USAF ACADEMY – The McNeese soccer team was unable to overcome an Air Force goal in the 33^rd minute of play and fell 0-1 in a Friday night match in the mountains of Colorado.
 
The Cowgirls traveled to Colorado two days earlier than scheduled to avoid Hurricane Harvey and after three days of practice in the mountains Cowgirls were ready to play. The Air Force Academy campus sits at 7,258 feet above sea level, a difficult adjustment for any athlete reigning from the Gulf Coast states. McNeese showed tenacity throughout the game while battling the change in altitude, senior defnder Gabi D'Alesandro and junior midfielder Nola Prickett persevered multiple times during their play, streaking up the wings, preparing for a Cowgirl attack.

"I thought we played hard tonight, but it took us too long to start playing together." Head Coach Drew Fitzgerald said, the Cowgirls have had three goals this season so far, all of them netted in the second period of play. "There is a lot to be learned from this match and hats off to Air Force, I believe they earned the win."
 
The first period called for five shots from the Cowgirls and 11 from the Falcons. McNeese freshman goalkeeper, Emma Roccaforte tallied eight total saves in tonight's match, six of which came in the first 45. Roccaforte can boast only one allowed goal in her first 270 minutes of collegiate play. Air Force was able to get one in the back of the goal at 33:41, when Falcon freshman Emma Nelson assisted senior teammate Brook Rittman, who sailed the ball above Roccaforte's head into the top of the net from 30 yards out on the pitch.
 
McNeese put up 10 total shots with four of them on goal, coming from Nikki Schaaf, Morgan Middleton, Savannah LaRicci, and Havana Johnson. Rachel Palet, Dayna Garcia, and Keely Morrow also each contributed a shot to the Cowgirl offense. Both senior defender Nikki Schaaf and junior Sarah Clayton clocked in the full 90 minutes, along with Roccaforte and Palet. In addition to Roccaforte's eight saves, the Cowgirl defense was also able to block four shots from the Falcons, and in total took on 19 shots from Air Force in the match.
 
Fitzgerald and his squad were  plagued by 12 fouls, eight of which came in the first period. AIr Force had nine fouls of their own and the Cowgirls were able to capitalize off of three of those change in posessions to tack on additional shots, but were just unable to connect with the back of the net. This is the only the second time the two teams have met, and with tonight's defeat, the series falls to 0-1-1, in favor of the Falcons.
 
McNeese will stop once more on their Mountain West road trip at the University of Wyoming in Laramie on Sunday, with a kick off slated for 12:05PM MT. The match is free admission, while the athletic staff at Wyoming will be collecting donations for the Red Cross for those effected by Hurricane Harvey. You can find links to live stats and streaming at McNeeseSports.com, or follow @McNeeseSoccer on Twitter for all things regarding McNeese Cowgirl Soccer.
 
DATE:  9/1/2017
TIME: 7:35 pm
SITE: USAF Academy, Colo.
STADIUM: Cadet Soccer Stadium
ATTENDANCE: 446
 

Scoring Summary
Time	Team		Description
33:41			RITTMAN, Brooke (1)  Assisted By: NELSON, Emma  30 Yds From Left To Right Top Corner
Cautions and Ejections
Time	Team	Type		Player
	26:33	MCN		#21 LaRicci, Savannah