Air Force Takes on Jacksonville in ASUN Semifinals

ASUN SEMIFINALS
(3) AIR FORCE (6-7, 4-1 ASUN) vs. (2) JACKSONVILLE (9-4, 4-1ASUN)
4 p.m. ET, Friday, May 2
Rock Stadium - Jacksonville, Fla.

The History
In the last meeting earlier this season (March 29), JU topped AF 15-11 at Rock Stadium. Junior attack man Caelan Driggs put up five goals on 10 shots, marking his fourth five-goal performance of the season. Junior defender Cole Cunningham picked up a season best eight ground balls. Jake Marek made 11 saves for the Falcons' in goal. The Dolphins had three players with hat tricks in Ethan LaMond (4g), Jack Taylor (4g) Jackson Intieri (3g).

The Falcons and Dolphins are meeting for the 16^th time since 2011, AF leads the all-time series, 8-7. JU is on a three-game win streak, besting the Falcons twice last season. In last season's regular season meeting (April 20), JU came out on top in overtime, 9-8, at USAFA. The teams met again at the ASUN Conference Tournament hosted at the Academy. The No. 2 seed Air Force dropped a 15-10 loss to No. 3 seed Jacksonville.

Air Force Postseason Awards
Six Falcons earned spots across the All-Conference teams highlighted by Offensive Player of the Year, Specialist of the Year, and Coach of the Year accolades.

Air Force team captain Josh Yago is the Falcons' leading point scorer and was named the 2025 ASUN Offensive Player of the Year. Yago, the league's top assister, has 30 assists this season with 13 in conference play. He has five hat tricks and four seven-point showings this season highlighted by a career-best five goal game against Marist. The senior leads the ASUN with 4.67 points per game, a mark that ranks him 12th in the NCAA. Yago also earned his second All-ASUN nod in 2025.

The Falcons' Cole Cunningham secured the Specialist of the Year accolade. He is second in the league in ground balls per game (5.25) and has picked up a career best eight ground balls on three occasions. He is eighth in the league in caused turnovers per game (1.15) and caused a career best five turnovers five turnovers against Queens.

ASUN Coach of the Year Bill Wilson turned around an 0-4 start to the season to finish on a four-game winning streak, guiding the Falcons to a share of the ASUN Regular Season title while knocking off previous conference undefeated Utah. This season's Air Force squad has the league's best shot percentage (.333) and averages the second-most goals per game with 12.46.

Yago and Cunningham alongside Wes Peene won All-ASUN First Team nods while AF goals leader Caelan Driggs earned a spot on the second team. Freshman LSM Aidan Chairs represented the Falcons on the All-Freshman team.

Three Falcons earned spots on the 2025 Academic All-ASUN team in seniors Wes Peene and Daniel Haimes, and junior Cole Cunningham. The academic honors mark the first for Air Force since joining the league in 2022.

A Glance at the Dolphins
Jacksonville will take the field at Rock Stadium under the command of coach John Galloway in his ninth season.

The Dolphins have a quartet of key scorers in the Jack Taylor (34g, 23a), Jackson Intieri (18g, 32a), Daylin John-Hill (28g, 18a), and Nicky Brown (21g, 9a). John-Hill was tabbed as the ASUN Freshman of the Year while Taylor, Intieri, and Brown earned All-ASUN nods.

Ryan Della Rocco is expected to make the start in goal, he has a 11.55 GAA and a .492 save percentage. Drew Rippeon, an All-ASUN second teamer will likely be called forward to represent JU at the faceoff with a .548 faceoff win percentage. Jacksonville's key defenders are All-ASUN first-teamers Michael Meredith (18gb, 11cto) and Aaron Toguri (26gb, 16cto).

A Look at Air Force
Heading into the ASUN Tournament, here is how the Falcons stack up against league opponents:
-Man-up offense: .577 (1st, in ASUN, 3rd in the NCAA)
-Shot percentage: .330 (1st in ASUN, 3rd in the NCAA)
-Opponent clear percentage: .825 (1st in ASUN)
-Scoring defense: 10.31 (1st in ASUN)
-Scoring margin: 1.31 (1st in ASUN)
-Turnovers per game: 15.62 (2nd in ASUN)
-Assist per game: 6.92 (2nd in ASUN)
-Caused Turnovers per game: 7.77 (2nd in ASUN)
-Man-down defense: .700 (2nd in ASUN)
-Points per game: 18.54 (3rd in ASUN)
-Points per game: 18.25 (3rd in ASUN)

-Junior attack man Caelan Driggs leads the ASUN in goals per game (3.33), a mark that ranks him the fourth leading scorer in the NCAA. Driggs is also fourth in the ASUN in points per game (4.17).
-Senior goalie Jake Marek leads in the ASUN in goals against average (10.84) and save percentage .510).
-Senior attack man Josh Yago, 2025 ASUN Offensive Player of the Year, leads the ASUN in points per game (4.67), and is second in the league in assists per game (2.33), a mark that is ninth best in the NCAA.
-Senior faceoff specialist Daniel Haimes has the third-best faceoff percentage in the ASUN (.518).
-Junior defender Cole Cunningham is third in the league in ground balls per game (5.25), and fourth in the ASUN in caused turnovers per game (1.25)

50/50
Josh Yago is a Top 10 NCAA assister with 27 assists and 59 points while Caelan Driggs is an NCAA top 10 scorer with 45 goals and 55 points. AF now has two 50-point scorers for the first time since 2022 (Brandon Dodd, 70; Brenden Crouse, 52)

Home Field Advantage
AF is 5-1 when playing at Falcon Stadium, only falling to No. 14 Denver in the home opener, February 8. The Falcons average 15.6 goals per game when playing at home and have held all visiting opponents to 9.6 goals allowed.

Etching into the Record Book
-Josh Yago's 143 career points is sixth most in the record book. His 72 career assists are fourth highest overtaking former teammate Brandon Dodd (2020-23) who is now fifth with 70. Chris Walsch is third with 75 (2015-17). Yago's 30 single season assists ties his 2024 mark for second-most in program history.
-Calean Driggs' 82 career goals is seventh most. His 45 single-season goals are third most in program history. Brandon Dodd (2022) is next up the ladder with 46, while Mike Crampton holds the all-time single-season goals record with 48 in 2015.
-Wes Peene has played in 60 career games, the sixth most by any Falcon.
-Jake Marek's 22 saves against Utah are the second-most single-game saves in the record book. Tim Morris (1996) holds the record (26).

Gone Streaking
-The Falcons are on a four-game winning streak heading into the tournament.
-Calelan Driggs has scored a goal in every game this season. He is on a five-game hat trick streak and has 10 hat tricks this season.
-Josh Yago has scored a goal in every game this season and dished at least one assist in all but one game this year. He has dished multiple assists for five of the last six games.
-Cole Cunningham has led the Falcons in ground balls in every conference game this season and a total of six-straight games.

Coming Up
The winner of the semifinals game will take on the winner of (1) Utah and (4) Bellarmine on Sunday, May 4. The championship game is slated for noon ET at Rock Stadium.

Last Time Out
Air Force and Utah duked it out in an overtime thriller with the Falcons coming out on top, 16-15, to claim a share of the ASUN regular season title on Senior Day at Falcon Stadium. Caelan Driggs scored a game-high five goals. Wes Peene, the man who scored the OT game-winner, finished with a personal season-best five points (4g, 1a), tying his career-best mark Josh Yago finished with four points (3g, 1a). Jake Marek had a career day in the cage, making a career-best 22 saves to secure the AF win. Marek also picked up a team-high eight ground balls.

Air Force Takes on Jacksonville in ASUN Semifinals

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Players Mentioned

Aidan Chairs

Cole Cunningham

Caelan Driggs

Daniel Haimes

Jake Marek

Wes Peene

Josh Yago

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