Air Force Academy

Feb. 24, 2010

The Air Force lacrosse team opens the 2010 season this weekend, Feb. 27, when they host St. John's in a non-conference match-up. The game is slated to begin at 12:00 p.m. at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium. Live stats for the contest will be available at goairforcefalcons.com.

Scouting the Falcons...
Air Force finished the 2009 season with a 7-7 overall record, including a 4-1 conference record during the last season of play in the Great Western Lacrosse League. Among the leaders for the Falcons this season are team captains Ridge Flick and Vinny Sandtorv. Flick, a senior attack, recorded a team-best 22 assists and 38 points in 2009 and was tied for 16th in the nation in assists per game (1.57), earning second-team All-GWLL honors. Meanwhile, Sandtorv, a junior midfielder, tied for third on the team with 26 points last season, including 23 goals on the year.

Meanwhile, the Falcons' defense is anchored by brothers Bryan and Dayton Gilbreath, who were both named preseason All-ECAC selections. Bryan, a junior, earned second-team all-conference honors at the long-stick midfield position last season after leading the nation in goals scored by a long pole (11). Dayton, named a 2010 preseason honorable mention All-American, was a first-team All-GWLL honoree and league newcomer of the year in 2009.

Head Coach Eric Seremet...
Eric Seremet enters his first season as head coach for the Air Force lacrosse program after serving as the interim head coach during the 2009 campaign. Seremet, a seven-year assistant for the Falcons, took over the reins from legendary coach Fred Acee, who retired following more than four decades in the coaching profession.

Scouting the Red Storm...
St. John's, receiving votes in the latest USILA coaches poll, currently holds a 1-0 record on the season. The Red Storm opened its season last weekend with a 9-8 home victory over Holy Cross.

The Red Storm is coached by Jason Miller, in his fourth year at the helm of the program. Sophomore Harry Kutner led St. John's in their first game of the season with three goals, while senior goalkeeper Gavin Buckley tallied 16 saves against Holy Cross.

Series Records...
Air Force and St. John's have met on the field twice before, with the Falcons winning both previous contests. Air Force won a 13-11 decision at St. John's in 2005, while picking up a 10-5 victory at the Academy in 2006.

Season Openers...
The Falcons are 29-14 all-time in season openers and have won four of their last six season openers.

Air Force is opening the season at home for the third time in the past four seasons--the Falcons defeated Siena, 11-7, to open the season in 2007, and Providence, 8-7 in overtime, in 2008. Prior to the 2007 season, the last time the Falcons started the season at home was in 2002, when Air Force captured an 11-6 victory over Mount St. Mary's.

The Falcons have also won four straight home openers, including a 9-6 win over conference rival Ohio State last season.

Home Sweet Home...
This weekend's game is the first of six home games on the Falcons' schedule this year. That number is a marked contrast to Air Force's schedule in 2009, when the team played just two home games. The Falcons played their first 10 games of the 2009 season on the road or at neutral sites before hosting its first home game on April 18.

A New League...
In 2010, Air Force enters its first year as a member of the ECAC Lacrosse League. Five of the six members of the now-defunct Great Western Lacrosse League (Air Force, Bellarmine, Denver, Ohio State and Quinnipiac) join existing ECAC members Fairfield, Hobart and Loyola in the newly aligned conference.

Senior CLASS Award...
Air Force senior captain Ridge Flick has been named one of 20 candidates for the men's lacrosse division of the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.

Flick, a native of Plano, Texas, returns this season as the Falcons' top scorer after leading the team in total points (38) and assists (22) in 2009. A second-team All-GWLL selection last season, Flick ranked tied for second in the league and 16th in the nation in assists per game (1.57). He scored at least one point in 13 of 14 games, tallying a career-best five points in league wins over Quinnipiac, Ohio State and Denver.

Preseason All-American...
Sophomore Dayton Gilbreath was named to the Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Yearbook 2010 Division I Preseason All-America Team. Gilbreath, an honorable mention selection at defense on this year's team, earns the first preseason All-America honors of his career.

In 2009, Gilbreath was one of the Falcons' starting defenseman as a freshman. For his performance, he was named the Great Western Lacrosse League Newcomer of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection.

Preseason All-ECAC...
Brothers Bryan and Dayton Gilbreath were named to the 2010 Preseason All-ECAC team, as chosen by the league's coaches. Both All-Great Western Lacrosse League honorees in 2009, the Gilbreaths earn the honor in the Falcons' first season as a member of the ECAC Lacrosse League.

Bryan, selected to the preseason all-conference team at the long-stick midfield position, proved to be one of the most talented long poles in the nation last season as a sophomore, contributing on both offense and defense. He led the nation in scoring by an LSM/defenseman in 2009, registering 13 points on the season (11g, 2a), while also ranking third on the team in ground balls with 44. As a result, he was named to the All-GWLL second team as an LSM (behind teammate Dan Gnazzo).

Meanwhile, Dayton, a preseason all-conference defenseman, was recognized as the GWLL Newcomer of the Year and was a first-team all-conference selection on defense in 2009. He earned his spot in Air Force's starting lineup during his rookie campaign as the Falcons' top cover guy. In addition to helping shut down the opponents' top scorers, Dayton finished the season ranked third on the team in caused turnovers (13) and also scored two points (1g, 1a), including the game-winning goal in a conference victory against Quinnipiac.

Preseason ECAC Rankings...
In the preseason ECAC rankings voted on by the league's coach, Air Force was selected to finish sixth in the conference. Loyola, the two-time defending league champion and currently ranked 10th in the nation, was chosen to win the 2010 ECAC Lacrosse League title with 47 points in the balloting, including six first-place votes. Denver took second place in the poll with 41 points and one first-place vote, just ahead of Ohio State, which garnered 40 points and the final first-place vote.

ECAC returners Fairfield (29 pts.) and Hobart (27 pts.) ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the poll, followed by Air Force (20 pts.). Rounding out the final spots were Quinnipiac, with 12 points, and Bellarmine, with eight points.

Up Next...
The Falcons return to action next weekend, March 6-7, at the annual Pioneer Face-Off Classic, hosted by Denver. Air Force will face Lehigh at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, while taking on Penn Sunday morning at 11:00.

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