Sunday, September 22
USAFA, Colo
10:30 AM MT
Air Force Academy
9
vs
12
Long Beach State University
Falcons split a pair on final day of tournament
9/22/2019 5:11:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Air Force defeated Chapman, 21-13, to improve to 7-4 overall this season
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – The Air Force water polo team split a pair of games on the final day of the Rare Air 2 – Air Force Invitational, Sunday, Sept. 22, at the Academy's Cadet Natatorium.
In the first game, the Falcons battled ninth-ranked Long Beach State, but came up just short in a 12-9 loss to the Beach. Sam Fuller and Luke Andres scored in the first quarter as the game was tied at 2-2 at 4:57. After pair of LBSU goals, freshman Sebastian Sak scored with seven seconds left in the opening period for a 4-3 Beach lead. Mike Miller's power-play goal at 6:48 cut the Beach lead to 5-4. A pair of LBSU goals by Johnathan Wong on the power play put the visitors up 7-4. Grant Snyder and Campbell Harris answered for the Falcons, but the Beach had an 8-6 lead at the half.
Harris opened the third quarter with an early goal, but two LBSU goals put the Beach up 10-7. Neil Reynolds scored on the power play, from Reagan Pittman, with seven seconds left in the third as the Falcons trailed by two entering the final quarter. Beach's Austin Stewart scored 24 seconds into the fourth for an 11-8 lead. Each team's defense was solid the rest of the period as the teams were scoreless for the next six minutes. Andres' second of the game came with 1:30 left to get the Falcons back within two. Matt Morris sealed the game with four seconds left for a 12-9 Beach win. Falcon goalie Anthony Tolbert made 11 saves in the game.
"This was our best performance from our goalies all year," head coach Ryan Brown said. "Anthony made all the saves that he we needed him to. Long Beach is great team, very strong and plays great defense. We responded well to their pressure and we created opportunities, but we need to learn to convert them."
The Falcons used a big fourth quarter to pull away from Chapman for a 21-13 win in the final game of the tournament. Trailing 3-2 in the first, Harris tied the game and then Miller and Pittman scored for a 5-3 lead. Air Force never again trailed, but also never led by more than two for the first three quarters. Miller and Snyder scored on five-meter shots midway through the second and Sam Fuller found the back of the net for an 8-6 lead. Chapman scored twice in the final minute of the second quarter to tie the game at 8-8.
Air Force scored on four power plays in the third quarter as Miller scored two and Snyder and Yavitt each had one. Jason Hires' even-strength goal at 1:52 of the third gave the Falcons a 13-11 lead. The Falcons scored seven unanswered goals in the fourth quarter. After a goal by Harris, Andres scored on the power play for a 15-12 lead, the Falcons' largest of the game at the time. Two more goals by Miller, a power-play tally by Fuller and two by Reynolds put the Falcons in control. Zach Shelley's power-play goal at 1:07 made up the final score.
"Chapman played very well," Brown added. "Anthony was solid all day for us and made the saves that we needed him to make. Our 6-on-5 got better as the game went on and we shot the ball with more confidence. This was an excellent weekend for us. Our goal was to go 4-0 in the tournament, but 3-1, while playing Long Beach tough, isn't bad. We made a lot of improvements 6-on-5 and now we need to carry that into next weekend."
Reagan Pittman led the Falcons with seven assists and 12 points in the tournament (excluding the Lindenwood exhibition game). Miller had eight goals and two assists and was a perfect 11-0 in sprints. Grant Snyder and Campbell Harris each had six goals. Tolbert made 20 saves in three games.
Air Force (7-4 overall) travels to Los Angeles, Calif., for the annual MPSF Invitational, Sept. 27-29. The Falcons will face No. 1 Stanford in the first game on Friday, Sept. 27.
--30—
In the first game, the Falcons battled ninth-ranked Long Beach State, but came up just short in a 12-9 loss to the Beach. Sam Fuller and Luke Andres scored in the first quarter as the game was tied at 2-2 at 4:57. After pair of LBSU goals, freshman Sebastian Sak scored with seven seconds left in the opening period for a 4-3 Beach lead. Mike Miller's power-play goal at 6:48 cut the Beach lead to 5-4. A pair of LBSU goals by Johnathan Wong on the power play put the visitors up 7-4. Grant Snyder and Campbell Harris answered for the Falcons, but the Beach had an 8-6 lead at the half.
Harris opened the third quarter with an early goal, but two LBSU goals put the Beach up 10-7. Neil Reynolds scored on the power play, from Reagan Pittman, with seven seconds left in the third as the Falcons trailed by two entering the final quarter. Beach's Austin Stewart scored 24 seconds into the fourth for an 11-8 lead. Each team's defense was solid the rest of the period as the teams were scoreless for the next six minutes. Andres' second of the game came with 1:30 left to get the Falcons back within two. Matt Morris sealed the game with four seconds left for a 12-9 Beach win. Falcon goalie Anthony Tolbert made 11 saves in the game.
"This was our best performance from our goalies all year," head coach Ryan Brown said. "Anthony made all the saves that he we needed him to. Long Beach is great team, very strong and plays great defense. We responded well to their pressure and we created opportunities, but we need to learn to convert them."
The Falcons used a big fourth quarter to pull away from Chapman for a 21-13 win in the final game of the tournament. Trailing 3-2 in the first, Harris tied the game and then Miller and Pittman scored for a 5-3 lead. Air Force never again trailed, but also never led by more than two for the first three quarters. Miller and Snyder scored on five-meter shots midway through the second and Sam Fuller found the back of the net for an 8-6 lead. Chapman scored twice in the final minute of the second quarter to tie the game at 8-8.
Air Force scored on four power plays in the third quarter as Miller scored two and Snyder and Yavitt each had one. Jason Hires' even-strength goal at 1:52 of the third gave the Falcons a 13-11 lead. The Falcons scored seven unanswered goals in the fourth quarter. After a goal by Harris, Andres scored on the power play for a 15-12 lead, the Falcons' largest of the game at the time. Two more goals by Miller, a power-play tally by Fuller and two by Reynolds put the Falcons in control. Zach Shelley's power-play goal at 1:07 made up the final score.
"Chapman played very well," Brown added. "Anthony was solid all day for us and made the saves that we needed him to make. Our 6-on-5 got better as the game went on and we shot the ball with more confidence. This was an excellent weekend for us. Our goal was to go 4-0 in the tournament, but 3-1, while playing Long Beach tough, isn't bad. We made a lot of improvements 6-on-5 and now we need to carry that into next weekend."
Reagan Pittman led the Falcons with seven assists and 12 points in the tournament (excluding the Lindenwood exhibition game). Miller had eight goals and two assists and was a perfect 11-0 in sprints. Grant Snyder and Campbell Harris each had six goals. Tolbert made 20 saves in three games.
Air Force (7-4 overall) travels to Los Angeles, Calif., for the annual MPSF Invitational, Sept. 27-29. The Falcons will face No. 1 Stanford in the first game on Friday, Sept. 27.
--30—
Players Mentioned
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