ALBANY, Georgia –
Army fights from behind and Air Force wins the PK battle during day two of the 2024 Armed Forces Men’s Soccer Championship at the Albany State University West Campus Soccer Complex.
ARMY CLAWS BACK
In the first match of day two, Marine Corps jumped ahead with a stellar penalty kick by Sgt. Carlos Vazquezperez of MCB Hawaii in the 19th minute.
Marine Corps’ 1st Lt. Mats Bjurman of MCB Camp Pendleton, Calif. laced in a beautiful shot to the top corner to lift the Marines 2-0 in the 23rd minute.
After halftime, Army found their footing as Staff Sgt. Fransisco Delgado of Fort Riley, Kansas put his team on the board in the 56th minute.
With time running out, Army PFC Modou Sowe of Fort Liberty. N.C. found the equalizer in the 85th minute of regulation forcing overtime.
Tensions rose as both teams fought to capture the win with the golden goal. It was Army’s Sgt. Samuel Esyin of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. in the 105th minute to give Army the win.
Army’s win secures their spot in the Championship Match on Tuesday, April 9th.
AIR FORCE WINS THE PK BATTLE
Air Force opened the match with an early goal behind the foot of Space Force 2d lt. Keenan Sweeney of Los Angeles AFB, Calif. in the 13th minute. Air Force kept the lead heading into half time with the score at 1-0.
Air Force defense tighten up with solid goaltending. With the game looking like a Navy loss, Navy’s Ensign Abram Ehrhorn of Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia locked in the equalizer of the 82nd minute forcing overtime.
For the next 60-minutes, neither side was able to find the back of the net as the clock closed in a 1-1 tie.
During penalty kicks, Air Force and Navy goalies stuffed the first attempts. Navy jumped ahead with goals by Lt. j.g. Wyatt Millard NAS Jacksonville, Florida and Petty Officer 2nd class Patrick Achidi of NCBC Gulfport, Miss.
Down 2-0, Air Force bounced back stuffing three consecutive Navy attempts, as 1st lt. Michael Neacsu Hanscom AFB, Mass., Capt. Austin Dewing of Hurlburt Field, Florida, Capt. Tucker Bone of Vance AFB, Okla. each found the net to give their team the nod.
Air Force’s win sends them to the Championship match to face Army, but will face Army in the final round of pool play on April 7th.
Navy and Marine Corps will face each other on the last day of pool-play, as well as face each other in the consolation match to determine third place.
Visit the Armed Forces Sports website for detailed results, photo links, and standings.