Saturday, April 19
Macon, GA
10:00 AM
Air Force Academy
6-7, 4-1ASUN
12
at
8
Mercer
2-11, 1-4ASUN
1
2
3
4
F
Air Force
3
2
4
3
12
Mercer
0
3
3
2
8
Air Force Secures ASUN Tournament Berth with 12-8 Win at Mercer
4/19/2025 2:56:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
MACON, Ga. – The Falcon lacrosse team is back to its winning ways after taking down Mercer, 12-8, Saturday afternoon at Five Star Stadium. Air Force, now 3-1 in the conference and 5-7 overall, securing a trip to Jacksonville for the ASUN Championship.
GAME NOTES
-The Falcons secured their fourth straight trip to the ASUN tournament since joining the league in 2022. AF played in the ASUN Championship game in 2023.
-League front-runner Utah (5-7, 4-0 ASUN), along with Jacksonville (8-4, 3-1 ASUN) and Air Force (5-7, 3-1 ASUN) have secured conference championship berths. Mercer (1-3 ASUN) and Bellarmine (1-3 ASUN) still have tournament hopes while Queens (0-4 ASUN) is out of the race.
-Air Force snapped a five-game road losing streak with the win in Macon.
-The Falcons remain undefeated against the Bears when playing in Macon (8-0).
SIGNIFICANT STATS
-Senior attack man Josh Yago put up an impressive seven points with five assists and two goals. He now has 55 points this season. The five assists marked a season-best for the team captain.
-Junior goals leader Caelan Driggs notched his fourth-straight hat trick, ninth of the season, with a three-goal showing. Driggs is an NCAA top 10 scorer with 40 goals and 50 points this season.
-AF has two 50-point scorers for the first time since 2022 (Brandon Dodd, 70; Brenden Crouse, 52)
-Senior faceoff specialist Daniel Haimes was excellent at the center dot, winning nine faceoffs in 12 attempts. Senior teammate Jake Knapp also had a good showing, winning six faceoffs in nine attempts. The Falcons went 16-24 at the faceoff dot on the day (.667).
-Mana Wilhelm scored three goals with an assist for his second hat trick this season.
-Despite being credited for just two caused turnovers, the Falcon defense was disruptive enough to see Mercer turn the ball over 16 times.
-Junior defender Cole Cunningham picked up a game high eight ground balls, tying his season high mark for the third time this season. Cunningham, along with Cody Gross, Matt Rosato and Aidan Chairs anchored the defense. Chairs made his first career start for Air Force.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First quarter
The first 15 minutes and more belonged to Air Force as the Falcons put up three goals while holding the Bears scoreless. Cole Rassas was first to strike at the 8:07 mark with help from Josh Yago. Caelan Driggs followed up at 1:17 with an unassisted goal, keeping his 12-game goal streak alive. With 37 seconds remaining in the quarter, Yago fed Wilhelm for his first goal.
Second Quarter
Air Force continued to pour it on as Wilhelm notched his second goal at 7:55 in the second quarter. Mercer tallied their first goal at 6:19 to end the drought. Yago responded sternly with a goal just six seconds out of the faceoff win by Daniel Haimes who was credited with the assist. The Bears mustered two straight goals at 4:41 and 3:39 to bring Mercer within two goals at the halftime break, 5-3.
Third Quarter
Air Force got back to scoring two minutes outside of the break, this time Wes Peene assisted Caelan Driggs in his second goal. The teams went tit-for-tat after that with Mercer's Luke Fox scoring at 11:01 and AF's Ryan Stadelmaier scoring at 10:13 with help from Yago. The Bears rattled off two straight goals at 9:02 and 8:35 to get within one goal of a tie, 7-6. Senior leaders Yago and Peene put end to that run with Peene scoring at 5:35 via Yago's assist. Peene then returned the favor to Yago with an assist leading to a goal at 1:53.
Fourth Quarter
The Falcons returned to a four-goal lead with Mana Wilhelm's goal just 64 seconds into the final quarter, Yago making his fifth assist. Mercer's Dillon Bush gave the Bears their final push as he scored two goals in rapid succession to bring the Mercer within two with 11:36 remaining in regulation. Caelan Driggs turned hope into despair with a goal at 5:18 via help from Wilhelm. Senior defender Cody Gross battled to the end, picking up a ground ball and taking it to the house with just 57 seconds on the clock. It was hist first career goal at Air Force.
UP NEXT
Air Force returns to Falcon Stadium for the final time of the 2025 campaign to host ASUN frontrunner Utah, Saturday (April 26). Action is slated for noon MT. Prior to the game, the Falcons will celebrate 12 seniors for Senior Day prior to the game.
GAME NOTES
-The Falcons secured their fourth straight trip to the ASUN tournament since joining the league in 2022. AF played in the ASUN Championship game in 2023.
-League front-runner Utah (5-7, 4-0 ASUN), along with Jacksonville (8-4, 3-1 ASUN) and Air Force (5-7, 3-1 ASUN) have secured conference championship berths. Mercer (1-3 ASUN) and Bellarmine (1-3 ASUN) still have tournament hopes while Queens (0-4 ASUN) is out of the race.
-Air Force snapped a five-game road losing streak with the win in Macon.
-The Falcons remain undefeated against the Bears when playing in Macon (8-0).
SIGNIFICANT STATS
-Senior attack man Josh Yago put up an impressive seven points with five assists and two goals. He now has 55 points this season. The five assists marked a season-best for the team captain.
-Junior goals leader Caelan Driggs notched his fourth-straight hat trick, ninth of the season, with a three-goal showing. Driggs is an NCAA top 10 scorer with 40 goals and 50 points this season.
-AF has two 50-point scorers for the first time since 2022 (Brandon Dodd, 70; Brenden Crouse, 52)
-Senior faceoff specialist Daniel Haimes was excellent at the center dot, winning nine faceoffs in 12 attempts. Senior teammate Jake Knapp also had a good showing, winning six faceoffs in nine attempts. The Falcons went 16-24 at the faceoff dot on the day (.667).
-Mana Wilhelm scored three goals with an assist for his second hat trick this season.
-Despite being credited for just two caused turnovers, the Falcon defense was disruptive enough to see Mercer turn the ball over 16 times.
-Junior defender Cole Cunningham picked up a game high eight ground balls, tying his season high mark for the third time this season. Cunningham, along with Cody Gross, Matt Rosato and Aidan Chairs anchored the defense. Chairs made his first career start for Air Force.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First quarter
The first 15 minutes and more belonged to Air Force as the Falcons put up three goals while holding the Bears scoreless. Cole Rassas was first to strike at the 8:07 mark with help from Josh Yago. Caelan Driggs followed up at 1:17 with an unassisted goal, keeping his 12-game goal streak alive. With 37 seconds remaining in the quarter, Yago fed Wilhelm for his first goal.
Second Quarter
Air Force continued to pour it on as Wilhelm notched his second goal at 7:55 in the second quarter. Mercer tallied their first goal at 6:19 to end the drought. Yago responded sternly with a goal just six seconds out of the faceoff win by Daniel Haimes who was credited with the assist. The Bears mustered two straight goals at 4:41 and 3:39 to bring Mercer within two goals at the halftime break, 5-3.
Third Quarter
Air Force got back to scoring two minutes outside of the break, this time Wes Peene assisted Caelan Driggs in his second goal. The teams went tit-for-tat after that with Mercer's Luke Fox scoring at 11:01 and AF's Ryan Stadelmaier scoring at 10:13 with help from Yago. The Bears rattled off two straight goals at 9:02 and 8:35 to get within one goal of a tie, 7-6. Senior leaders Yago and Peene put end to that run with Peene scoring at 5:35 via Yago's assist. Peene then returned the favor to Yago with an assist leading to a goal at 1:53.
Fourth Quarter
The Falcons returned to a four-goal lead with Mana Wilhelm's goal just 64 seconds into the final quarter, Yago making his fifth assist. Mercer's Dillon Bush gave the Bears their final push as he scored two goals in rapid succession to bring the Mercer within two with 11:36 remaining in regulation. Caelan Driggs turned hope into despair with a goal at 5:18 via help from Wilhelm. Senior defender Cody Gross battled to the end, picking up a ground ball and taking it to the house with just 57 seconds on the clock. It was hist first career goal at Air Force.
UP NEXT
Air Force returns to Falcon Stadium for the final time of the 2025 campaign to host ASUN frontrunner Utah, Saturday (April 26). Action is slated for noon MT. Prior to the game, the Falcons will celebrate 12 seniors for Senior Day prior to the game.
Team Stats
AFA
MER
Shots
35
38
Turnovers
12
16
Caused Turnovers
2
5
Faceoffs Won
16
8
Extra-Man Opps
2
5
Ground Balls
30
28
Game Leaders
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
3
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
FO/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
FO/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
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