Air Force Academy

April 17, 2010

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

USAFA, Colo. -

Playing in wet, cold and foggy conditions, the Air Force lacrosse team dropped a 4-3 defensive battle to 18th-ranked conference foe Fairfield Saturday afternoon at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium.

The first goal of the game came in the first five minutes of the game on a transition opportunity for the Falcons, as junior Michael Duenes (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) scored his first career point with an assist to senior Jimmy Curran (North Brunswick, N.J.). Air Force (1-10, 0-4) held its one-goal advantage until the 3:39 mark in the opening period, when Fairfield tallied its first goal of the contest.

The Stags gained their first lead of the game with 9:30 to play in the second period, scoring a man-up goal just as an Air Force penalty expired. Again, defense dominated the quarter before the Falcons came back to tie the score at 2-2. After a Fairfield shot was blocked by an Air Force player, junior defenseman Benson Oldmixon (Austin, Texas) picked up the ball and carried it down the field, registering his first career point by passing it to senior Ridge Flick (Plano, Texas) for the equalizer.

Fairfield (8-3, 4-1) regained the lead early in the third period and went up 4-2 with another goal midway through the quarter. Air Force responded with a goal from junior Vinny Sandtorv (Centereach, N.Y.) at the 3:56 mark in the period, but with strong defensive efforts by both goalkeepers, neither team was able to score again.

Sophomore Matt Sanders (Annapolis, Md.) continued his recent hot play between the pipes for Air Force, registering 11 saves and posting a .733 save percentage. Meanwhile, the Stags' Joe Marra, who ranks in the top five nationally in both save percentage and goals against average, finished the game with 14 stops.

Also turning in a standout performance for the Falcons was junior defenseman Bryan Gilbreath (Bainbridge Island, Wash.). Ranked in the top 10 nationally in both ground balls and caused turnovers per game, Gilbreath registered seven ground balls and matched a career high with four caused turnovers.

The Falcons take to the road next weekend, April 24, when they visit ECAC rival Ohio State. The game, which will be held at Ohio Stadium prior to the Buckeyes' spring football game, is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. (ET).

No. 18 Fairfield 4, Air Force 3

Fairfield                       1    1    2    0    4

Air Force                      1    1    1    0    3

FFD Scoring: Goals:  Nick Baglio, Sam Snow, Doug Kuring, Marshall Johnson. Assists: Max Trunz, Doug Kuring.

AF Scoring: Goals: Jimmy Curran, Ridge Flick, Vinny Sandtorv. Assists: Michael Duenes, Benson Oldmixon, Tristan Newkirk.