Falcons open season at Navy
2/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
This Week
Air Force (0-0), receiving votes in the Cascade/Maverik national media poll, opens the 2016 season against service academy rival No. 18 Navy (0-0) on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 11:30 am ET in Annapolis, Md. It will be the season opener for both teams. The game will be video streamed at NavySports.com.
Falcons in the SoCon
After one season as an independent, the Falcons are back in a conference. Air Force joins the Southern Conference for the 2016 season, joining Bellarmine, Furman, High Point, Jacksonville, Mercer, Richmond and VMI. Last season, Air Force faced six of the seven other teams from the SoCon. The only team the Falcons did not play was Richmond. Air Force was 5-1 against SoCon teams with wins over Bellarmine, Furman, Jacksonville, Mercer and VMI and a loss on the road by one goal at High Point, the eventual tournament champions.
SoCon Preseason Poll
Defending tournament champion High Point was narrowly selected as the favorite to claim the 2016 Southern Conference men's lacrosse title, as voted by all eight of the league's coaches. High Point nabbed four first-place votes and 46 total points to take the top spot in the poll. Richmond garnered four first-place votes and 45 points, after going 11-5 overall and 6-0 in conference play in 2015. League newcomer Air Force collected 38 points and claimed the No. 3 spot in the preseason poll after finishing last season with an 8-7 record as an independent. Mercer was fourth (31), Bellarmine was fifth (23), Furman (18) was sixth, Jacksonville (16) was seventh and VMI was eighth (7).
SoCon Preseason All-Conference Team
Air Force sophomore Chris Walsch was named to the SoCon preseason all-conference team. Last season, Walsch led the team with 37 goals and 55 points. He ranked 30th in the nation in goals and 37th in points. His 2.47 goals per game were the fifth most in the nation by a freshman. He scored at least one point in 14 of the 15 games and had three or more points in nine games. He scored five goals in a game twice (Marist and VMI) and had a career high six goals against Jacksonville. He had a career-best eight (6-2-8) vs. Jacksonville.
Looking Back
Air Force ended the 2015 season with an 8-7 overall record, competing as an independent. Air Force got off to a slow start, losing its first three games, but the Falcons finished strong. The Falcons won eight of 10, including a season-best four-game winning streak that included wins over Jacksonville (18-5), Bellarmine (11-9), Mercer (10-7) and Robert Morris (10-9). Five of Air Force's seven losses came by two goals or less with four of them by one goal. The other two losses came to No. 3 Duke and No. 1 Denver. Of Air Force's seven losses, four came against teams ranked in the top 20 in the final regular season USILA poll: No. 3 Denver, No. 4 Duke, No. 19 Navy and No. 20 Marist. High Point, another of Air Force's one-goal losses, won the Southern Conference and earned the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Chris Walsch, a sophomore this season, led the team with 37 goals and 55 points this season. Keith Dreyer (graduated) led the team with 21 assists, was second with 44 points and tied for second with 23 goals.
Series vs. Navy
Air Force and Navy will meet for the eighth time and the Mids hold a 6-1 lead in the series that began in 1979. Six of the seven games have been played in Annapolis, Md. The teams met last season at Falcon Stadium and Navy held off the Falcons for a 9-8 win. Navy won the first five games in the series: 19-6 in 1979; 19-3 in 1994; 10-7 in 1998; 16-4 in 1999; and 17-2 in 2000. Air Force's only win in the series came in Annapolis in 2003, an 8-6 victory when Navy was ranked 12th in the nation.
Between the Pipes
Senior Doug Gouchoe started the first 13 games last season, before missing the final game due to injury. He had a .528 saves percentage, an 8.62 goals-against average and 133 total saves on the season. He made a then-season high 14 saves, while allowing just six goals, to lead the Falcons to a 13-6 win over Canisius, Feb. 22. He made a season high 15 saves vs. Vermont in the 11-10 triple overtime loss to the Catamounts. He ranked 19th in the nation in goals-against average (8.62), 31st in saves percentage (.528) and 36th in saves per game (9.55). Gouchoe's 133 saves were just seven shy of cracking the top 10 in the modern era at Air Force. Gouchoe's 8.62 GAA is the fifth best in the modern era at Air Force.
Walsch in the Record Book
Chris Walsch's 37 goals last season tie as the second most, and the most ever by a freshman, in the Air Force Academy modern era (since 1994 when Air Force joined the GWLL, a full Division I conference). Chris MacAuley also had 37 goals in 1998. Mike Crampton set the record with 48 goals in 2014. Walsch's 55 points are the third most in the modern era and the most ever by a freshman. Crampton set the record with 66 points in 2015. Mike Murphy is second on the list with 60 in 1994.
Top Returners
In addition to Walsch, the Falcons return four of the top five scorers. Walsch led the team with 37 goals and 55 points. Nick Hruby was third on the team with 29 points on 23 goals and six assists. Christopher Allen was fourth on the team last season with 21 points (17-4-21) and Austin Smith was fifth with 17 points (9-8-17). The only top five scorer from last season who is not returning is Keith Dreyer (graduated) who was second on the team with 44 points.
