THIS PIECE IS BY ZACH BRAXTON
The Weber State University women’s soccer team fell to the Air Force Academy 2-0 on Sunday afternoon.
A special pre-game ceremony was held in honor of the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and those who lost and sacrificed their lives that day.
During the national anthem, which was performed by Air Force lieutenants, the coaches, players and WSU soccer supporters stood in silence.
When the players for Weber State made their way onto the field, they stopped and gave the cadets from the Air Force Academy flowers — thanking them for serving our country.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the game began and took off at a fast clip.
Both teams were moving the ball well — trying to get into scoring positions early on.
This aggressive style of play is common for the Wildcats, as they have scored goals in four of their six games this season.
The Wildcats’ intense play was matched by the Air Force Academy Falcons.
Falcons senior Meredith Reisinger scored an unassisted first goal of the game in the 11th minute, giving the Falcons an early 1-0 lead.
Both teams continued to battle, but neither added any more goals before the conclusion of the first half.
The Falcons took a total of eight shots during the first half, compared to the Wildcats’ two shots.
Junior goalkeeper Sydnie Brough had a total of four saves in the first 45 minutes of game play.
Coming out of the half, both teams went at it again and played a very physical match in which the referees began to call fouls more frequently.
As the 50th minute came about, the Falcons had a scoring opportunity off of a corner kick.
Junior midfielder Angela Karamanos put a shot on the ball that knocked it into both crossbars and into the back of the net, adding another goal to the Falcons’ lead.
Weber State continued to fight as the game got somewhat chippy.
Freshman forward Bree Bezdek of the Falcons was given a yellow card in the 73rd minute.
Sophomore forward Madison Garlock took two shots for Weber State — neither of them on target.
The Wildcats were not discouraged and fought until the last second ticked off the clock.
Four players played all 90 minutes for the Wildcats — freshman defender Nicolle Allen, sophomore defender Olivia Glassford, junior midfielder Kelsi Tatton and Brough.
This game marks only the second loss of the 2016-17 season for WSU.
The Wildcats will hit the road this week with a game on Sept. 15 at San Diego State University and a game Sept. 18 at the University of Missouri.
The Wildcats are hoping to come home with two more wins under their belt to propel them into conference play, beginning Sept. 23 at home against the University of Northern Colorado.
