The Air Force lacrosse team (2-2) opens up its conference slate this week

The Air Force lacrosse team (2-2) opens up its conference slate this week, as it travels to GWLL-opponent Fairfield on Wednesday, March 23. The game is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. at Lessing Field. The Falcons then continue their road trip with a contest at first-year program St. John’s at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 26.


Last Time Out…
Struggling on the offensive end, the Falcons fell to Penn, 6-3, in its home opener. After a scoreless opening period, the Quakers outscored the Falcons 4-1 in the second quarter. Penn extended its advantage to five in the third quarter, before Air Force scored two unanswered to close the gap. However, the game ended with yet another scoreless period as the Falcons fell to 2-2 on the season.

Scoring for Air Force were Conrad Lochocki, Justin Kuchta and Tim Hade, while Will Meister added his seventh assist of the season.


Scouting the Stags...
Fairfield enters this week’s contest with a 3-2 record after knocking off then-20th-ranked Harvard, 7-6, Saturday afternoon.

The Stags led through most of the game before the Crimson tied the game at 6-6 with 5:52 remaining on the clock. However, Fairfield’s Greg Downing scored the only extra-man goal of the day just over a minute later to put the Stags back on top. Fairfield stayed ahead as sophomore goalkeeper Michael Kruger, who notched a career-high 20 saves in the game, recorded four saves in the last two minutes.

Downing leads the Fairfield offense with seven goals and seven assists, while Mike Bocklet has a team-high nine goals. Meanwhile, through five games, Kruger has 51 saves and a 7.57 goals against average.


In the Series...
Air Force is 2-2 all-time against Fairfield, and has won every other game in the series. Last year’s contest was a 12-6 victory for the Falcons.


Last Year vs. Fairfield...
Air Force defeated Fairfield, 12-6, last season at home to snap a five-game losing streak. The Falcons, led by Will Meister with two points and three assists, pulled away in the third quarter to grab its first league win of the season.


Scouting the Red Storm...
First-year program St. John’s enters this weekend’s contest with a 2-4 record after falling, 6-3, to Loyola Saturday.

Although the Red Storm scored first against Loyola, the Greyhounds rattled off three unanswered to go up 3-1 at the end of the opening period. St. John’s was never able to get closer than two goals the rest of the way, despite its stout defense. Jack Rosson led the Red Storm with a goal and an assist, while Mike McGuire and Graeme Gillespie scored a goal each. Between the pipes, Dave Saccente tallied 16 saves.

On the season, Justin O’Donnell leads the St. John’s offense with nine goals and three assists, while Patrick Zeis also has 12 points (four goals, eight assists).


AF In League Openers...
Since the inception of the Great Western Lacrosse League in 1994, Air Force holds a 2-9 record in league openers. The Falcons’ last victory in a GWLL opener was a 14-13 win over Ohio State in 1997.


We’ve Gotta Score...
This season, Air Force’s success has been measured by its ability to find the back of the net, winning both games in which it has scored in double figures. In their two wins, the Falcons have averaged 11.5 goals per game. In contrast, Air Force averaged just 4.5 goals per game in its two losses (six versus Towson and three against Penn).


How We Rate...
The Falcons have a few players that rank among the conference leaders in points and ground balls.

Sophomore Will Meister and Justin Kuchta rank among the top scorers in the league, as Meister is third with 3.25 ppg, while Kuchta is seventh with 2.75 ppg. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Justin Pavoni leads the league in ground balls per game with 8.0.


Up Next...
The Falcons continue their five-game road stretch on Saturday, April 2, when they head to West Point, N.Y., to face service academy rival Army.