Air Force Academy
Denver
Falcon Lacrosse Falls to No. 3 Denver
2/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Box Score in PDF 
Denver, CO - Air Force lacrosse dropped a 14-6 loss to the third-ranked Denver Pioneers, Saturday afternoon in Denver, Colo. The Falcons, now 1-1 on the season, were led by Chris Walsh who had two goals and two assists on the game. The Pioneers, who were 2016 Big East Conference champions, extended their home opener win streak to 19 straight.
The Pioneers' Ethan Walker was the first to register a mark on the scoresheet with a goal two minutes into the game. Air Force responded by peppering Denver's goalkeeper, Alex Ready, with four shots on goal in a two-minute span. Walsch registered his third goal of the season in the attack with a shot atop crease off of Andrew Tien's feed.
Denver attack man, Connor Cannizzaro, plugged one in with 26 seconds remaining in the period to extend Denver's lead, 2-1, going into the second period. Early in the second period, Cannizzaro struck again with his second goal of the game, followed by Colton Jackson's first goal five minutes later, extending the Pios' lead, 4-1.
With five minutes remaining in the first half, Nick Hruby found Grant Gould open from 10-yards out in the man-up situation where he launched in his third goal of the season. Denver quickly responded with Jeremy Bosher's goal 23 seconds later. The Falcons and Pioneers entered halftime with the score at 5-2. Air Force registered eight shots on goal in the first half, four of which were fired off by Walsch. Freshman goalkeeper, Paxton Boyer, was put to the test as the Pioneers peppered the Falcons' cage with 20 shots, nine of which were on goal.
Air Force got to work early in the second half with another Tien-Walsch connection in a man-up situation. Walsch found an open Tien from behind the cage where a nice feed provided Tien the shot for a goal. Undeterred, Denver battled back with two goals in the ensuing six minutes. Ethan Walker registered his second goal, while Cannizzaro logged his first hat trick of the season off of Walker's assist.
With 25 seconds remaining in the first half, the Falcons charged down the field determined to get back in the game. Zach Payne registered his first assist of the season, finding an open Tien for his second goal of the game and fourth of the season. In the waning seconds of the first half, and the lead narrowed to 7-4, Denver rattled off three goals in 17 seconds to extend to a 10-4 lead going in to the half. Trevor Baptiste led the flurry with his first goal at 17 seconds remaining, followed by Cannizzaro's fourth 13 seconds later, capped by Walker's hat trick goal at the buzzer.
The Falcons struggled to recover as the Pioneers took the momentum into the fourth quarter. Bocher logged his second goal, followed by goals from Nate Marano and Austin French, extending the Pios' lead, 13-4.
In another man-up situation for the Falcons, Walsch found Hruby open for his first goal of the game, fifth of the season. Walsch followed up with a goal of his own, running around the Denver cage to the top side where he put the ball top shelf for his second goal of the game. The Falcons went 3-3 in man-up opportunities.
In the waning seconds of the game with Denver holding a 13-6 lead, Bocher took the opportunity to attack the goal one last time, nabbing his third goal for a hat trick performance and sealing the deal, 14-6. At the final whistle, three Pioneers registered hat tricks.
Walsch led the Falcons with seven shots, six on goal, and four points from two goals and two assists. The game marks Walsch's second two-goal performance this season. Tien also registered his second two-goal game in as many tries this season, adding an assist for three points on the day. Hruby and Gould registered one goal apiece. At the final whistle, Boyer faced 23 shots on goal in 38 shot attempts. He had nine saves on the day. Denver proved dominant at centerfield, winning 16-22 face offs. Freshman Daniel Pagano registered two caused turnovers in his defensive effort, while Sean LaVine, Joe Matarazzo and Christian Pung tallied one apiece.
Air Force opens their 2017 home slate in their fourth meeting with Marist, Feb. 18, at Falcon Stadium, USAFA. The teams are slated to meet at centerfield at 12:00 p.m. MT. A live stream will be provided by Falcon Vision. Fans can access the link by going to goairforcefalcons.com, and clicking the watch live link in the schedule dropdown.
