Falcons open season with pair of losses at No. 4 Pepperdine

MALIBU, Calif. – The Air Force water polo team opened the season with a pair of losses to fourth-ranked Pepperdine, 16-9 and 12-7, Saturday, Jan. 23, at the Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Malibu, Calif.

In the first game, trailing 2-0, sophomore Alex Hirjoi scored at 7:11 of the first quarter on the power play. The Waves scored the next two for a 4-1 lead at the end of the first. Hirjoi's second of the game came from Grant Snyder at 6:37 of the second to cut the Waves lead to 4-2. Pepperdine scored the next two for a 6-2 lead at the half.

After a pair of Pepperdine goals, Falcon junior Corey Tanis scored at 5:50 of the third to cut the Waves lead to 8-3. Air Force junior Sam Fuller scored with 28 seconds left in the third, but the Waves added a late goal for an 11-4 lead after three quarters. Air Force scored four goals early in the fourth quarter as Hirjoi netted his third of the game to cut the Pepperdine lead to 11-7.Henry Yavitt found the back of the net on the power play with 4:11 left to make the score 13-8. After a Pepperdine goal, Snyder scored on a five-meter scot to make it 14-9 with 1:06 left. The Waves added two late goals to make up the final margin.

In the second game, Pepperdine scored the first two, but Snyder netted his second of the day with 52 seconds left in the first. Pepperdine scored the next three, Fuller scored to make the score 5-2. With 16 seconds left in the second, Yavitt's goal on a penalty shot made the score 7-3 late in the second. Senior Jason Hires scored his first of the season at 5:55 of the third to cut the Waves lead to 8-4. After forcing a turnover, Fuller's second of the game cut the Waves' lead to 8-5 with 5:20 left in the third. The teams traded goals in the fourth as Snyder and Sebastian Sak scored for the Falcons.

Air Force, 0-2 overall, returns to action with three games in Los Angeles, Calif. Jan. 30-31. The Falcons open conference play against Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 10 am PT. Air Force will then face Concordia in a WWPA game on Sunday, Jan. 31, at 10 am PT. The Falcons will conclude the trip with a non-conference game against LMU on Sunday, Jan. 31, at 2 pm PT.

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