Air Force Academy
Chapman
Air Force Earns WWPA Victory Over Chapman
9/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 30, 2011
ORANGE, Calif. - Taking advantage of a large first-half advantage, the Air Force water polo team earned a 12-9 road victory over conference foe Chapman on Friday afternoon. With the victory, the Falcons improve to 4-6 overall on the season and 2-3 in the Western Water Polo Association. Meanwhile, the Panthers drop to 6-7 overall, 1-4 in the WWPA.
Air Force got out to a hot start, registering the first four goals of the game. Chapman's first score of the contest came on a penalty shot at the 2:36 mark in the opening period as the Falcons took a 4-1 advantage after one quarter.
The Falcons earned a 7-1 margin, their biggest lead of the game, with three consecutive scores to open the second stanza. Meanwhile, Chapman tallied its only goal of the quarter with just 26 seconds remaining on the clock, as Air Force took a 7-2 lead into the intermission.
Sophomore Andrew Hamilton (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) registered his third goal of the game less than 30 seconds into the third period to push the Falcons' advantage back to six, but Chapman began to rally, notching three straight scores to cut the margin to 8-5. The Falcons then closed out the third period with two more scores, getting goals from Jantz Johnson (Fr., Murrieta, Calif.) and Max Reilly (So., Davis, Calif.) to stretch the margin back to five.
The Panthers were still not done fighting, outscoring the Falcons 4-2 in the final stanza. However, Chapman could not overcome its early deficit, getting no closer than three goals as Air Force took the 12-9 decision.
Hamilton's three goals led the Falcons, while Johnson, Garrett Womack (Jr., Redlands, Calif.), Josh Stedman (So., Brea, Calif.) and Alex Arcidiacono (Jr., La Jolla, Calif.) added two scores each.
The Falcons are back in action tomorrow for the first two games of the SoCal Tournament, hosted by Long Beach State. Air Force will take on second-ranked UCLA at 8:30 a.m., following by a match-up with either No. 8 UC Santa Barbara or No. 12 UC San Diego.
Air Force 12, Chapman 9
Air Force - 4 3 3 2 - 12
Chapman - 1 1 3 4 - 9
AF Scoring: Hamilton 3, Womack 2, Johnson 2, Stedman 2, Arcidiacono 2, Reilly
Chapman Scoring: Middlesworth 2, Carter 2, Cutler 2, Masson 2, Alvarado
