Air Force Academy

March 23, 2009

The Air Force lacrosse team heads to Riverdale, N.Y., this week, March 24, for a non-conference match-up with Manhattan. The contest is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. (ET).

Last Time Out...
The Air Force lacrosse team dropped a hard-fought battle to Bucknell last weekend at the Patriot Cup in Dallas, Texas.

Trailing 4-1 going into the final period, the Falcons gave up five goals in the fourth quarter to drop the 9-2 contest. The lone scorers for Air Force were sophomore Tristan Newkirk and senior Eric Evans. Meanwhile, senior Dan Gnazzo put forth a solid effort in goal, notching 10 saves and four ground balls.

Scouting the Falcons...
Air Force enters this week's contest with a 3-4 overall record following its neutral-site loss to Bucknell on Saturday.

Sophomore Vinny Sandtorv is the Falcons' leading goal scorer with 12 tallies on the year, while junior Ridge Flick leads the team in assists (7) and total points (15). Meanwhile, Sandtorv, K.J. Landgraf (11g, 2a) and Griffin Nevitt (7g, 6a) are all tied for second on the team in points scored with 13.

Scouting the Jaspers...
Manhattan enters this week's game with a 3-4 overall record, following its 11-6 victory over VMI on Saturday.

James Synowiez leads the Jaspers with 23 total points on a team-high 15 goals and eight assists, while Joe Variano is second with 17 points (11g, 6a). Meanwhile, goalkeeper Troy Orzech owns a team-best 7.28 goals against average, while John Geagan has averaged more than 10 saves per contest in six starts for Manhattan.

The Coaches...
• Air Force is coached by Eric Seremet, in his first season as head coach. Seremet currently holds a career mark of 3-4.
• Manhattan is coached by Tim McIntee, in his 12th season at the helm of the Jaspers' program. McIntee currently holds a career ledger of 71-101 at Manhattan.

Air Force in the Statistical Rankings...
In the latest national rankings released by the NCAA (through games of March 22), Air Force ranks in the top 25 in three major team statistical categories. The Falcons rank eighth in the nation in ground balls per game (35.71), 22nd in face-off win percentage (.519) and 25th in man-down defense (.686).

In addition, the Falcons have a couple of players who are ranked among the top 50 nationally in various statistical categories. Midfielder Zack Carroll ranks 24th in the nation and third in the GWLL in face-off win percentage (.535), while defenseman Bryan Gilbreath is 40th in the nation and tied for second in the league in ground balls per game with 4.0.

How They Rate...
Through games of March 22, Manhattan ranks in the top 25 nationally in a pair of team statistical categories. The Jaspers rank 10th in saves per game (12.57), while rating 21st in man-down defense at 70.6 percent.

Among the individual statistical leaders for the Jaspers are Angelo Marrano, who ranks 32nd nationally in face-off win percentage (.505) and 38th in ground balls per game (4.14) and James Synowiez, who ranks 33rd in points per game (3.29) and 36th in goals per game (2.14).

Road Warriors...
With its eighth game of the season coming up this week, Air Force has yet to play at home. The Falcons, who headed to their third road game and have played in five neutral-site contests, are away from home for their first 10 games of the season. After this week, Air Force will play two more true road games before finally opening the home slate on April 17--more than two months after the its first game of the season. Just two of the Falcons' 13 regular-season contests are slated to be played at the Academy--the April 17 game versus conference foe Ohio State and the home finale versus Detroit on April 19.

Air Force is one of just two Division I men's lacrosse teams slated to play fewer than five home games during the season. The other is first-year program Detroit, which has just one home contest on its schedule.

Up Next...
The Falcons get a short break before returning to action April 4, when they take on conference rival Notre Dame on the road. The game is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. (ET).

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