No. 19 Air Force Heads to NorCal Open
9/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 15, 2010
The 19th-ranked Air Force water polo team returns to action this weekend, Sept. 18-19, at the NorCal Open, hosted by Cal. The Falcons will take on second-ranked UCLA in the first game of the weekend, before facing either No. 7 Pacific or No. 10 Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon. Air Force will play both of its games on Saturday at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif. Meanwhile, Sunday's opponents (and game location) will be determined based on the results of Saturday's contests.
Air Force will also be in action on Monday, as the Falcons visit 15th-ranked UC Davis for a conference match-up. The game is slated to start at noon at the Schaal Aquatics Center in Davis.
The NorCal Open Field...
The 2010 NorCal Open features 16 teams, 15 of which are ranked in the latest national poll, including the top 11 teams in the country.
The teams in this weekend's tournament are broken down into four brackets. Bracket A includes top-ranked host Cal, No. 8 Loyola Marymount, No. 9 Pepperdine and Pomona-Pitzer. No. 19 Air Force is featured in Bracket B along with second-ranked UCLA, No. 7 Pacific and No. 10 Long Beach State. Bracket C includes No. 3 Stanford, No. 6 UC Santa Barbara, No. 11 UC San Diego and No. 15 UC Davis, while fourth-ranked USC, fifth-ranked UC Irvine, 16th-ranked Navy and 18th-ranked Santa Clara will play in Bracket D.
Last Time Out...
Air Force played a pair of home contests against conference opponent Chapman last weekend, coming away with a pair of victories. On Saturday, the Falcons posted a 15-6 win, while holding on for an 11-7 victory on Sunday.
Senior captain Bobby Geiger was the Falcons' leading scorer on the weekend with six goals, including four in Air Force's win on Sunday, while freshman Josh Stedman added five goals and three assists in two games. Sophomore goalkeeper Mike Fish also had a solid weekend, notching 20 saves in just five periods of action.
Scouting the Falcons...
The Air Force Falcons, ranked 19th in the latest national coaches poll, enter this weekend with a 3-3 overall record, including a 3-2 mark in the Western Water Polo Association.
Senior Bobby Geiger has scored a team-best 11 goals on the season, while freshman Josh Stedman leads the team with 12 points (8g, 4a). Meanwhile, senior Matt Shields, who is tied with Geiger for second in points with 11, has recorded a team-high eight assists.
Scouting the Bruins...
The UCLA Bruins, ranked second in the latest national poll, enter this weekend with a 1-0 overall record. The Bruins are coming off a 12-4 victory over 12th-ranked Concordia to open the 2010 season.
UCLA is coached by Adam Wright, in his second year at the helm of the program. Senior Ben Hohl was the Bruins' top scorer in the season opener with three goals, while senior Emilio Vieira and freshman Cristiano Mirarchi registered two goals each. Meanwhile, junior goalkeeper Andrew Mesesan allowed just one goal in two quarters of action, while recording nine saves.
Scouting the Tigers...
The Pacific Tigers, ranked seventh nationally, enter this weekend with a 4-0 overall record. The Tigers posted a perfect record at the season-opening Triton Invitational Sept. 4-5.
Pacific is coached by James Graham, in his third year at the helm of the program. Sophomore Goran Tomasevic leads the Tigers with 10 goals through the first four games of the season, while freshman Balazs Erdelyi is second on the team with eight scores.
Scouting the 49ers...
The Long Beach State 49ers, ranked 10th in the latest national coaches poll, enter this weekend's tournament with a 2-1 overall record. The 49ers are coming off a 16-4 loss to third-ranked USC.
Long Beach State is coached by Gavin Arroyo, in his fifth year at the helm of the program. Freshman Nick Rascon is the 49ers' leading scorer after three games with 10 goals, while junior Taylor Clute is second with eight goals.
Scouting the Aggies...
The UC Davis Aggies, ranked 15th in the nation, currently hold a 6-1 record and will compete in this weekend's NorCal Open before hosting Air Force on Monday. The Aggies have won six straight contests, winning five games in two days to take the title at the Inland Empire Classic hosted by Redlands.
UC Davis is coached by Steve Doten, in his 10th year leading the program. Junior Aaron Salit, the current WWPA Player of the Week, leads the Aggies with 20 goals on the season, while Colin Hicks is second with 10 goals.
Series Records...
This weekend's meeting between Air Force and UCLA is the 20th in the all-time series, with the Bruins undefeated against the Falcons. The teams have not met since 2004, when UCLA picked up a 9-3 win over Air Force at the Academy.
Should Air Force face Pacific on Saturday, it would mark the 36th meeting in the all-time series, with the Tigers holding a 28-7 advantage. The two teams have already met once this season, with Pacific earning a 10-5 victory at the Triton Invitational.
A meeting between Air Force and Long Beach State on Saturday would be the 31st in the all-time series, with the 49ers holding a 22-8 advantage. The last meeting between the two teams was in 2008, when the 49ers won a 12-9 decision.
Monday's match-up between Air Force and UC Davis will be the 61st in the series, with the Falcons holding a 36-24 advantage. The Falcons and Aggies met twice during the 2009 season, with each team winning a contest. Air Force won an 8-7 overtime decision at The Rodeo, hosted by Santa Clara, while UC Davis earned a 10-8 win in the fifth-place contest at the WWPA Championship.
In the Record Books...
Senior captain Bobby Geiger currently sits among the Academy's top 20 career scorers, ranking 13th with 213 career points (158g, 55a). Geiger needs just three more points to move into a tie for 12th place and 10 points to break into the top 10. Meanwhile, he is just eight goals away from moving into the top five in the Falcons' record book for career goals.
Up Next...
Air Force has two weeks off from competition before returning to action Oct. 8-9, at the Convergence Tournament in Claremont, Calif. Meanwhile, the Falcons will visit fifth-ranked UC Irvine in a non-conference contest on Oct. 10.
