after CBU fouled the Falcons a few yards outside of the 18-yard box. Chase Borntreger tapped the ball home after battling traffic in the box for what would ultimately be the game-winning goal. The Falcons continued to press CBU's backline, but Jana Heinen did a fantastic job directing her defenders and staved off any more quality opportunities for the Air Force. Helping Heinen as a center back was true freshman Ava Lopez, who earned her stripes and had a very solid game against a good competitor.
"Tonight was a tale of two halves. First half we looked sluggish and reactive. Once we were able to work through that we dominated the second half," said Head Coach Kristen St. Clair. "The margins in the game came down to a lack of composed finishing in front of the net and turnovers. We played much better second half but when playing good teams and being on the road at altitude, it's crucial to put together 90 minutes of execution instead of just 45. We'll learn from this and begin preparing for our next opponent".
The Lancer's best opportunity game in the second half after consistently peppering the USAF goalkeeper with shots and looking for quality chances they lacked in the first half. Sophia Petrov managed to dribble her way around the Falcon backline and laced a bent ball to the far post from the right side of the box, but instead found the post. The Falcons dominated physically, but the match was relatively even statically. The Lancers totaled 11 shots in the last 45 minutes, while the Air Force knocked 10. Both teams tallied three corner kicks, while CBU had six saves compared to USAF's four.
CBU will head to Fort Collins to wrap up the away series with a final match against Colorado State on Sunday afternoon. The game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network and has a set kick-off for Noon PST.
Team Stats
Chase Borntreger (1)
GOAL by USAFA Borntreger, Chase.
05:26
