16th ranked Falcons earn first win of season

Sept. 19, 2015

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - The Air Force water polo team, ranked 16^th in the nation, earned its first win of the season with an 11-8 victory over 13^th-ranked San Jose State, in the second round of the Nor Cal Tournament, Sept. 19 in Palo Alto, Calif. The Falcons split its first two games in the tournament, falling to sixth-ranked UC Santa Barbara, 10-7, in the first game.

In the Falcons' first game, UCSB scored the first three goals of the game, but the Falcons rallied to score the next four for a 4-3 lead early in the second quarter. The Gauchos scored the next five for an 8-4 lead at the half. The teams traded goals in the third quarter as the Falcons trailed, 9-5. Air Force scored two goals in the fourth, but fell to UCSB, 10-7. Justin Harrison led the Falcons with two goals while Robby Stiefel had three assists.

Air Force, 1-5 overall this season, picked up its first win of the season with an 11-8 victory over 13^th-ranked San Jose State. The game see-sawed back and forth through the first two quarters with each team holding the lead at one point. SJSU took the first two-goal lead of the game at 6-4 in the third quarter. Goals by Eric Curia and Riley Thomas tied the game at 8-8 in the third quarter. Zach Kamai scored two goals and Ben Rogers scored one in the fourth quarter as the Falcons took an 11-8 lead. Behind senior goalie Caleb Guarino, Air Force held the Spartans scoreless in the fourth quarter for the first win of the season. Guarino made a season high 17 saves. Kamai, Thomas and Curia each had two goals. Stiefel had a season-high five assists and had a game-high three steals.

The Falcons will face 10^th-ranked UC Davis on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 10:50 am PT. Air Force will then play a second game on Sunday with the time and opponent to be determined by the result of the UC Davis game.

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9/19/15 vs. UC Santa Barbara, Nor Cal Tournament, Palo Alto, Calif.

Goals by Qtr. 1 2 3 4 Final

#16 Air Force 2 2 1 2 7

#6 UCSB 3 5 1 1 10

Starters: Leiter, Fisk, Rogers, Curia, Thomas, Stiefel, Benson

Played: Quinlan, Kamai, Carter, Harrison, McDill, Smet

Goals (7): Harrison 2, Kamai 1, Carter 1, Fisk 1, Rogers 1, Curia 1

Assists (7): Stiefel 3, Leiter 2, Qinlan 1, McDill 1, Thomas 1,

Steals (9): Thomas 3, Carter 2, Fisk 1, Curia 1, Rogers 1, Leiter 1

Goals Against (10): Benson 10

Saves (9): Benson 9

6-on-5: AF 3/6; UCSB 2/8; Penalties UCSB 1/1

9/19/15 vs. San Jose State, Nor Cal Tournament, Palo Alto, Calif.

Goals by Qtr. 1 2 3 4 Final

#16 Air Force 3 2 3 3 11

#13 San Jose St. 2 5 1 0 8

Starters: Leiter, Fisk, Rogers, Curia, Thomas, Stiefel, Guarino
Played: Kamai, Carter, Harrison, McDill, Smet, Quinlan

Goals (11): Kamai 2, Curia 2, Thomas 2, McDill 1, Rogers 1, Harrison 1, Smet 1, Leiter 1

Assists (7): Stiefel 5, Quinlan 1, Fisk 1

Steals (16): Stiefel 3, Thomas 3, Harrison 2, Guarino 2, Curia 2, Carter 1, Kamai 1, McDill 1, Fisk 1

Goals Against (8): Guarino 8

Saves (17): Guarino 17

6-on-5: AF 3/14, SJSU 4/6; Penalties AF 1/1

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Players Mentioned

Eric Curia

Caleb Guarino

Justin Harrison

Ben Rogers

Robby Stiefel

Riley Thomas

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