Air Force Academy
#16 Santa Clara
No. 15 Falcons Drop Two Games at The Rodeo
10/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 25, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -
Wrapping up its weekend against a pair of nationally ranked teams, the 15th-ranked Air Force water polo team lost two games Sunday at The Rodeo, hosted by Santa Clara. The Falcons, who fall to 13-11 overall and 7-3 in the WWPA, opened the day with a 15-12 loss to No. 19 St. Francis, before dropping an 11-4 contest to 16th-ranked host Santa Clara.
Air Force, playing against St. Francis for the third time this season, got out to an even start against the Terriers, with the score tied at 2-2 following one period. However, St. Francis outscored the Falcons in the second quarter, taking a 6-3 advantage at the half. After scoring six third-period goals, Air Force was able to get within a single point going into the final stanza. However, after an 11-11 tie in the fourth period, St. Francis went on a 4-1 run to end the game with the 15-12 victory.
Senior captain Jack Hines (Riverside, Calif.) and junior Bobby Geiger (Buellton, Calif.) led the Falcons in scoring against the Terriers with four goals each. Cruz Smithson (Fr., Capistrano Beach, Calif.) added two scores, while Alex Churnside (Sr., Orange, Calif.) and Jason Fung (Sr., Honolulu, Hawaii) also got on the board.
In their final game of the weekend, the Falcons faced conference rival, and tournament host, Santa Clara. The two teams battled to a 1-1 tie in the opening period, but the Broncos came back to take a 3-1 advantage at the half. Santa Clara dominated offensively in the third period, getting out to an 8-2 lead, before securing the 11-4 victory.
Junior Kurt Wallin (Temecula, Calif.) led the Falcons with two goals in the contest, while Fung and Smithson accounted for Air Force's other two scores.
After taking next weekend off, the Falcons close out the regular season Nov. 7-8, with four road WWPA contests. Air Force will visit Orange, Calif., for games against Chapman and Loyola Marymount on Nov. 7, followed by games at La Verne and Claremont on Nov. 8.
No. 19 St. Francis 15, No. 15 Air Force 12
Air Force 2 1 6 3 12
St. Francis 2 4 4 5 15
AF Scoring: Geiger 4, Hines 4, Smithson 2, Churnside, Fung
SFCScoring: S. Gencic 5, Sasic 4, M. Gencic 2, Predin 2, Pantic, Rivadeneyra
No. 16 Santa Clara 11, No. 15 Air Force 4
Air Force 1 0 1 2 4
Santa Clara 1 2 5 3 11
AF Scoring: Wallin 2, Fung, Smithson
SCU Scoring: Poggetti 5, Farrell, Luebke, Klipa, Sorgenfrei, Case, Wall
Players Mentioned
