Air Force Closes Out Non-Conference Slate at Yale
4/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 17, 2008
The Air Force lacrosse team wraps up its road slate this weekend, April 20, as it visits non-conference foe Yale. The game is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. (ET) at Reese Stadium.
Scouting the Falcons...
Air Force (3-6) is coming off a narrow 11-10 overtime loss to conference rival Quinnipiac. The Falcons rallied from a two-goal deficit to take the lead in the final period, but came up short of the win. Leading the way for the Falcons' offense was junior Brian Massa, who notched a career-best three goals while adding an assist.
Junior Griffin Nevitt is the Falcons' leading scorer on the year with 16 goals and six assists on the season, while senior David Rose is second on the team with 15 goals and four assists.
Scouting the Bulldogs...
Yale (3-8) is coming off a 17-14 loss to Ivy League foe Dartmouth. Four different players registered four goals each to lead the Bulldogs against the Big Green.
Tyler Casertano (16g, 15a) leads Yale with 31 points on the season, while the team's leading goal-scorer, Brendan Gibson (19g, 8a) ranks second on the team with 27 points. In addition, face-off specialist Greg DuBoff has picked up 74 ground balls and holds a .612 face-off win percentage.
The Coaches...
• Air Force is coached by Fred Acee, in his 11th season with the Falcons. Acee holds a 350-220-1 career record (41st year) and a 38-101 mark at the Academy.
• Yale is coached by Andy Shay, in his fifth season at the helm of the Bulldogs' program. Shay holds a career record of 29-35 at Yale.
Series Records...
This weekend marks the third meeting all-time between Air Force and Yale, with the Falcons winless against the Bulldogs. The two teams met last year at the First 4, held in San Diego, with Yale taking the 12-9 victory.
Air Force in the Statistical Rankings...
In the latest national rankings through games of April 13, Air Force ranks 17th in the nation in man-up offense (.359).
Meanwhile, junior Dan Gnazzo ranks second in the GWLL and 12th in the nation in ground balls per game (5.22).
How They Rate...
Yale ranks second in the country in face-off win percentage (.638), while ranking 24th in scoring defense (8.6).
Individually, midfielder Greg DuBoff ranks second in the country in both face-off win percentage (.645) and ground balls per game (6.9).
Air Force-Notre Dame Rescheduled...
The GWLL contest between Air Force and Notre Dame, originally scheduled for March 22, has been rescheduled for April 22 at 2:00 p.m. at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium. The original contest was postponed when inclement weather in the Midwest caused a flight cancellation for the Fighting Irish.
Air Force Male Athlete of the Week...
Junior Griffin Nevitt was named the Air Force Male Athlete of the Week on April 14, following his performance in the Falcons' league games against Bellarmine and Quinnipiac. Nevitt helped the Falcons to their first league win of the season against Bellarmine, tallying four goals and an assist in the 13-8 victory. He also added a man-down goal, the first of his career, in the Falcons' narrow 11-10 overtime loss to Quinnipiac.
Taking the Face-off...
Senior midfielder Reilly Smith won 13-of-22 face-offs (.590) in the Falcons' win over Bellarmine, setting a new personal-best mark, and bested that in the Quinnipiac game, winning 14-of-23 face-offs (.609). As a team, Air Force won a season-high 13-of-23 face-offs (.565) versus Bellarmine, going up against one of the top face-off specialists in the conference, Bobby Snider.
In its last two games, Air Force has won over 57 percent of its face-offs, while winning just over 35 percent of its face-offs in its first seven contests. Smith has led the way for the Falcons, winning 60 percent (27-of-45) of his face-offs in the last two games.
Keeping the Streak Alive...
Junior Griffin Nevitt will look to keep his scoring streak alive this weekend, as the midfielder has scored at least one goal or assist in 34 consecutive games. Nevitt, who has 61 goals and 30 assists in his career, has scored in 36 of 37 games in his first two and a half seasons.
Nevitt's scoring streak of 34 games is the fifth-longest active streak in the country. Duke's Matt Danowski leads the way with 54 straight games with at least one goal or assist. Nevitt is the only non-senior ranked in the top five on the scoring streak list, and one of only two juniors with a scoring streak of at least 30 games (Cornell's Max Seibald is the other). Meanwhile, Yale's Tyler Casertano holds an active scoring streak of 38 games, ranking fourth in the country.
Man-Down!...
Junior Griffin Nevitt scored the first man-down goal of his career Sunday against Quinnipiac. The goal, his only of the game, marked the second man-down goal for an Air Force player this season (freshman defender Bryan Gilbreath scored a man-down goal against Presbyterian).
Air Force's two man-down goals this season lead the GWLL and match the total of man-down goals for the Falcons in the previous three seasons combined.
A Greater Offense...
The Air Force offense has picked up in its last two games, scoring an average of 11.5 goals in the contests versus Bellarmine and Quinnipiac. Meanwhile, the team's scoring average in its first seven contests was just 7.09.
The scoring differential between home and away/neutral contests is also pronounced for the Falcons. In four home contests, Air Force has averaged 10.5 goals per game. Meanwhile, in its five games away from home, Air Force has scored just 6.0 goals per game.
Massa's Career Day...
Junior Brian Massa stepped offensively for the Falcons in their overtime loss to Quinnipiac, scoring three goals and an assist. Massa entered the game with just three goals in his career (including one earlier this season) and two career assists.
On the Penalty Kill...
Air Force has been a solid man-up team for most of the season, currently ranked among the top 20 in the nation on man-up offense. However, the Falcons were even more impressive on the penalty kill against Quinnipiac, holding the Bobcats to 0-for-3 on the EMO.
Just One Assist...
In contrast to the past several seasons, when former Falcon Will Meister ranked among the nation's leaders in assists per game, no Falcon is averaging more than one assist per contest this season. In fact, through nine games of the season, no Air Force player has scored more than one assist in a game. Even assist-leader Griffin Nevitt has scored each of his six assists in six different contests.
The Falcons in OT...
The Falcons' overtime contest against Quinnipiac was their second of the season and eighth in the past six years. In that stretch, Air Force has gone 1-7 in overtime.
Meanwhile, Air Force's game against Providence in the season-opener broke a six-game losing streak in overtime contests. Previously, the last time the Falcons won in overtime was in 2001. The opponent in that game was Providence.
Up Next...
The Falcons swing right back into action on Tuesday, April 22, as they host conference-foe Notre Dame. The game, rescheduled from an earlier date, will begin at 2:00 p.m. at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium.
