Air Force Academy

Oct. 26, 2008

DAVIS, Calif. - With two more contests against nationally ranked teams, the 20th-ranked Air Force water polo team dropped a pair of games Sunday at UC Davis' Schaal Aquatics Center. After a 12-10 loss to No. 11 conference rival UC Davis, Air Force was handed a 12-9 defeat by 10th-ranked Long Beach State. The Falcons fall to 12-12 overall on the season and 7-4 in the Western Water Polo Association.

In Air Force's first game of the morning, the team took on the host team, WWPA rival UC Davis. The Falcons got on the board first with a penalty shot by sophomore Matt Versage (Merced, Calif.) and held a 3-2 lead after the opening period. Senior captain Kevin Williams (River Forest, Ill.) put Air Force up 4-2 with an early second-quarter goal, but five unanswered scores by the Aggies put UC Davis ahead 7-4 at the half.

The Falcons were able to scramble back in the third period, trailing 8-7 going into the final quarter, before Jason Fung (Jr., Honolulu, Hawaii) tied the game at 8-8 with 7:08 left on the clock. However, UC Davis outscored Air Force 4-2 down the stretch to hold on to the two-goal victory.

Williams was the Falcons' leading scorer with three goals, while Versage and Tyler Hewko (Sr., Laguna Hills, Calif.) added two scores each. Also finding the back of the net for Air Force were Bobby Geiger (So., Buellton, Calif.), Kurt Lemmen (So., Orlando, Fla.) and Fung.

Air Force had another tough game ahead of it, taking on Long Beach State in the second contest of the day. The 10th-ranked 49ers rolled to a 4-1 lead after one quarter and grabbed a 5-1 advantage midway through the second period. However, Air Force closed out the half with a pair of goals to cut its deficit back to two.

Williams was again the leading scorer for Air Force, tallying four goals against the 49ers, while junior Alex Churnside (Orange, Calif.) added two scores. Other Falcons scoring in the contest were Lemmen, Geiger and Miles McMullan (Sr., Irvine, Calif.).

After taking next weekend off, the Falcons wrap up the regular season Nov. 8-9 with four conference contests, taking on Loyola Marymount, Chapman, La Verne and Claremont.

No. 11 UC Davis 12, No. 20 Air Force 10
Air Force 3 1 3 3 10
UC Davis 2 5 1 4 12
AF Scoring: Williams 3, Versage 2, Hewko 2, Lemmen, Geiger, Fung
UCD Scoring: Salit 2, Breen 2, Bennett 2, Richardson, Wilson, Hagens, Lindsay, Lyle, Muenter

No. 10 Long Beach State 12, No. 20 Air Force 9
Air Force 1 2 3 3 9
LBSU 4 1 3 4 12
AF Scoring: Williams 4, Churnside 2, Lemmen, Geiger
LBSU Scoring: Kinne 2, Greenwood 2, Luth 2, Jo. Koeppen, Mundia, Blythen, Petrovic, vanHaaster, Filipovic