DENVER -- University of Denver junior defender Scott Dixon (Littleton, Colo.) scored the lone goal of the afternoon, his second of the season, to help the Pioneers defeat Air Force Academy 1-0 Sunday afternoon at Pioneer Field. In a showdown for second place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Denver improves to 8-4 overall and 4-1 in the MPSF. Air Force drops to 5-6-1, 2-3 in the MPSF.
Denver junior midfielder Michael Piserchio (Littleton, Colo.) set up Dixon with a cross on a corner kick. Dixon accepted the feed and fired the ball on goal, which beat Falcon goalkeeper Mike Brophy to give Denver a 1-0 lead at 16:58. Piserchio tallied his seventh assist of the season and third of the weekend series between these two teams.
The physical battle continued through the remainder of the first half and into the second. Both teams tightened up on the defensive end of the field and kept the opposing offensive attack at bay. Denver goalkeeper Parker Jarvis (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) made four saves on the afternoon en route to recording his second shutout of the season.
Give credit to our guys for working hard the entire game, said Denver head coach Chad Ashton. We physically out-battled them in the bad weather today. This was a big win for us and puts us in good position for next weekend's game against San Jose State.
The Pioneers return to action this Friday, October 27 when they host MPSF foe San Jose State, the No. 1 team in the nation, in a battle for first place in the league. Kick-off for the match is set for 3 p.m. MST.
