Air Force Academy
Bellarmine
Lacrosse Opens SOCON Slate at Bellarmine
3/26/2021 11:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
GAME 07: AIR FORCE (1-5) at BELLARMINE (2-7)
The Falcons open up the Southern Conference slate for the first time in nearly two years and for the last time as a conference affiliate, taking on Bellarmine, March 27, in Louisville, Kentucky. Face-off is slated for 12 p.m. ET at Frazier Stadium.
THE SERIES
Air Force and Bellarmine are meeting for the 15th time in program history with the Falcons leading the all-time series, 11-3.
-Air Force has won seven-straight games against Bellarmine dating back to 2013
-The last time they played at Frazier Stadium, AF won, 9-7
-In 2017, the Falcons put up 20 goals on Bellarmine, holding the Knights to just two on the game
-In 2016, Air Force and Bellarmine played to overtime, the Falcons overcame, 8-7
COMMON OPPONENTS
Robert Morris
RMU defeated AF, 14-13, at Air Force
RMU defeated BU, 17-8, at Robert Morris
Utah
AF defeated Utah, 10-9, at Air Force
Utah defeated Bellarmine, 12-7, at Bellarmine
LAST TIME THEY PLAYED
An explosive second quarter propelled Air Force to victory over Bellarmine, 13-6, in the regular season finale (April 27, 2019) 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 season with the conference.
Seven Falcons combined for 13 goals led by attack man Trey Lervick and midfielder Gianni Orlando, who notched a hat trick apiece in the win.
Jack Flynn, who was one of 12 seniors honored on Senior Day, notched a pair of goals along with teammate Chet Dunstan. 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 for the season, second to a 10-goal first quarter against Mercer, March 16, 2019.
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 on the 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.
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 had 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 Brandon Jones who anchored the defense with thee caused turnovers and three ground balls. 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.
UP NEXT
Air Force returns to the Academy to continue Southern Conference action against the Mercer Bears, Saturday, April 3. Face-off is slated for noon MT. The Falcons are 8-1 in the all-time series against Mercer, and 3-1 when playing at USAFA.
THE HARD WAY
Four of Air Force's first six opponents are nationally ranked in the top-10. The Falcons opened the season at No. 10 Denver then followed up against Utah, who was receiving votes in both polls. Air Force travelled to Durham for the second-ranked Duke team and followed up against 2019 NCAA champions in the eighth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers. The Falcons hosted Robert Morris at home prior to travelling to Chapel Hill to take on No. 2/1-ranked North Carolina, March 20.
