Air Force Set To Host East Meets West Tournament
9/27/2005 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
The 18th-ranked Air Force water polo team (4-3, 4-1 WWPA) returns home this weekend, Oct. 1-2, as it hosts the East Meets West Tournament, featuring WWPA opponents Loyola Marymount and Occidental, as well as Brown and Iona. All teams will face each other, with the weekend capped off with first- and third-place games. The action starts Saturday at 8:00 a.m., when Air Force takes on Occidental in a conference match-up. All games will take place in the Cadet Natatorium and admission is free of charge.
The Schedule...
Listed below is the full tournament schedule for the weekend:
Saturday, Oct. 1
8:00 a.m. Air Force vs. Occidental
9:15 a.m. LMU vs. Iona
11:15 a.m. Air Force vs. Brown
12:30 p.m. LMU vs. Occidental
2:15 p.m. Iona vs. Brown
3:30 p.m. Air Force vs. LMU
5:15 p.m. Iona vs. Occidental
Sunday, Oct. 2
8:00 a.m. LMU vs. Brown
9:15 a.m. Air Force vs. Iona
10:30 a.m. Brown vs. Occidental
1:00 p.m. Championship Game
2:15 p.m. Third Place Game
Last Time Out...
Air Force compiled a 2-2 mark at the Slugfest, hosted by UC Santa Cruz, last weekend to improve to 4-3 on the season, 4-1 in the WWPA. The Falcons opened Saturday with losses to No. 8 Long Beach State, 11-3, and No. 16 Redlands, 7-6. However, Air Force was able to regroup on Sunday, securing a 12-11 victory over Whittier with a last-second goal by junior Danny Kimmich, followed by a 12-4 win against Santa Clara.
Sophomore Justin Berry was the Falcons' high scorer for the tournament, finishing the weekend with nine goals, while sophomore Clark Condict added eight scores, including five in the Santa Clara contest. Meanwhile, junior Kyle Schafer was the team's MVP for the weekend, finishing with six goals and five assists. In addition, junior goalkeeper Denver Saunders recorded 24 saves in the tournament.
Scouting the Tigers...
The Occidental Tigers, who currently hold a record of 3-7 (1-2 in the WWPA), took part in the Cal Baptist Invitational last weekend. There they fell to the host Lancers, as well as USC and Mt. Sac College, while defeating Riverside College, 4-3.
The Tigers, coached by Larry Zubrin, are led by senior Keean Ferguson and freshman Andrew Valdes, each with 15 goals on the year.
Scouting the Bears...
The Brown Bears, members of the CWPA, currently hold an 8-4 overall ledger, and will face Harvard Thursday before heading to the Academy this weekend. Brown finished sixth at the ECAC Championships held last weekend, falling 9-8 to 19th-ranked Johns Hopkins in the final game.
The Bears, coached by Jason Gall, are led by freshman Mike Gartner, who has 28 goals on the season, while senior Andy Wiener has tallied 21 goals. In addition, Jay Fantone anchors the Brown defense with 111 saves through 12 games.
Scouting the Lions...
The Loyola Marymount Lions, ranked 10th in the nation, hold a 5-6 overall record (2-1 in the WWPA) and will face defending national champion UCLA Thursday before heading to this weekend's tournament. The Lions are coming off a tough 7-5 road loss to fifth-ranked UC San Diego.
The Lions, coached by John Loughran, are led by returning All-American Endre Rex-Kiss with 24 goals on the year.
Scouting the Gaels...
The Iona Gaels enter this weekend with an 0-11 mark (0-3 in the CWPA North) after falling 10-9 to Fordham last week.
The Gaels, coached by Brian Kelly, are led by Chris Brown, who has 23 goals and seven assists on the season. Meanwhile, Jason Simpson has 99 saves in net for Iona.
Series Records...
This weekend, Air Force and Occidental meet for just the fifth time, with the Falcons holding a 3-1 advantage in the overall series. The two teams have not met since 1980, when Air Force was awarded a forfeit victory.
The all-time series between Air Force and Brown is tied at 7-7, with the Falcons winning the last contest, an 8-6 victory in 1998.
The Falcons are 21-10 in the overall series with conference rival Loyola Marymount, but the Lions have dominated the series recently, winning eight of the last 10 matchups. Last season, LMU picked up an early-season 11-10 win over Air Force, before defeating the Falcons, 10-4, later in the year.
Air Force is 5-2 in the all-time series versus Iona. The two teams split a pair of contests in 2003, with the Gaels winning 7-3 before the Falcons took an 8-6 win.
Man-Up!...
The inability to take advantage of its 6-on-5 opportunities has often been an Achilles heel for Air Force. However, at the Slugfest, the Falcons were able to convert on over 50 percent (12-of-23) of their extra-man opportunities. Air Force's most impressive execution of the 6-on-5 came in its close victory over Whittier, when it converted six of its eight extra-man chances.
Up Next...
The Falcons return to action Oct. 15-16, when they head to the NorCal Tournament, hosted by Cal. In the meantime, the Air Force B squad will play host to the CWPA Tournament, Oct. 7-9, as some of the nation's top club teams get set to compete.
The Schedule...
Listed below is the full tournament schedule for the weekend:
Saturday, Oct. 1
8:00 a.m. Air Force vs. Occidental
9:15 a.m. LMU vs. Iona
11:15 a.m. Air Force vs. Brown
12:30 p.m. LMU vs. Occidental
2:15 p.m. Iona vs. Brown
3:30 p.m. Air Force vs. LMU
5:15 p.m. Iona vs. Occidental
Sunday, Oct. 2
8:00 a.m. LMU vs. Brown
9:15 a.m. Air Force vs. Iona
10:30 a.m. Brown vs. Occidental
1:00 p.m. Championship Game
2:15 p.m. Third Place Game
Last Time Out...
Air Force compiled a 2-2 mark at the Slugfest, hosted by UC Santa Cruz, last weekend to improve to 4-3 on the season, 4-1 in the WWPA. The Falcons opened Saturday with losses to No. 8 Long Beach State, 11-3, and No. 16 Redlands, 7-6. However, Air Force was able to regroup on Sunday, securing a 12-11 victory over Whittier with a last-second goal by junior Danny Kimmich, followed by a 12-4 win against Santa Clara.
Sophomore Justin Berry was the Falcons' high scorer for the tournament, finishing the weekend with nine goals, while sophomore Clark Condict added eight scores, including five in the Santa Clara contest. Meanwhile, junior Kyle Schafer was the team's MVP for the weekend, finishing with six goals and five assists. In addition, junior goalkeeper Denver Saunders recorded 24 saves in the tournament.
Scouting the Tigers...
The Occidental Tigers, who currently hold a record of 3-7 (1-2 in the WWPA), took part in the Cal Baptist Invitational last weekend. There they fell to the host Lancers, as well as USC and Mt. Sac College, while defeating Riverside College, 4-3.
The Tigers, coached by Larry Zubrin, are led by senior Keean Ferguson and freshman Andrew Valdes, each with 15 goals on the year.
Scouting the Bears...
The Brown Bears, members of the CWPA, currently hold an 8-4 overall ledger, and will face Harvard Thursday before heading to the Academy this weekend. Brown finished sixth at the ECAC Championships held last weekend, falling 9-8 to 19th-ranked Johns Hopkins in the final game.
The Bears, coached by Jason Gall, are led by freshman Mike Gartner, who has 28 goals on the season, while senior Andy Wiener has tallied 21 goals. In addition, Jay Fantone anchors the Brown defense with 111 saves through 12 games.
Scouting the Lions...
The Loyola Marymount Lions, ranked 10th in the nation, hold a 5-6 overall record (2-1 in the WWPA) and will face defending national champion UCLA Thursday before heading to this weekend's tournament. The Lions are coming off a tough 7-5 road loss to fifth-ranked UC San Diego.
The Lions, coached by John Loughran, are led by returning All-American Endre Rex-Kiss with 24 goals on the year.
Scouting the Gaels...
The Iona Gaels enter this weekend with an 0-11 mark (0-3 in the CWPA North) after falling 10-9 to Fordham last week.
The Gaels, coached by Brian Kelly, are led by Chris Brown, who has 23 goals and seven assists on the season. Meanwhile, Jason Simpson has 99 saves in net for Iona.
Series Records...
This weekend, Air Force and Occidental meet for just the fifth time, with the Falcons holding a 3-1 advantage in the overall series. The two teams have not met since 1980, when Air Force was awarded a forfeit victory.
The all-time series between Air Force and Brown is tied at 7-7, with the Falcons winning the last contest, an 8-6 victory in 1998.
The Falcons are 21-10 in the overall series with conference rival Loyola Marymount, but the Lions have dominated the series recently, winning eight of the last 10 matchups. Last season, LMU picked up an early-season 11-10 win over Air Force, before defeating the Falcons, 10-4, later in the year.
Air Force is 5-2 in the all-time series versus Iona. The two teams split a pair of contests in 2003, with the Gaels winning 7-3 before the Falcons took an 8-6 win.
Man-Up!...
The inability to take advantage of its 6-on-5 opportunities has often been an Achilles heel for Air Force. However, at the Slugfest, the Falcons were able to convert on over 50 percent (12-of-23) of their extra-man opportunities. Air Force's most impressive execution of the 6-on-5 came in its close victory over Whittier, when it converted six of its eight extra-man chances.
Up Next...
The Falcons return to action Oct. 15-16, when they head to the NorCal Tournament, hosted by Cal. In the meantime, the Air Force B squad will play host to the CWPA Tournament, Oct. 7-9, as some of the nation's top club teams get set to compete.
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