Air Force Suffers Heartbreaking 11-10 Overtime Loss To Rival Army

April 1, 2006



Air Force Suffers Heartbreaking 11-10 Overtime Loss To Rival Army



West Point, N.Y. - Just as it has been the case in two of the last three seasons, today's Army-Air Force lacrosse contest was sent into overtime, and yet again, the Falcons came up on the short end, losing, 11-10, at Michie Stadium in the game televised nationally on ESPNU. The loss halts Air Force's four-game winning streak, as the team falls to 4-5 overall, while the Black Knights, ranked 20th in last week's coaches poll, improve to 5-4 on the year.



Army got out to an early 1-0 lead before the Falcons' Justin Kuchta (Jr., Ridgefield, Conn.) tied the score at the 10:15 mark. However, the remainder of the first period belonged to the Black Knights, who scored three more goals to take a 4-1 lead. Momentum switched in the second quarter, with junior tri-captain Will Meister (Denver, Colo.) bringing the Falcons within two points. After another Army goal with 9:26 to play in the first half, Air Force scored three unanswered goals of its own to tie the game, 5-5, at intermission.



In the third period, both teams traded goals, leaving the score tied 7-7 with under five minutes left in the quarter, before the Black Knights got the advantage with a pair of scores, including a man-up goal at the 1:03 mark. While the Falcons' John Smith (Sr., Merion, Pa.) scored on the assist from Kuchta early in the fourth period to get his team back within a goal, Army regained its two-point advantage with a score from Brooks Korvin. However, two unassisted Air Force goals in the final minute--one by Kevin Crumrine (So., Edgewater, Md.) and another by Conrad Lochocki (Jr., Chalfont, Pa.)--tied the game at 10-10, forcing overtime in the rivalry game for the third time in four years.



The extra period lasted just 50 seconds, when the Black Knights' Mike Obringer notched his sixth score of the game, on an assist by Matt Scheel. Army's final possession was set up by a face-off win for Tony Vozzolo, who won 18-of-24 in the contest.



"There is no quit in (Air Force)," said Army head coach Joe Alberici. "I want to give them all the credit in the world. They had the momentum at the end of the game. I think Tony's faceoff win in overtime was the key. He'd been winning faceoffs all day, and that win won us the possession in overtime."



While the Black Knights held a huge advantage on face-offs, they were outshot 33-25 by the Falcons. Air Force also committed just 12 turnovers to Army's 21.



"If we had gotten a few more breaks here or there, I think we would have won," said Air Force head coach Fred Acee. "I'm proud of these kids. They fought hard and erased a 4-1 deficit early and came back from down two in the final five minutes to send the game into overtime."



Lochocki led the Falcons' offense with two goals and one assist, while Crumrine (two goals), Meister (one goal, one assist), Kuchta (one goal, one assist) and freshman Griffin Nevitt (Charlotte, N.C.) (one goal, one assist) all notched two points each. Also finding the net for Air Force were Miller, Smith and sophomore Chris Tubesing (Centreville, Va.). Meanwhile, senior goalkeeper Justin Pavoni (Park City, Utah) was solid between the pipes for Air Force, finishing with 10 saves and three ground balls.



For the Black Knights, Obringer dominated the offense with his six goals, while Scheel added a goal to go along with his four assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Adam Fullerton was strong in goal, finishing with 12 saves in the contest.



The Falcons get their conference season off to a start next Friday, April 7, when they host league newcomer Quinnipiac in a 3:00 p.m. contest.



Army 11, Air Force 10 (OT)

Air Force Scoring: Goals: Conrad Lochocki 2, Kevin Crumrine 2, Justin Kuchta, Will Meister, Max Miller, Chris Tubesing, Griffin Nevitt, John Smith. Assists: Griffin Nevitt, Conrad Lochocki, Will Meister, Justin Kuchta.

Army Scoring: Goals: Mike Obringer 6, Tory Sokul, John Walker,Matt Scheel, Hunter Wakeland, Brooks Korvin. Assists: Matt Scheel 4, John Walker 2, Sean Reppard, Jon Burton.

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