Air Force Academy
VMI
Falcon Lacrosse Takes on VMI in Road Slate Finale
4/19/2019 1:25:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Air Force lacrosse looks to clinch a SoCon tournament berth with a victory at VMI, Saturday at noon ET
SATURDAY, APRIL 20
Air Force travels to Lexington, Virginia, to take on VMI in the road-slate finale at 12 p.m. ET, March 20, at Drill Field No. 2. The Falcons are 13-1 against the Keydets since joining Div. I lacrosse in 1993. A live stream is not available the game.
THE SERIES WITH VMI
-The series began in 1992 at the Div. II level, Air Force won the first meeting
-Since joining Div. I in 1993, Air Force is 3-0 at home, 4-1 when playing in Lexington and 6-0 on neutral turf
-Air Force has not lost to VMI as a SoCon foe
-The Falcons have won the last five contests
-Air Force is undefeated against VMI when playing in April
-Air Force's only loss to VMI occurred in Lexington in 2014, the same year the Falcons won their first NCAA tournament game
-In last season's meeting, then-freshman Matthew O'Rourk netted his first collegiate hat trick against VMI
A LOOK AHEAD
The Falcons return to the Academy for the regular-season finale against Bellarmine, 12 p.m. MT, Saturday, Apr. 27 at Falcon Stadium. The game will also serve as Senior Day, where the Falcons will honor 12 seniors prior the game.
AIR FORCE NOTABLES
-Trey Lervick leads the team with 44 points (30g, 14a); he scored a team-high and career-high nine points via five goals and four assists against Mercer. He has six hat tricks this season
- Trent Harper became just the second player in SoCon league history to amass 500 faceoff wins in his career with his 18-for-23 effort against Richmond. He is 505-for-893 (.566) in his career. Harper has the best faceoff win-percentage in the conference and 14th best in the nation
-Sophomore keeper Braden Host has a 8.33 GAA, the best in the league and second-best in the nation, second only to Sean Sconone (8.09 GAA) of Massachusetts
-Brandon Jones and Quentin Carlie have the second and third most caused turnovers in the SoCon, respectively. They are both top-25 in the nation in CTs
-Tim Baker has scored a goal or more in seven-of-eight appearances, including hat tricks in his first-two showings
-Matthew Schwartz has started in all 12 contests this season, netting a goal or more in eight games
-Air Force is second in DI in scoring defense, as the Falcons are allowing just 8.50 goals per game
-Following the win against Richmond, Air Force is receiving votes in all three polls
-Air Force has outscored all opponents this season, 138-102
-The Falcons have doubled-up five opponents on goals this season
-Six Falcons account for 16 hat tricks this season
LAST TIME OUT
Air Force doubled up conference front-runner Richmond, 14-7, handing the 2018 Southern Conference champions their first loss in league action this season. The Falcons, who improved to 8-4 overall with a 4-1 mark in the conference, won their way into a three-way tie with Richmond and High Point for the top-spot in the league.
Notables:
-Matthew Schwartz netted a hat trick in the first quarter, he finished the game with four goals and an assist
-Jake Thornally, a local product of Colorado Springs, Colorado, notched his first career hat trick in the win, he also tallied an assist for a career-high four-point performance
-Air Force scored four goals in quarters one through three, holding the Spiders scoreless in the second
-Trent Harper had another successful day at the face off X, winning 18-of-23 (.783) attempts while picking up a game-high 10 ground balls. Harper has won the face-off battle in 10-of-12 contests this season.
-Sophomore keeper Braden Host was credited with his eighth win in Air Force's cage as he made six saves against 13 shots on frame
-Senior defender Brandon Jones collected five ground balls and caused a game-high three turnovers. He capped the win with the final Air Force goal of the day, scoring on a 19-yard long-pole shot early in the fourth quarter. Jones leads the Falcons in caused turnovers (25) and ground balls (65) this season.
JONES WINS SECOND DPOTW HONOR
Air Force senior co-team captain Brandon Jones has been announced as the Southern Conference's Defensive Player of the Week for all competition April 9-15, marking his second weekly honor of the 2019 campaign. Jones' offensive counterpart is Brendan McKenna of Jacksonville. The awards are selected by the league office.
Jones notched five ground balls and caused a game-high three turnovers as the Falcons topped Richmond 14-7 to hand the Spiders their first league loss of the year and just the fourth in program history in the SoCon regular season. Jones, tasked with marking Richmond's leading scorers, helped the Falcons hold UR to just seven goals, matching its low for the season. The senior from Upper Arlington, Ohio, capped the win with the final Air Force goal of the day, scoring on a 19-yard long-pole shot early in the fourth quarter. Jones leads the Falcons in caused turnovers (25) and ground balls (65) this season.
LAST TIME AIR FORCE PLAYED VMI
Nick Hruby and Matthew O'Rourk registered a hat trick apiece in Air Force's 11-6 victory over VMI in the 2018 Southern Conference opener, Saturday afternoon (Mar. 17), at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium.
The Falcons took the field firing on all cylinders as they blanked VMI (1-5, 0-2 SoCon), 5-0, in the first period of play. Chet Dunstan notched the first goal of the game at the 13:15 mark via Trey Lervick's fifth assist this season. Less than two minutes later, Matthew O'Rourk broke onto the scene with his first career goal in an unassisted attack. A mere 10-seconds after O'Rourk's goal, Kyle Richbourg charged down the field off the face off and slung a goal into the VMI cage. At the 9:32 mark, Hruby notched his first goal of the game. Just over a minute later, O'Rourk tallied his second goal of the game.
VMI put their first goal on the scoresheet in a man-up situation at 12:21 in the second period. Air Force responded by rattling off four of their own to close the half at 9-1. Cameron Carter notched his first goal of the game at 11:27 with a ripper from just inside the box. At the 5:39 mark, Quincy Peene found Hruby open for another opportunity, which the Coppell, Texas, native obliged. Just under two minutes later, Roman Rohrbach assisted O'Rourk in his third goal for his first collegiate hat trick. A mere 55-seconds later, Jake Thornally added his first career goal via Kevin Cox's assist.
At the halftime whistle, the Falcons held the 9-1 lead, and the advantage in shots (25-5) and ground balls (15-7). Air Force face off man Trent Harper continued his dominance at the face off X, winning 8-11 (.727) first-half face offs.
VMI came alive in the third period, outscoring Air Force, 4-1. Hruby notched his hat trick goal at the 2:58 mark via O'Rourk's assist for the Falcons' only goal of the period. In the final period of play, Dunstan fed Hruby for his fourth goal of the game, 17th of the season. VMI tallied the last goal of the game at 5:12, but came up short of any hope at a comeback rally.
At the final whistle, Air Force outshot VMI, 44-16, led by Carter's nine shots. The Falcons scooped up 27 ground balls to the Keydets' 20; Richbourg led the way with six, followed by Harper with five. Senior face off man Josh Radjenovich saw some action at the face off X in the fourth period, going 4-4 on the day. Harper finished the day with 12 face off wins in 16 attempts (.750). The face-off squad finished at 16-20 (.800). Christian Pung led the team with two caused turnovers.
NEWS AROUND THE LEAGUE
• Some Southern Conference Championship bids can be clinched this weekend, the penultimate Saturday of league play.
• Six teams are still alive for the four tournament spots, while five are still in the hunt for at least a share of the regular-season title. Only Furman and VMI have been eliminated from postseason contention.
• High Point moved up one spot to No. 13 in the USILA poll this week and two spots to 11th in the Inside Lacrosse poll. The Panthers remained 13th in the Nike/US Lacrosse Magazine poll. After handing Richmond its first league last week, Air Force is receiving votes in all three polls, while the Spiders are receiving votes in the Inside Lacrosse poll.
• After an 0-8 start, Bellarmine has won three straight games and is still in contention for a share of the regular-season title. The Knights have a tough path to the title, however, with games against High Point and Air Force remaining.
• At 10-2 overall, High Point has matched its program record for wins, set in 2015, when it went 10-7.
• High Point's Asher Nolting had five goals in the Panthers' 17-16 win over Mercer on April 13, setting a SoCon single-season record for points with 69.
• Richmond's Ryan Lanchbury had three goals in the Spiders' 14-7 loss at Air Force, pushing his season total to 39, second-best in a season in league history. The record of 43 was set by High Point's Dan Lomas in 2015.
• Richmond's loss was just its fourth ever in SoCon regular-season play. The Spiders are 28-4 in the league.
• Now with the only two 30-goal, 30-assist seasons in SoCon history to his credit, High Point's Nolting could be joined in that exclusive club Richmond's Teddy Hatfield, who has 27 goals and 25 assists on the season.
• Bidding for its third consecutive SoCon Championship appearance, Jacksonville is 3-2 in league play and has two teams below it in the standings left on the schedule in Furman and Mercer.
• The Dolphins' Brendan McKenna matched JU and SoCon records with seven assists in a 19-9 win over VMI on April 13.
• With five caused turnovers in the loss to Jacksonville, VMI's Kyle Walsh became the league's career leader, passing Richmond's Brendan Hynes, who had 117 from 2015-17. Walsh is now up to 125 after adding three against No. 6 Virginia on Tuesday and leads NCAA Division I this season with 3.73 per game.
• High Point goalkeeper Tim Troutner Jr. earned the win in the net against Mercer on April 13 to match the career record set by former Richmond goalkeeper Benny Pugh, who had 28 from 2015-17.
• VMI is second in NCAA Division I with 11.55 caused turnovers per game, with Jacksonville right behind in third with 11.50 and High Point in eighth at 10.33.
• Bellarmine goalkeeper Jordan Dondoyano is averaging 13.90 saves per game this season, which ranks seventh in Division I and would be a SoCon record. The current mark is 13.69 by Jacksonville's Ben Gleichenhaus in 2016.
• Inside Lacrosse released its list of midseason All-Americans on April 5, with three SoCon players earning mention. High Point's Asher Nolting was a second-team pick, while teammate Tim Troutner Jr. was a third-team selection. Jacksonville's Jack Dolan earned honorable mention from the publication.
