'Roos Hit the Road for Two WAC Contests, at Air Force and Grand Canyon
10/10/2013 3:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer
UMKC 'Roos (1-5-3, 0-1) at
Air Force Falcons (0-8, 0-0) and
Grand Canyon 'Lopes (1-5-1, 0-0)
Date / Time: Oct. 11 - 8:00 p.m. CT/ Oct. 13 - 4:30 p.m. CT
Site: Air Force Academy, Colo. / Phoenix, Ariz.
Webcast: None / UMKCKangaroos.com (via GCU)
Live Stats: UMKCKangaroos.com (both, via host) AFA GCU
Twitter: @TheUMKCRoos
Series: AF leads 3-0 / First Meeting
Home: 0-0-0 / 0-0-0
Away: 0-1-0 / 0-0-0
Neutral: 0-2-0 / 0-0-0
Last Meeting: AF won 6-3-10/12/09 / none
Benben vs. Opponent: 0-2-0 / 0-0-0
The Games
Kansas City heads out on the road for the first time in WAC play when it faces Air Force on Friday night and Grand Canyon on Sunday. All three teams are on winless streaks, and looking to end them this weekend. UMKC is winless in its last four, AF in its last eight, and GCU in its last six.
The Coaches
In his 16th season at UMKC, Rick Benben is the winningest coach in school history, posting a 113-142-32 record. Under his guidance, UMKC has captured four conference regular season titles and has made three appearances in the NCAA College Cup with the most recent appearance coming in 2008. Benben, the fourth head coach in the Division I era, was inducted into the UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
Doug Hill is in his seventh season at Air Force, and led them to the NCAA Tournament last season. He has an overall record of 46-68-9, and was a 1983 grad of the Academy.
Petar Driskin is in his 21st season at Grand Canyon and boasts a 217-150-38 record. He led GCU to a Division II National Championship and numerous NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Series
UMKC is 0-3 against Air Force all-time, last meeting in 2009, and falling by a 6-3 score on the road. The other two meetings came at neutral sites with AF winning 3-1 in 1996 and 2-1 in 2002.
This will be the first ever meeting between Grand Canyon and Kansas City.
Scouting the Competition
Air Force comes in at 0-8, playing a tough schedule. The Falcons are opening WAC play with the 'Roos. Offensively they have scored only two goals this year, while giving up 20. Brian Klazura and Caleb Downey lead the team, with both on the preseason All-WAC squad. The Falcons were picked second in the WAC as well.
Grand Canyon is 1-5-1 overall on the season and will be opening its WAC schedule with Houston Baptist on Friday before facing UMKC Sunday. The 'Lopes are led by Kyle Ciliento with four goals and nine points, while the team has scored eight goals and allowed 13. GCU has also lost four games by only a goal.
A Win Against Air Force Means...
- UMKC would have defeated Air Force for the first time in school history.
- The 'Roos would have snapped a four-game winless streak overall.
A Win Against Grand Canyon Means...
- UMKC would have defeated GCU in the two schools first ever meeting.
- The 'Roos would have won on the road.
Up Next
UMKC host the same two teams in Kansas City, playing Air Force on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and battling Grand Canyon on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
As of now, the 'Roos are 0-3 against Air Force, dropping decisions in 1996, 2002, and 2009, all away from home. The 'Roos will have faced Grand Canyon once.
