Air Force Academy

Sept. 29, 2007

USAFA, Colo. - The 16th-ranked Air Force water polo split a pair of contests at its own East Meets West Tournament Saturday, falling to No. 15 Pacific and defeating WWPA opponent Cal Lutheran. The Falcons dropped a 13-9 contest to Pacific before handing Cal Lutheran a 16-8 defeat. Air Force moves to 5-8 on the season, 3-3 in the WWPA.

In the first contest of the day, the Falcons took a 2-0 lead against Pacific at the end of one period and led by as many as three at 5-2. However, the Tigers were able to cut the Air Force advantage to 5-4 at intermission and continued to roll in the third quarter, outscoring the Falcons 4-0. With the teams trading goals throughout the final period, Air Force was unable to get any closer than three in the 13-9 loss. Senior Justin Berry (Windermere, Fla.) led the Falcons with four scores, Alex Churnside (So., Orange, Calif.) added three goals and Jack Hines (So., Riverside, Calif.) tallied two goals.

Against Cal Lutheran, the Falcons dominated the opening period, outscoring the Kingsmen, 7-2. After an evenly matched second quarter, Air Force picked up its offensive output again in the third period. With a score from senior Clark Condict (Irvine, Calif.) with just 32 seconds remaining in the quarter, the Falcons earned a 14-5 margin, their largest lead of the game. Though Cal Lutheran held the Falcons to two goals in the final period, Air Force was still able to cruise to the 16-8 victory. Condict and Berry tallied four goals each in the win, Churnside added three goals and Bobby Geiger (Fr., Buellton, Calif.) notched a pair of goals. Also scoring for the Falcons were Joey Brewer (Jr., Clovis, Calif.), Tyler Hewko (Jr., Laguna Hills, Calif.) and Kevin Williams (Jr., River Forest, Ill.)

No. 15 Pacific 13, No. 16 Air Force 9
Pacific 0 4 4 5 13
Air Force 2 3 0 4 9

UOP Scoring: Kaurloto 5, Bakic 4, Struempf 2, Mahoney, Skora
AF Scoring: Berry 4, Churnside 3, Hines 2

No. 16 Air Force 16, Cal Lutheran 8
Cal Lutheran 2 2 2 2 8
Air Force 7 2 5 2 16

CLU Scoring: Heagy 4, Chaney 2, Lovetro, Shirk
AF Scoring: Condict 4, Berry 4, Churnside 3, Geiger 2, Brewer, Hewko, Williams