No. 14 Falcons travel to So Cal Tournament
10/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 8, 2015 
THIS WEEK: No. 14 Air Force (4-9 overall, 0-1 WWPA) travels to Malibu, Calif., for the annual So Cal Tournament, Oct. 10-11. The Falcons open the tournament against No. 8 Long Beach State on Sat., Oct. 10, at 9:20 a.m. PT. The remainder of the Falcons' tournament schedule will be determined by the result of the first game.
LIVE ON THE WEB: All Air Force home games, and every game of the WWPA Tournament, hosted at the Academy, will be video streamed live on GoAirForceFalcons.com. Go to the water polo schedule and click on the "Watch" link.
THE SERIES: Air Force and Long Beach State met once last season and the 49ers won, 19-4. LBSU leads the all-time series, 30-8.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK: UC Davis scored 21 seconds in to the third overtime period to defeat Air Force, 11-10, in a WWPA game,, Oct. 3, at the Cadet Natatorium. Air Force took an early 4-1 lead and then the teams traded goals throughout the contest. With the game tied at 9-9 late in the fourth quarter, Robby Stiefel scored to put the Falcons up 9-8. With time winding down, and after a whistle on Air Force, Aggie Ido Goldschmidt took a lob shot just before time expired that landed in the net to tie the game at 10-10. In the first two three-minute overtime periods, Air Force junior Max Benson made three saves while UCD goalie Jake Becker made one as the game went into a sudden death overtime period. UCD won the initial sprint and had the first possession. Twenty-one seconds into the third overtime period, Goldschmidt scored the game winner.
Curia and Stiefel each had three goals to lead the Falcons. Zach Kamai, Justin Harrison, Ben Rogers and Riley Thomas all scored as well. Benson had 14 saves in the game while Becker had 10.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior Eric Curia was named the KAP7 Western Water Polo Association co-Player of the Week, Oct. 1, as he helped lead the Falcons to a 3-1 record on a four-game road trip to California. In the four games, Curia scored 13 goals, had six steals, two assists and four field blocks. He also won nine of 11 sprints and had a shooting percentage of 60 percent. He scored two or more goals in every game, including a career-high four against Navy and Pepperdine. He finished with two steals each against Navy and Pepperdine.
TOP SCORERS: Junior Eric Curia leads the team with 22 goals. Junior Robby Stiefel is second with 20 goals. Sophomore Justin Harrison is third in goals with 18. Stiefel leads the team with 26 assists and 31 steals. Junior Max Benson leads the team with 75 saves while senior Caleb Guarino had 59.
THIS WEEK: No. 14 Air Force (4-9 overall, 0-1 WWPA) travels to Malibu, Calif., for the annual So Cal Tournament, Oct. 10-11. The Falcons open the tournament against No. 8 Long Beach State on Sat., Oct. 10, at 9:20 a.m. PT. The remainder of the Falcons' tournament schedule will be determined by the result of the first game.
LIVE ON THE WEB: All Air Force home games, and every game of the WWPA Tournament, hosted at the Academy, will be video streamed live on GoAirForceFalcons.com. Go to the water polo schedule and click on the "Watch" link.
THE SERIES: Air Force and Long Beach State met once last season and the 49ers won, 19-4. LBSU leads the all-time series, 30-8.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK: UC Davis scored 21 seconds in to the third overtime period to defeat Air Force, 11-10, in a WWPA game,, Oct. 3, at the Cadet Natatorium. Air Force took an early 4-1 lead and then the teams traded goals throughout the contest. With the game tied at 9-9 late in the fourth quarter, Robby Stiefel scored to put the Falcons up 9-8. With time winding down, and after a whistle on Air Force, Aggie Ido Goldschmidt took a lob shot just before time expired that landed in the net to tie the game at 10-10. In the first two three-minute overtime periods, Air Force junior Max Benson made three saves while UCD goalie Jake Becker made one as the game went into a sudden death overtime period. UCD won the initial sprint and had the first possession. Twenty-one seconds into the third overtime period, Goldschmidt scored the game winner.
Curia and Stiefel each had three goals to lead the Falcons. Zach Kamai, Justin Harrison, Ben Rogers and Riley Thomas all scored as well. Benson had 14 saves in the game while Becker had 10.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior Eric Curia was named the KAP7 Western Water Polo Association co-Player of the Week, Oct. 1, as he helped lead the Falcons to a 3-1 record on a four-game road trip to California. In the four games, Curia scored 13 goals, had six steals, two assists and four field blocks. He also won nine of 11 sprints and had a shooting percentage of 60 percent. He scored two or more goals in every game, including a career-high four against Navy and Pepperdine. He finished with two steals each against Navy and Pepperdine.
TOP SCORERS: Junior Eric Curia leads the team with 22 goals. Junior Robby Stiefel is second with 20 goals. Sophomore Justin Harrison is third in goals with 18. Stiefel leads the team with 26 assists and 31 steals. Junior Max Benson leads the team with 75 saves while senior Caleb Guarino had 59.
Players Mentioned
Goalie
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