Air Force Academy
Richmond
Falcons Down No. 13 Richmond in Battle of SoCon Heavyweights
4/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Box Score in PDF 
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, CO - Air Force upended the undefeated conference front-runner, No. 13/14 Richmond (10-3, 5-1 SoCon), 9-7, delivering the Spiders their first loss in conference play this season. The Falcons, now with an overall record of 9-5 and a 5-1 mark in the league, are tied with Richmond for second in the conference as Furman (7-6) takes the top-spot with a 6-0 mark in the SoCon.
Richmond got out to an early lead on the Falcons as Adrian Nash made the first strike of the game with an unassisted goal at the 9:06 mark. The score remained unchanged at the conclusion of the first period. The Spiders extended their lead, 2-0, with a goal from Lane Collins in a man-up opportunity at the 12:10 mark in the second period. The Falcons, determined to keep the game from getting out of control, settled in and rattled off four unanswered goals to close out the second period with a 4-2 lead.
Nick Hruby put the first notch on the Falcons' score sheet with an unassisted goal against the nation's top goalie, Benny Pugh, at the 9:21 mark. Just over a minute after Hruby's goal, Matthew Schwartz fed Chris Walsch in the crease where he plugged in Air Force's second goal to knot the game. Team captain Austin Smith got himself involved by launching a rocket past the All-American goalkeeper in full stride to give the Falcons their first lead of the game. With 3:23 remaining in the first half, Walsch returned the favor to Schwartz as he found him open in the crease for the fourth Falcon goal of the game and Schwartz's ninth of the season.
Air Force dominated the numbers in the first half, outshooting the Spiders, 27-7, and picking up 12 ground balls to Richmond's five. Face-off specialist Trent Harper owned the face-off X in the first half of play, winning five-of-six face-off attempts.
The Falcons continued the scoring spree into the third period, adding two more goals for six unanswered halfway through the third period. Grant Gould assisted freshman Trey Lervick in a man-up opportunity for his second goal of the season. Schwartz tallied his second goal of the game after splitting two of the best defenders in the nation in Brendan Hynes and Ryan Dennis.
With the score at 6-2 in the third period the Spiders started their rally. Eric Haehl of Richmond got the team fired up as he notched his first goal of the game. The SoCon's leading point scorer Teddy Hatfield, who was held quiet up until this point, punched a goal in at the 13:25 mark to reduce the Falcons' lead, 6-4. Three minutes later the Spiders were lifted to within one point of a tie in the wake of Collins' second goal.
Air Force vets Walsch and Smith looked to quell the Richmond comeback as they connected for the Falcons' seventh goal of the game; Smith scored his second goal while Walsch tallied his second assist. J.P. Forrester responded on behalf of the Spiders with a goal five minutes later, bringing Richmond back within one goal of a tie.
Walsch looked to further deny a Richmond comeback as he found a shifty freshman in Chet Dunstan nestled in the crease. Dunstan received the ball and redirected it right by the Tewaaraton watch-list goalie who boasts the nation's best save-percentage. The goal marked Dunstan's ninth of the season and Walsch's 17th assist this year. Junior attacker Andrew Tien looked to the Spiders away for good as he registered his first goal of the game, giving the Falcons a two-goal lead with 1:42 remaining.
Richmond's Forrester attacked hard and punched his second goal in with 55 seconds remaining in an attempt to rally the Spiders to a late comeback. The Falcon defense stood fast and fended off Richmond's final attack, downing the 13th-ranked SoCon front-runner for the fourth time in as many tries.
Air Force held the final advantage in shots (43-19) and ground balls (24-18). The Spiders made a 180-degree turnaround at the face-off X in the second half, winning nine-of-twelve second-half face-off attempts.
The Air Force freshmen stepped up in a big way as three newcomers accounted for four goals and an assist in the battle of the SoCon titans. Schwartz led the way for the class of 2020 with two goals, an assist and a caused turnover to his credit.
Pre-season honorable mention All-American Brandon Jones made his defensive presence known as he held Richmond's leading attacker Hatfield to two shots and a goal; marks well below his season average. Jones picked up three ground balls and notched a season-high four caused turnovers in the defensive effort. Six Falcons combined for nine total caused turnovers on the game. Air Force's defense also held Richmond's alternate scorer Dan Ginestro to no shots and no points.
The Senior Day event marked the last time that seven Falcons will play as cadets at Falcon Stadium. Nicholas Accardi, Will Albyn, Barrett Anigian, Zach Payne, Mitch Rose, Austin Smith and Marcus Ward make up the Academy's winningest senior lacrosse class in the modern-era, as they registered 42 wins in four-consecutive winning seasons since 2014.
Air Force will take on the High Point Panthers (4-9, 2-4 SoCon) in the regular season finale, Saturday, April 29, at noon ET, in High Point, N.C. The game will mark the fourth meeting between the teams. Air Force leads the three-game series, 2-1.
