No. 20 Falcons Fall on Day Two of NorCal Tournament

Sept. 21, 2008

STOCKTON, Calif. - Wrapping up a tough weekend against the top teams in the nation, the 20th-ranked Air Force water polo team dropped a pair of contests Sunday to finish 16th at the NorCal Tournament. The Falcons opened the day with a 11-4 loss to 13th-ranked Navy, while falling to No. 17 Cal Baptist, 14-9, in the 15th place contest.

Air Force had a close battle going on with service academy rival Navy in the opening period, with the score tied at 1-1 after one quarter. However, the Midshipmen's offense erupted in the second period, outscoring the Falcons 5-1, to take a 6-2 lead at the half. Another strong showing by Navy in the third period put the game out of reach for Air Force in the 11-4 decision.

Scoring for the Falcons against the Midshipmen were Bobby Geiger (So., Buellton, Calif.), Jack Hines (Jr., Riverside, Calif.), Alex Churnside (Jr., Orange, Calif.) and Andrew Strawbridge (So., San Jose, Calif.) with one goal each. Meanwhile, goalkeepers David Ostrom (Jr., Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Danny Harold (Fr., Corona Del Mar, Calif.) again split time in the cage, with Ostrom leading the team with six saves.

In their final game of the weekend, the Falcons fell into a 4-2 hole at the end of the first period against Cal Baptist and trailed 7-4 at the half. While Air Force was able to get back within two after three periods, the Lancers closed out the contest with their biggest quarter, outscoring the Falcons, 5-2, en route to the 14-9 victory.

Leading the Air Force offense against CBU was sophomore Matt Versage (Merced, Calif.), who continued a solid weekend with four goals. Hines added two scores, while Geiger, Tyler Hewko (Sr., Laguna Hills, Calif.) and Kevin Williams (Sr., River Forest, Ill.) each added a goal. Ostrom tallied double-digit saves for the second time on the week, recording 12 stops.

The Falcons, now 2-7 overall and 2-1 in the WWPA, are back in action next weekend, Sept. 27-28, at the Aggie Shootout, hosted by conference rival UC Davis.

No.13 Navy 11, No. 20 Air Force 4
Air Force 1 1 1 1 4
Navy 1 5 4 1 11

AF Scoring: Geiger, Hines, Churnside, Strawbridge
Navy Scoring: Mulvey 3, Baldwin 2, Bell 2, Kofsky 2, Neuwirth, Meiners

No. 17 Cal Baptist 14, No. 20 Air Force 9
Cal Baptist 4 3 2 5 14
Air Force 2 2 3 2 9

CBU Scoring: Steiger 4, Hines 3, Ogden 3, Toy, Brumley, Shorts, Janzen
AF Scoring: Versage 4, Hines 2, Hewko, Geiger, Williams

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