Photo by: Jacob Rokeach

It was a fitting victory: on a day when the DU men’s soccer team honored its senior players, while these same seniors led the team to a 1-0 victory over Air Force Saturday.

Five seniors were given accolades before the match: midfielder Ben Mendozza, midfielder James Merriman, midfielder Mike McClain, defender Kevin Sprehe and defender Mike Seager.

The Pioneers started the match aggressively, making eight attempts on goal in the first half alone, compared to the Air Force’s three attempts.

Junior defender Josh Fallin tried a valiant head shot in the 11th minute, but the Air Force’s goalkeeper made a diving save. At halftime, the score stood even at 0-0.

The second half was more intenseive, as Air Force was determined to answer DU’s offensive skills. Air Force nearly kept pace with Denver and shot seven attempts on goal, compared to DU’s nine.

Unfortunately, like last week’s game against Sacramento State, the game became more and more physical as the second half ground on. Finally, in the 66th minute, junior defender Colin Jones was issued a red card and ejected from the game.

DU suddenly found itself a man down in a heated, scoreless match. Fortunately, the Pioneers demonstrated their composure and continued to stymie Air Force’s offense.

Finally, in the 77th minute, two seniors broke through Air Force’s defenses. Merriman’s leading pass found Mendozza, who rocketed the ball into the goal, bringing the score to 1-0.

The Pioneers managed to hold Air Force scoreless for the remainder of the match, which ended in a 1-0 victory for DU.

The men’s soccer team winds down its season this weekend. The Pioneers play University of Nevada-Las Vegas Friday in Las Vegas, and then face tough opponent New Mexico Sunday in Albuquerque.