Air Force Opens Home Schedule Against Sacred Heart (3/9/06)

The Air Force lacrosse team (0-4) returns to action this Friday, March 10, as it hosts Sacred Heart in its 2006 home opener at Cadet Lacrosse Stadium. Opening face-off is slated for 3:00 p.m.





Last Time Out...

The Falcons played in Baltimore, Md., last weekend, where they suffered a 9-5 loss to UMBC. The Retrievers rolled out to a 5-0 advantage before Air Force sophomore Kevin Crumrine put the Falcons on the board with a score just prior to intermission.



The Retrievers extended their lead to 7-1 after the break before freshman Griffin Nevitt was next to score for the Falcons, but UMBC closed out the third period with two more scores.



Though Air Force scored three unanswered goals in the final period, it was not enough to get past the Retrievers, who held on for the 9-5 victory.



While five different Falcons found the back of the net, including Crumrine, Nevitt, Conrad Lochocki, Justin Kuchta and Max Miller, Lochocki added two assists and Will Meister had another. Senior goalkeeper Justin Pavoni notched 13 saves and eight ground balls between the pipes for Air Force, while John Smith and Kyle O'Neill combined to win 12-of-18 face-offs.





Head Coach Fred Acee...

Air Force head coach Fred Acee is in his ninth season at the helm of the Falcons' program and his 39th season overall as a collegiate lacrosse coach.



A 1963 graduate of Cortland State, Acee coached at SUNY-Farmingdale, a two-year college on Long Island, for 30 years, compiling an overall mark of 312-119-1 and advancing to the NJCAA Final Four 25 times. Since Acee's arrival at the Academy in the fall of 1997, the Falcons have yearly played top notch Division I schedules, compiling a record of 26-80.





Scouting the Pioneers...

Sacred Heart enters Friday's contest with 0-2 record after suffering a 6-5 overtime loss to Manhattan on Saturday.



The Pioneers held a 5-2 advantage in the fourth quarter before the Jaspers came back to tie the game at 5-5, forcing overtime. Manhattan's Greg Lewis notched the winning score with 1:21 left in the extra period to hand Sacred Heart the 6-5 loss.



Peter Greco leads the Pioneers with four goals and three assists, while Kiel Adams is second with three goals and two assists in the first two games. Meanwhile, Thomas Hind has 31 saves between the pipes for Sacred Heart.



Sacred Heart is coached by Tom Mariano (Nazareth '94), who has compiled a 57-71 mark in his 10th season at the helm of the Pioneers' program and a career record of 71-83 (12th year).





In the Series...

Sacred Heart is 1-0 in the all-time series versus Air Force, after winning an 11-10 overtime contest against the Falcons in 2004.





Pavoni Moves Up In The Record Books...

With 39 saves through the first three games of the season, senior Justin Pavoni has moved from ninth to seventh place on the career saves list at the Academy with 345 total saves, and needs 122 more saves to move past Chris Cicere into sixth place.



Most impressive about Pavoni's feat is not only that he has accomplished it against a rigorous Division I schedule (many of Air Force's teams in the first 25+ years of the program played Division II and III teams), but he has also made his mark in just over two full years of play, as Pavoni did not see action as a freshman.





Up Next...

The Falcons remain home for their next game, as they host Siena on Tuesday, March 14, in a 3:00 p.m. contest.





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Melissa McKeown

U.S. Air Force Academy

Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director

719.333.9025 (office)

719.333.3798 (fax)

719.331.8321 (cell)