Air Force Academy

April 25, 2007

The Air Force lacrosse team concludes its 2007 GWLL schedule this weekend, April 28, when it heads up the road to face in-state rival Denver at Barton Lacrosse Stadium. The game, slated to begin at 7:30 p.m., will be televised on FSN Rocky Mountain.

Scouting the Falcons...
Falling to Ohio State, 10-6, in its home finale last weekend, Air Force dropped to 2-8 overall and 1-3 in the GWLL.

Sophomore Griffin Nevitt, who tallied four goals against Bellarmine, leads Air Force with 29 points (17g, 12a), while senior captain Will Meister ranks second on the team with 26 points (11g, 15a). Seniors Conrad Lochocki (12g, 10a) and Justin Kuchta (17g, 4a) have added 22 and 21 points, respectively, on the season.

Scouting the Pioneers...
Denver enters this weekend with a 7-7 overall record and 2-2 mark in the GWLL. The Pioneers are coming off a 10-9 overtime loss to Ohio State.

Sophomore Joey Murray leads Denver with 39 points (19g, 20a) on the season, while Ilija Gajic is second with 27 points (21g, 6a).

Denver is coached by Jamie Munro (Brown, `89), who has compiled a mark of 71-55 in his ninth season at the helm of the program.

In the Series...
The Falcons hold a 51-13 all-time advantage over Denver, but have not won a game against the Pioneers since a 6-5 home victory in 2002.

Falcons in the Statistical Rankings...
In the latest national rankings through games of April 22, senior attack Will Meister leads the Falcons, rated 22nd in assists per game (1.5).

In the GWLL rankings, Meister ranks fifth in assists per game, while Griffin Nevitt ranks sixth in points per game (2.9). Daniel Bellissimo is fifth in goals against average (10.41). Finally, Reilly Smith (.466) and Kyle O'Neill (.422) rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in face-off win percentage.

How They Rate...
Denver ranks sixth nationally in man-up offense (.426). Meanwhile, goalkeeper Jeb Hollingsworth ranks 21st in goals against average (8.47).

In the GWLL rankings, Michael Goltra ranks third in assists per game (1.62). Hollingsworth is third in goals against average and fifth in both saves per game (9.31) and save percentage (.531).

Barton Lacrosse Stadium: The Falcons' Home Away From Home...
With just two home games on Air Force's schedule this year, the Falcons will have played more games on Denver's home field than on their own. Air Force played in two games at Barton Lacrosse Stadiumat the beginning of March during the Pioneer Face-Off Classic and will return to DU this weekend.

The Falcons' abbreviated home schedule is in stark contrast to last season's slate when the team played eight of its 15 games at home.

A Scoring Streak...
Senior Will Meister and sophomore Griffin Nevitt are both in the midst of a 23-game streak with at least one point. The streak began on March 4, 2006, in a loss to UMBC. Meister has now tallied at least one goal or assist in 46 of his 50 career games, including 38 of the past 39. Meanwhile, Nevitt has scored in all but one of his 26 career games. Neither Meister nor Nevitt was able to get a point in the Falcons' 5-4 loss to Manhattan last season.

The Assist Leader...
Senior Will Meister currently sits in seventh place on the Falcons' career assist list, with 79 assists. Meister sits just five assists out of sixth place, and could move into the top five by season's end.

In addition, Meister ranks third among the nation's active career assist leaders. Only Duke's Matt Danowski and UMBC's Drew Westervelt have more career assists.

Up Next...
The Falcons wrap up the 2007 season next weekend, May 6, when they travel to Durham, N.C., to face nationally ranked Duke. The game is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m. (ET).

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader