Air Force Academy
vs. Whittier
Falcons Down Whittier, Fall To UC Santa Barbara
9/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 5, 2004
The Air Force water polo team split a pair of games Saturday at the Triton Invitational, hosted by UC San Diego, to open its season with a 1-1 record. In the first match, the Falcons defeated Whittier, 11-6, before dropping to UC Santa Barbara, 9-3, to wrap up the first day of the tournament. Air Force started out against WWPA opponent Whittier, looking to move to 8-0 in the all-time series against the Poets. However, Whittier jumped out to a 2-0 lead before senior Murphey Morgan (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) notched his first goal of the day with just 26 seconds remaining in the first quarter to put the Falcons on the board. After another score by the Poets to bring the tally to 3-1, Air Force rattled off nine consecutive goals to take a commanding 10-3 lead. Whittier managed to outscore the Falcons 3-1 in the final 3:25 of the game, but it was too little, too late as Air Force easily won its season opener. Morgan totalled four goals against the Poets, while fellow senior Chris Nary (Honolulu, Hawaii) added three scores. Meanwhile, Clark Condict (Fr., Irvine, Calif.), Justin Berry (Fr., Windermere, Fla.), Jeff Donaldson (Jr., Riverside, Calif.) and Blake Pickell (So., Santa Ana, Calif.) all pitched in goals for the Falcons. The second game was a different story, as Air Force faced off against UC Santa Barbara, which had won 22 of 26 previious meetings between the two teams. As in the contest versus Whittier, the Falcons trailed 3-1 to begin the match, but unlike in the earlier game, they would not be able to come back from the early deficit. Air Force was able to strike first in the second stanza, as Donaldson scored to cut UCSB's lead to a single point at 3-2. However, the Gauchos responded with an offensive frenzy in the second quarter, outscoring the Falcons 4-1 to take control of the game. UCSB never looked back, rolling to the 9-3 victory. Again, Morgan led the Falcons' offense with a pair of goals, sandwiched between Donaldson's score in the second period. Meanwhile, Brian Alexander paced the Gauchos with four goals, all in the first half. The Falcons will wrap up their weekend at the Triton Invitational on Sunday, as they meet Redlands at 9:15 a.m. (PDT), followed by a contest with UC Davis at 4:45 p.m.
