Men’s Soccer Set to Open 2016 Season

Friday, August 26

West Point, N.Y.

7 PM

Army West Point

Air Force

Men’s Soccer Set to Open 2016 Season

August 25, 2016 | Men's Soccer

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's soccer team plays two games in three days to kick off its 2016 campaign, beginning with a home match against Air Force on Friday at 7 p.m. The Black Knights are back at Clinton Field two days later when they host LIU Brooklyn on Sunday, Aug. 28 at 2 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW
ARMY VS. AIR FORCE
VIDEO • Patriot League Network
LIVE STATS • www.sidearmstats.com/army/msoc
TWITTER • ArmyWP_MSoccer

ARMY VS. LIU BROOKLYN
VIDEO • Patriot League Network
LIVE STATS • www.sidearmstats.com/army/msoc
TWITTER • ArmyWP_MSoccer

Army opens the season against Air Force for the second year in a row after the Falcons prevailed for a 1-0 win in the 105th minute on Aug. 29, 2015 in USAFA, Colo. Army and Air Force have played to within one goal of each other in each of the last three years, including a 1-0 Black Knight win in 2013 and a 0-0 draw in 2014. Army owns a 15-8-4 advantage in the all-time series.

Army has a 2-0 series lead versus LIU Brooklyn, with the sides last playing in 1993. The Cadets earned 6-0 victory that year, but Sunday's test looks to present a tougher challenge, as LIU Brooklyn is coming off a Northeast Conference championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

ARMY (0-0, 0-0 PATRIOT LEAGUE)
• The Black Knights are coming off a 5-8-5 season in which they posted a 3-3-3 Patriot League mark and finished sixth in the league.
• Seniors Nick Williams and Christian Ollen, and junior Shaban Abousaud return as multi-goal scorers from 2015. Williams netted three goals and added two assists, Ollen scored twice and Abousaud registered two goals and an assist.
• Army will employ a first-time starting goalkeeper for the second year in a row, with junior Christian Nolasco and freshmen Matthew Evans and Justin Stoll competing for playing time. Nolasco's only appearance came in reserve duty during Army's regular-season finale last season against Bucknell.
• Head coach Russell Payne returns for his seventh season and enters the year fourth on Army's career wins list with 37 victories.

AIR FORCE (0-0, 0-0 WESTERN ATHLETIC)
• Air Force finished 7-9-1 overall and 4-5-1 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) last season.
• The Falcons return their top-two leading scorers from 2015, including senior Tucker Axhoj (4 goals, 1 assist) and sophomore Tucker Bone (2 goals, 3 assists).
• Senior A.J. Esparza netted his only goal of last season in the opener against Army.
• The Falcons were selected eighth out of 11 teams in the WAC Preseason Poll.

LIU BROOKLYN (0-0, 0-0 NORTHEAST)
• LIU Brooklyn went 11-5-5 overall and a perfect 7-0 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) in 2015. The Blackbirds played to draws in each of their NEC Tournament games, but earn penalty shootout wins in each of them, including a 3-1 win on penalties in the championship against Saint Francis (Pa.).
• LIU Brooklyn played to a 1-1 draw at Rutgers in the NCAA Tournament before falling in 3-2 in penalty kicks.
• Sophomore Rasmus Hansen led LIU Brooklyn with 20 points on eight goals and four assists in 2015. The Blackbirds return their top four scoring leaders overall.
• The Blackbirds were picked to repeat as conference champions in the NEC Preseason Poll.

UP NEXT
Army takes a week off from competition following the LIU Brooklyn match, as the Black Knights return to action on Sept. 4 at Marist, with a contest against the Red Foxes scheduled for 7 p.m.