Air Force Sweeps Competition Saturday At Rare Air Challenge

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - Air Force men's water polo (11-4) won both of its games in day two action at the Rare Air Challenge, held Saturday at the USAFA Cadet Natatorium. The Falcons defeated Redlands 15-8 and Westcliff 17-12 in the nightcap.

Air Force won 15-8 in the opening game against Redlands. The Falcons were 9 of 14 on power plays in the game. Jacob Yi led the way with four goals and Grant Snyder and Larsen McCarroll recorded hat tricks. Snyder added two assists for five points. Ian Christie also had four assists and Cole Kopperud had three.

Freshman Luca Smith started in place of AJ Kuypers in goal due to an injury suffered by Kuypers yesterday against St. Francis. Smith recorded eight saves in the win.

In the nightcap, Air Force rolled to a 17-12 win over Westcliff. The Falcons scored four goals in the first and six in the second quarter to take a 10-4 lead.

Christie scored four goals, to go with two assists to lead the Falcons. Snyder had another hat trick with two assists and Thomas Newell and McCarroll added two goals each. Smith recorded seven saves in goal for the win.

"Against Redlands, our defensive play led to a strong counter-attack," head coach Ryan Brown said. "Moving the ball around and trusting each each other led to a huge improvement in our power plays. We continued to play well against Westcliff. We came out strong and executed when we needed to."

Day three of the Air Force Challenge concludes tomorrow. The Falcons take on La Verne at 9:15 am MT and Chapman at 3 pm.

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