Falcons Open Season With A Pair of Wins In Day One Of Bruno Classic

Air Force men's water polo opened the 2024 season with two wins in day one action at the Bruno Classic, held at Katherine Moran Aquatics Center on the campus of Brown University in Providence, RI. The Falcons opened with a 23-9 win over Long Island in the morning and a 14-13 win over MIT in the nightcap.

Against LIU, the Falcons scored the first three goals and never looked back. Air Force out-scored the Sharks 5-2 in the first quarter and 6-3 in the second to lead 11-5 at the half. The Falcons scored five goals in the third and seven in the fourth.

Four Falcons tallied hat tricks, led by four goals each by junior Jake Dixon and freshman Brady Kopperud. Junior Colin Chase and sophomore Tom Leggett added three goals each.

Against MIT, the Falcons rallied back from a halftime deficit to pull out the one-goal win.

After playing to a 4-4 tie in the first quarter, MIT pulled ahead 8-6 at the half. The Falcons out-scored MIT 4-3 in the third quarter to pull to within one. The Falcons trailed until the 3:07 mark before tying the match on a goal from junior Jackson Carter. The game-winner came from sophomore Jack Richards with 2:10 left in regulation.

Leggett led the Falcons with six goals in the game. Richards notched a hat trick with three goals. Carter and Chase added two goals each.

"The team played well today," head coach Ryan Brown said. "We got to see lots of guys in the water with different lineups. I'm proud that we played all four quarters and battled back against MIT. We will have to play better tomorrow."

Air Force returns to action tomorrow against Wagner and host Brown.

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