Air Force Academy

April 28, 2010

The Air Force lacrosse team heads to Geneva, N.Y., this weekend, May 1, as it visits ECAC foe Hobart. The game, which will be broadcast in the New York area by Time Warner Cable Sports, is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. (ET).

Watch it on the Web...
Live stats for Saturday's game, along with a live stream of the WEOS-FM radio broadcast of the contest, will be accessible at hwsathletics.com. Links for the live stats and audio stream will also be available at goairforcefalcons.com. In addition, a live pay-per-view video broadcast of the game can be found at hwsathletics.com.

Last Time Out...
In front of an NCAA-record crowd of more than 31,000 fans, Air Force dropped a 10-6 decision to ECAC rival Ohio State last Saturday at Ohio Stadium.

Junior Zack Carroll led the Falcons' offense with three goals, recording his third hat trick of the season. Vinny Sandtorv added two goals, while freshman Paul Gaski registered a man-up score in his first collegiate appearance. Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper Matt Sanders tallied 10 saves in the contest.

Scouting the Falcons...
Air Force enters this weekend's contest with a 1-11 overall record and 0-5 mark in the ECAC Lacrosse League.

Junior Zack Carroll is the Falcons' leading scorer on the season with 27 points, including a team-best 19 goals. Team captains Vinny Sandtorv (17g, 5a) and Ridge Flick (12g, 10a) rank second on the team with 22 points each, while sophomore Adam Paranka (10g, 11a) has added 21 points.

Scouting the Statesmen...
Hobart enters this weekend with a 2-10 overall record and 0-6 ledger in the ECAC. The Statesmen are coming off a 17-12 conference loss to then-seventh-ranked Loyola.

The Statesmen are coached by T.W. Johnson, in his second year at the helm of the program. Sophomore Chris Pedersen is the team's leading scorer on the season with 30 points (16g, 14a), while senior captain Kevin Curtin is second on the team with 28 points (15g, 13a).

Series Records...
This weekend marks just the second meeting all-time between Air Force and Hobart. The Statesmen won the lone previous contest, a 17-2 decision in Geneva in 1989.

Air Force in the Statistical Rankings...
In the latest national statistical rankings released by the NCAA (through games of April 25), Air Force ranks in the top 30 in a pair of team categories. The Falcons rank 23rd in caused turnovers per game (8.42) and are 28th in scoring defense (9.75).

In addition, the Falcons have a pair of players who are ranked among the top 35 nationally in various individual statistical categories. Junior defenseman Bryan Gilbreath leads the ECAC and is fourth in the nation in caused turnovers per game (2.25) and is tied for 13th in the nation in ground balls per game (5.42). Meanwhile, goalkeeper Brian Wilson ranks 27th in the country in goals against average (10.08).

How They Rate...
Through games of April 25, Hobart ranks second in the nation in saves per game with 14.0. Meanwhile, the Statesmen also rank 12th nationally in face-off win percentage (.554).

Among the individual leaders for Hobart are Bobby Dattilo, who ranks 12th in face-off win percentage (.577), and Max Silberlicht, who is ranked 15th in save percentage (.562). Meanwhile, the Statesmen also have a pair of players who rank in the top 30 nationally in ground balls per game--Alex Caton is rated 23rd with 4.67, while Dattilo is 27th with 4.42 per contest.

Three is the Charm...
Junior Zack Carroll was the top scorer for the Falcons versus Ohio State last weekend, finishing with three goals to record his third hat trick of the season. Carroll also registered hat tricks in back-to-back games versus Lehigh and Penn in early March.

Meanwhile, the Ohio State game marked the seventh time this season that Carroll has scored at least three points in a contest. After opening the year with a career-best six points against St. John's, Carroll tallied three points against Lehigh, Penn, Army, Robert Morris, Quinnipiac and Ohio State. Carroll, who had scored just one career point prior to the 2010 season, is averaging 2.25 points per game this year.

Gaski Gets in the Game...
Freshman Paul Gaski took the field for the first time this season versus Ohio State and made the most of his collegiate debut. Against the Buckeyes, Gaski scored the first point of his career, tallying an unassisted man-up goal in the third period.

Up Next...
The Falcons return home next weekend, May 8, when they host ECAC rival Denver in their season finale. The game, which will be held at Falcon Stadium, is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.

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