Thursday, May 2
High Point, NC
8:00 p.m. ET
Air Force Academy
vs
University of Richmond
Photo by: Steve Parker
Falcon Lacrosse Takes on Richmond in SoCon Semi-Finals
5/1/2019 1:20:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
No. 2-Seed Air Force lacrosse takes on third-seeded Richmond, Thursday evening at Vert Stadium
SOCON SEMI-FINALS
The stage is set for the 2019 Southern Conference tournament as the second-seeded Falcons will take on the third-seeded Richmond Spiders at 8 p.m. ET, Thursday, May 2, at Vert Stadium in High Point, North Carolina. The top-seeded High Point Panthers, who edged Richmond, 15-14, earlier Saturday afternoon (Apr. 27), will take on the fourth-seeded Jacksonville Dolphins at 5:30 p.m. ET, Thursday afternoon. This year's post-season tournament marks Air Force's first time not being the top-seed in three appearances.
SOCON TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Falcons have made three appearances in four seasons with the league and are two-time Southern Conference tournament champions, besting Richmond in the 2016 and 2017 finals, both of which were played at Robins Stadium in Richmond, Virginia. Air Force is 4-0 in all-time Southern Conference tournament contests, with wins over Bellarmine (2016), Jacksonville (2017) and Richmond.
THE SERIES WITH RICHMOND
-The series began in 2014
-Air Force leads Richmond in the all-time series, 6-1
-The Falcons won the first five-straight meetings, including the first-ever meeting in the NCAA play-in game in 2014, 13-5. The win marked the Falcons first-ever NCAA tournament win
-Air Force is 2-0 against Richmond in post-season play
-The Spiders won last year's regular-season meeting in Richmond, Virginia, 12-6, knocking off Air Force for the first time in program history
-Earlier this season, Air Force doubled up Richmond, 14-7, redeeming last season's loss
AIR FORCE NOTABLES
-Air Force has the best DI scoring defense in the nation as the Falcons are allowing just 8.07 goals per game
-Braden Host has the best goals against average of any keeper in the nation, allowing just 7.80 goals per game
-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 has the best faceoff win-percentage in the conference and fifth-best in the nation (.658)
-Trey Lervick leads the team with 51 points (34g, 17a); he scored a team-high and career-high nine points via five goals and four assists against Mercer. He has seven hat tricks this season
-Junior teammate Matthew Schwartz has 18 goals and 13 assists for the second-most points on the team; he has started in all contests this season, netting a goal in nine games
-Schwartz and Lervick combine for 52 goals and 82 points
-Brandon Jones and Quentin Carlie have the second and fourth most caused turnovers in the SoCon, respectively. They combine for 52 CTs this season
-Tim Baker has scored a goal or more in 8-of-10 appearances, including hat tricks in his first-two showings
-Six Falcons have double-digit goals this seasons, 10 Falcons have double-digit points
-Since the win against Richmond (Apr. 13), Air Force is receiving votes in all three national polls
-Air Force has outscored all opponents this season, 163-113
-The Falcons have doubled-up seven opponents on goals this season, five of which were SoCon opponents
-Eight Falcons account for 20 hat tricks this season
-Of the 12 seniors, six will go to pilot school upon graduating; Tim Baker, Jack Flynn, Brandon Jones, Stephen Parker, Roman Rohrbach and Roland Wheeler IV
JONES CROWNED SOCON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Senior co-team captain Brandon Jones has anchored an Air Force defense that ranks first nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 8.07 goals per game. The senior from Upper Arlington, Ohio, has registered 73 ground balls on the season, averaging 5.21 per game, and has caused a team-best 29 turnovers, good for second in the league. His. 2.07 caused turnovers per game are good for 13th in NCAA Division I. Jones and the Falcon defense have held their opponents to single-digit goals in 11 of 14 contest this year, forcing at least 10 turnovers in seven contests, including a season-best 14 against then-No. 14 High Point on April 6. Jones had three caused turnovers and five ground balls in Air Force's 14-7 win over Richmond on April 13, helping hand the Spiders their first league loss as UR matched its season low for goals scored. Against Jacksonville on March 30, Jones had eight ground balls and a season-high five caused turnovers.
SEVEN FALCONS EARN ALL-SOCON HONORS
All-Southern Conference first-team
Trent Harper**, Sr., FO
Brandon Jones**, Sr., D
Roland Wheeler IV, Sr., SSDM
All-Southern Conference second-team
Quentin Carlile, Fr., D
Jack Flynn*, Sr., M
Trey Lervick, Jr., A
Southern Conference All-Freshman team
Quentin Carlile, D
*Previous All-SoCon selections
LAST TIME OUT
An explosive second quarter propelled Air Force to victory over Bellarmine, 13-6, in the regular season finale, Saturday afternoon (Apr. 27) at Falcon Stadium. The Falcons, who claimed a share of the Southern Conference's regular season title, concluded the regular season at 10-4 with a 6-1 mark in league action. Air Force has won, or taken share of, the league's regular season title three times in four seasons with the conference.
Seven Falcons combined for 13 goals led by junior attack man Trey Lervick and sophomore midfielder Gianni Orlando, who notched a hat trick apiece in the win. Air Force has recorded 20 hat tricks on the season-- Lervick is responsible for seven of them while Orlando notched a career-first with three goals in the second quarter.
Senior co-team captain Jack Flynn, who was one of 12 seniors honored on Senior Day, notched a pair of goals along with junior teammate Chet Dunstan. Flynn has 18 goals on the season while Dunstan recorded his sixth. Jake Thornally, Matthew O'Rourk and Ben Ward added a goal apiece to round out the Falcons' scorers.
Air Force and Bellarmine (3-10, 3-4 SoCon) were equal in three-of-four quarters of play, but it was a Falcon offense run rampant in the second quarter that made a difference. Nine second-quarter goals was the second-most scored by Air Force in a single quarter this season, second to a 10-goal first quarter against Mercer, March 16.
Senior face-off specialist Trent Harper dominated the face off X for the Falcons yet again, winning an impressive 17-of-19 (.895) attempts, highlighted by a perfect 12-12 second quarter. The native of Birmingham, Alabama, picked up a game-high 13 ground balls on the game, setting the standard for the most ground balls scooped up by any Falcon this season. Harper has won the majority of attempts in 12-of-14 games this season, while governing the SoCon with a .772 win-percentage (115-149) in league play.
Sophomore keeper Braden Host capped the regular season on a high note, recording four saves on the game while holding the 11th opponent this season to single-digit goals. The Aurora, Colorado, native has the best goals against average in all of Div. I lacrosse, allowing just 7.80 goals per game. Host also added a caused turnover and a ground ball to his stat line, marking his 11th and 35th on the season, respectively.
Host was assisted by a staunch Falcon defense led by senior co-team captain Brandon Jones who anchored the defense with thee caused turnovers and three ground balls. He leads the team with 29 caused turnovers this season and has the second-most ground balls (73) on the team, second only to Harper. Jones has led the team in caused turnovers in three seasons with the Falcons. Defensive teammates Sterling Ceshker and Vince Lombardi combined for three caused turnovers on the game, helping the Falcons cause seven of Bellarmine's 18 turnovers.
At the final whistle, Air Force out shot Bellarmine, 58-21, and picked up 16 more ground balls (36-20). The Falcons' face-off crew won 18-of-23 attempts on the day and the squad as a whole cleared the ball in 11-of-12 attempts. O'Rourk notched the extra-man goal in the second period, marking a one-for-one finish in man-up opportunities.
LAST TIME AIR FORCE PLAYED RICHMOND
Air Force doubled up then-conference front-runners Richmond, 14-7, handing the 2018 Southern Conference champions their first loss in league action on the season. The Falcons dominated the stat sheet, taking 45 shots to Richmond's 26, while picking up 43 ground balls to the Spiders' 16. Schwartz led the team with four goals on eight shots, seven of which were on goal. He also picked up a personal season-high five ground balls and added an assist to his stat line. Junior teammate Jake Thornally notched a hat trick for the first time in his career, finishing the game with three goals, an assist, two ground balls and a caused turnover. Jones was a defensive nightmare yet again as the Upper Arlington, Ohio, native recorded a game-high three caused turnovers while picking up five ground balls. 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. Host was credited with his eighth win in Air Force's cage as he made six saves against 13 shots on frame.
The stage is set for the 2019 Southern Conference tournament as the second-seeded Falcons will take on the third-seeded Richmond Spiders at 8 p.m. ET, Thursday, May 2, at Vert Stadium in High Point, North Carolina. The top-seeded High Point Panthers, who edged Richmond, 15-14, earlier Saturday afternoon (Apr. 27), will take on the fourth-seeded Jacksonville Dolphins at 5:30 p.m. ET, Thursday afternoon. This year's post-season tournament marks Air Force's first time not being the top-seed in three appearances.
SOCON TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Falcons have made three appearances in four seasons with the league and are two-time Southern Conference tournament champions, besting Richmond in the 2016 and 2017 finals, both of which were played at Robins Stadium in Richmond, Virginia. Air Force is 4-0 in all-time Southern Conference tournament contests, with wins over Bellarmine (2016), Jacksonville (2017) and Richmond.
THE SERIES WITH RICHMOND
-The series began in 2014
-Air Force leads Richmond in the all-time series, 6-1
-The Falcons won the first five-straight meetings, including the first-ever meeting in the NCAA play-in game in 2014, 13-5. The win marked the Falcons first-ever NCAA tournament win
-Air Force is 2-0 against Richmond in post-season play
-The Spiders won last year's regular-season meeting in Richmond, Virginia, 12-6, knocking off Air Force for the first time in program history
-Earlier this season, Air Force doubled up Richmond, 14-7, redeeming last season's loss
AIR FORCE NOTABLES
-Air Force has the best DI scoring defense in the nation as the Falcons are allowing just 8.07 goals per game
-Braden Host has the best goals against average of any keeper in the nation, allowing just 7.80 goals per game
-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 has the best faceoff win-percentage in the conference and fifth-best in the nation (.658)
-Trey Lervick leads the team with 51 points (34g, 17a); he scored a team-high and career-high nine points via five goals and four assists against Mercer. He has seven hat tricks this season
-Junior teammate Matthew Schwartz has 18 goals and 13 assists for the second-most points on the team; he has started in all contests this season, netting a goal in nine games
-Schwartz and Lervick combine for 52 goals and 82 points
-Brandon Jones and Quentin Carlie have the second and fourth most caused turnovers in the SoCon, respectively. They combine for 52 CTs this season
-Tim Baker has scored a goal or more in 8-of-10 appearances, including hat tricks in his first-two showings
-Six Falcons have double-digit goals this seasons, 10 Falcons have double-digit points
-Since the win against Richmond (Apr. 13), Air Force is receiving votes in all three national polls
-Air Force has outscored all opponents this season, 163-113
-The Falcons have doubled-up seven opponents on goals this season, five of which were SoCon opponents
-Eight Falcons account for 20 hat tricks this season
-Of the 12 seniors, six will go to pilot school upon graduating; Tim Baker, Jack Flynn, Brandon Jones, Stephen Parker, Roman Rohrbach and Roland Wheeler IV
JONES CROWNED SOCON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Senior co-team captain Brandon Jones has anchored an Air Force defense that ranks first nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 8.07 goals per game. The senior from Upper Arlington, Ohio, has registered 73 ground balls on the season, averaging 5.21 per game, and has caused a team-best 29 turnovers, good for second in the league. His. 2.07 caused turnovers per game are good for 13th in NCAA Division I. Jones and the Falcon defense have held their opponents to single-digit goals in 11 of 14 contest this year, forcing at least 10 turnovers in seven contests, including a season-best 14 against then-No. 14 High Point on April 6. Jones had three caused turnovers and five ground balls in Air Force's 14-7 win over Richmond on April 13, helping hand the Spiders their first league loss as UR matched its season low for goals scored. Against Jacksonville on March 30, Jones had eight ground balls and a season-high five caused turnovers.
SEVEN FALCONS EARN ALL-SOCON HONORS
All-Southern Conference first-team
Trent Harper**, Sr., FO
Brandon Jones**, Sr., D
Roland Wheeler IV, Sr., SSDM
All-Southern Conference second-team
Quentin Carlile, Fr., D
Jack Flynn*, Sr., M
Trey Lervick, Jr., A
Southern Conference All-Freshman team
Quentin Carlile, D
*Previous All-SoCon selections
LAST TIME OUT
An explosive second quarter propelled Air Force to victory over Bellarmine, 13-6, in the regular season finale, Saturday afternoon (Apr. 27) at Falcon Stadium. The Falcons, who claimed a share of the Southern Conference's regular season title, concluded the regular season at 10-4 with a 6-1 mark in league action. Air Force has won, or taken share of, the league's regular season title three times in four seasons with the conference.
Seven Falcons combined for 13 goals led by junior attack man Trey Lervick and sophomore midfielder Gianni Orlando, who notched a hat trick apiece in the win. Air Force has recorded 20 hat tricks on the season-- Lervick is responsible for seven of them while Orlando notched a career-first with three goals in the second quarter.
Senior co-team captain Jack Flynn, who was one of 12 seniors honored on Senior Day, notched a pair of goals along with junior teammate Chet Dunstan. Flynn has 18 goals on the season while Dunstan recorded his sixth. Jake Thornally, Matthew O'Rourk and Ben Ward added a goal apiece to round out the Falcons' scorers.
Air Force and Bellarmine (3-10, 3-4 SoCon) were equal in three-of-four quarters of play, but it was a Falcon offense run rampant in the second quarter that made a difference. Nine second-quarter goals was the second-most scored by Air Force in a single quarter this season, second to a 10-goal first quarter against Mercer, March 16.
Senior face-off specialist Trent Harper dominated the face off X for the Falcons yet again, winning an impressive 17-of-19 (.895) attempts, highlighted by a perfect 12-12 second quarter. The native of Birmingham, Alabama, picked up a game-high 13 ground balls on the game, setting the standard for the most ground balls scooped up by any Falcon this season. Harper has won the majority of attempts in 12-of-14 games this season, while governing the SoCon with a .772 win-percentage (115-149) in league play.
Sophomore keeper Braden Host capped the regular season on a high note, recording four saves on the game while holding the 11th opponent this season to single-digit goals. The Aurora, Colorado, native has the best goals against average in all of Div. I lacrosse, allowing just 7.80 goals per game. Host also added a caused turnover and a ground ball to his stat line, marking his 11th and 35th on the season, respectively.
Host was assisted by a staunch Falcon defense led by senior co-team captain Brandon Jones who anchored the defense with thee caused turnovers and three ground balls. He leads the team with 29 caused turnovers this season and has the second-most ground balls (73) on the team, second only to Harper. Jones has led the team in caused turnovers in three seasons with the Falcons. Defensive teammates Sterling Ceshker and Vince Lombardi combined for three caused turnovers on the game, helping the Falcons cause seven of Bellarmine's 18 turnovers.
At the final whistle, Air Force out shot Bellarmine, 58-21, and picked up 16 more ground balls (36-20). The Falcons' face-off crew won 18-of-23 attempts on the day and the squad as a whole cleared the ball in 11-of-12 attempts. O'Rourk notched the extra-man goal in the second period, marking a one-for-one finish in man-up opportunities.
LAST TIME AIR FORCE PLAYED RICHMOND
Air Force doubled up then-conference front-runners Richmond, 14-7, handing the 2018 Southern Conference champions their first loss in league action on the season. The Falcons dominated the stat sheet, taking 45 shots to Richmond's 26, while picking up 43 ground balls to the Spiders' 16. Schwartz led the team with four goals on eight shots, seven of which were on goal. He also picked up a personal season-high five ground balls and added an assist to his stat line. Junior teammate Jake Thornally notched a hat trick for the first time in his career, finishing the game with three goals, an assist, two ground balls and a caused turnover. Jones was a defensive nightmare yet again as the Upper Arlington, Ohio, native recorded a game-high three caused turnovers while picking up five ground balls. 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. Host was credited with his eighth win in Air Force's cage as he made six saves against 13 shots on frame.
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