Air Force Academy
#15 Denver
Air Force Falls to No. 15 Denver
3/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
March 26, 2011
DENVER, Colo. -
its third-straight game against a ranked opponent, the Air Force lacrosse team dropped a 14-7 decision to No. 15 Denver Saturday afternoon at the Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. With the loss, the Falcons fall to 2-6 overall on the year and 1-2 in the ECAC, while the Pioneers improve to 6-2 overall, 2-0 in the league.
After more than eight minutes of scoreless action, Denver was first to get on the board with a goal from Cameron Flint, while the Pioneers added another score a minute and a half later. Denver tacked on two more goals in the first five minutes of the second period to grab a 4-0 advantage before Erik Smith (Fr., Golden, Colo.) found the back of the net for Air Force at the 9:06 mark in the quarter. It proved to be the last goal of the period, as the Pioneers took a 4-1 lead into the break.
Following the low-scoring first half, things turned around after the intermission, as Denver opened the second half with five straight goals in the first seven minutes of action to pull away from the Falcons. Air Force defenseman Matt Puleo (Fr., Whitehouse Station, N.J.) scored his first career goal off a face-off win to halt the Pioneers' offensive onslaught, but Denver registered another goal to take a 10-2 advantage with 7:06 remaining in the third period.
Down by eight goals, Air Force began to fight back, tallying the last three scores of the third quarter, with Kyle Cassady (Fr., Columbus, Ohio), Zack Carroll (Sr., Freehold Township, N.J.) and Adam Paranka (Jr., Denver, Colo.) each registering goals for the Falcons. However, Denver got back on the board early in the final stanza, notching a goal just 12 seconds into the period. With the Pioneers outscoring the Falcons, 4-2, in the fourth quarter, Air Force went home with the seven-point loss.
Denver dominated on face-offs, winning 18-of-25 for the game, including 12-of-18 in the second half. The Pioneers also outshot the Falcons, and picked up 35 ground balls, compared to 25 for Air Force.
The Falcons are back on the road next weekend, April 2, when they travel to Macon, Ga., to take on Mercer in a non-conference match-up.
No. 15 Denver 14, Air Force 7
Air Force 0 1 4 2 7
Denver 2 2 6 4 14
AF Scoring: Goals: Cassady 2, Smith, Puleo, Carroll, Paranka, Crampton. Assists: Smith, Carroll.
Denver Scoring: Goals: Matthews 3, Carraro 3, Demopoulos 2, Baxter 2, Lay 2, Flint, Noble. Assists: Demopoulos 3, Lay, Law, Flint, Matthews, Schuette, Noble.
