Air Force Academy

Oct. 23, 2011

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - On the final day of competion at The Rodeo, hosted by Santa Clara, the 18th-ranked Air Force water polo team dropped both of its games, falling to No. 12 UC Davis, 15-8, and third-ranked Stanford, 16-2.

Against UC Davis, Air Force found itself in a 2-0 deficit before freshman Petar Jackovich (New Lenox, Ill.) found the back of the net to put the Falcons on the board. The Aggies scored three of the next four goals in the game to take a 5-2 advantage after one period.

Air Force trailed by as many as five in the second period before putting together a 3-1 run over the last four and a half minutes of the half. With a goal from Garrett Womack (Jr., Redlands, Calif.) and two scores from Cruz Smithson (Jr., Capistrano Beach, Calif.), the Falcons went into the intermission trailing, 8-5.

UC Davis began to pull away after the break, scoring the first four goals of the third period. While Smithson and Dillon Fisher (Jr., Orange, Calif.) posted scores for the Falcons, Air Force headed into the final stanza with a 13-7 deficit. The Aggies also held in the advantage in the fourth quarter, with Smithson tallying the only Air Force goal.

In the second game of the day, Stanford got out to an early 1-0 lead before Smithson tied the score with 6:11 left in the opening period. After four more Cardinal goals, Air Force closed out the opening period with a score from freshman Dominic Vicino (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.).

Stanford scored the first goal of the second quarter to push their advantage back to four goals, while Smithson added his second score of the game at the 5:10 mark in the period. However, the Falcons were unable to get on the board again, as the Cardinal took a 9-3 advantage at the half and outscored Air Force 7-0 after the break.

No. 12 UC Davis 15, No. 18 Air Force 8
Air Force - 2 3 2 1 - 8
UC Davis - 5 3 5 2 - 15

AF Scoring: Smithson 4, Womack 2, Jackovich, Fisher
UCD Scoring: Hicks 3, Hampton 3, Salit 3, Collins 2, Dickey 2, Richardson, Rogers

No. 3 Stanford 16, No. 18 Air Force 3
Air Force - 2 1 0 0 - 3
Stanford - 5 4 4 3 - 16

AF Scoring: Smithson 2, Vicino
Stanford Scoring: Smith 5, Watkins 3, Bowen 3, Gamble 2, LaForge, Cleary, Sefton