Air Force Academy

Lehigh (1-1-0) jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening quarter and looked as if it would roll to its first win of the young season. Mountain Hawk Brandon Wenk (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) paced the squad in the opening 15 minutes, notching three of Lehigh’s five markers. In the second stanza it was a reversal of fortunes for the Falcons of Air Force. AFA (0-2-0) posted four goals to climb to within two of the Mountain Hawks at halftime.

Air Force’s John Agnew (Vienna, Va./McLean) registered an unassisted goal just 24 seconds into the second half to bring the Falcons to within one, 7-6. That’s when Lehigh went back to work offensively, scoring three of the next five goals of the third and pushing its lead back to two goals, 10-8. The Falcons opened the final stanza and proved they would not go away easy, getting the next goal at the 3:05 mark again from the stick of Agnew. Lehigh ’s Gabe Osorio (Havertown, Penn./Haverford) notched two straight goals over the next four minutes to help the Mountain Hawks hold control and eventually pull out the 13-10 win.

Air Force won most of the statistical categories in the match, but could not pull out the victory. The Falcons outshot Lehigh, 49-30, won the ground ball battle, 43-29, and won 17 face-offs while losing just nine. But AFA could not get the ball past Lehigh goalie Russell Kushner (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville). Kushner made an incredible 22 saves in the game, helping his squad pick up the victory. Lehigh was also a perfect 4-for-4 in extra-man opportunities.

Wenk finished the afternoon with four goals. Castellani added four goals and one assist, while Osorio contributed two goals and two helpers and David Cohen (Port Washington, N.Y./Schreiber) totaled one goal and three assists.

For Air Force, Agnew notched three goals and three assists and Nate Koss (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) posted two markers.