Air Force Soars to ASUN Championship Title, Downs Utah 11-10

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Air Force claimed the Atlantic Sun Conference lacrosse tournament championship title in a hard-fought win against back-to-back league champions Utah, 11-10, Sunday afternoon at Rock Stadium. The Falcons, now making their fourth Division I NCAA Championship Tournament appearance, have battled to a winning record at 8-7 overall.

GAME NOTES
-In four ASUN tournament appearances in as many tries since joining the league in 2022, Air Force claimed its first conference tournament title.
-The Falcons are now four-time conference tournament champions (2014, 2016, 2017, 2025).
-Five Falcons were named to the All-Tournament team: Jake Marek (Championship MVP), Cole Cunningham, Caelan Driggs, Wes Peene, and team captain Josh Yago.
-Air Force is on a six-game winning streak, the longest winning streak since 2016 where AF won 15 straight.

SIGNIFICANT STATS
-Junior attack man Calean Driggs, for the 12^th time this season and seventh game in a row, put up a hat trick performance, this time scoring four goals on 11 shots. Driggs remains in the top five of all NCAA goal scorers with 53 goals (3.5 gpg).
-The Falcons displayed their ability to move the ball as they were credited for eight assists in the 11 goals.
-Junior midfielders Ryan Stadelmaier and Luke Vrsansky put up two goals each, while sophomore teammate Mana Wilhelm dished two assists with one goal of his own.
-Air Force picked up 30 ground balls led by Jake Marek and Cole Cunningham with six and five, respectively. Marek made 10 goals in save for his eighth win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Courtesy of ASUN

The Falcons went up 1-0 after the ASUN Player of the Year Josh Yago found the back of the net off an assist from Ryan Stadelmaier. Cade Faulkner answered for Utah a little over a minute later. Stadelmaier scored a goal of his own at the 8:41 mark with Air Force a man up. Ryan Stines evened the score for the Utes at 5:04. The teams traded four more goals to end the first quarter with Air Force leading 4-3.

Cade Faulkner tied the game at four goals apiece with a score that was assisted on by Zachary White. Alexander Stepney and Luke Vrsansky combined for back-to-back Air Force goals. Luke McNamara scored three unanswered goals for the Utes to give his team a 7-6 advantage entering the halftime break.

Stadelmaier helped the Falcons pull even on the scoreboard with a goal at the 12:44 mark of the third quarter. Chase Robertson quickly answered for the Utes. After a near eight-minute scoring drought, Air Force found another equalizer with a man-up score from Caelan Driggs. Will Overly put Utah ahead 9-8 heading to the final quarter.

Air Force took control of the contest with the first three goals of the fourth quarter. The Falcons built an 11-9 lead with scores from Driggs (13:19), Mana Wilhelm (11:30) and Vrsansky (6:36). Stines notched a goal for the Utes with 6:02 left on the clock. The Falcons' defense buckled down and prevented another score and the game ended with Air Force earning its first league title.

All-Tournament Team
Jake Marek, Air Force (Championship MVP)
Cole Cunningham, Air Force
Caelan Driggs, Air Force
Wes Peene, Air Force
Josh Yago, Air Force
Luke McNamara, Utah
Ryan Stines, Utah
Zachary White, Utah
John Alie, Bellarmine
Jackson Intrieri, Jacksonville

UP NEXT
The Falcons will find out where they are headed for the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championships tonight during the selection show. The show will start at 7:30 PM MT and will air on ESPNU.

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