Falcons Drop 11-7 Contest To GWLL Foe Butler

April 21, 2006

Falcons Drop 11-7 Contest To GWLL Foe Butler

Indianapolis, Ind. - Giving up a 6-2 advantage at the half, the Air Force lacrosse team fell to host Butler, 11-7, Friday afternoon at the Butler Bowl. The Falcons fall to 7-7 on the season, 2-1 in the GWLL, while the Bulldogs move to 7-4 on the year, 1-2 in league play.

Butler scored the first two goals of the contest before freshman Griffin Nevitt (Charlotte, N.C.) put Air Force on the board with an unassisted goal at the 5:24 mark in the opening period. However, the Bulldogs scored three more unanswered goals over the next 11 and a half minutes to take the 5-1 lead. Nevitt assisted on the Falcons’ next score, a goal by junior Conrad Lochocki with just over seven minutes remaining in the half, but a man-up goal by Butler’s Cliff Smith with 37 seconds before intermission gave the Bulldogs the 6-2 halftime lead.

It took just 26 seconds for Butler to score after the break, but Air Force tri-captain Will Meister (Denver, Colo.) put the Falcons back in the scoring column at the 8:26 mark with his first goal of the game. Even so, the Bulldogs extended their lead to 9-4 with a pair of goals in the final three minutes sandwiched around Lochocki’s second goal of the contest.

Meister opened the fourth quarter with his second score of the game, and an unassisted goal by senior tri-captain Paul Adams (Arvada, Colo.) cut the Falcons’ deficit to three goals. However, Butler outscored Air Force 2-1 in the latter half of the fourth period to hold on to the 11-7 victory, its first GWLL win of the season.

Air Force outshot Butler 32-31 for the game, but the Bulldogs had a 41-32 advantage on ground balls. The Falcons were also unable to capitalize on any of their five extra-man opportunities, while Butler was 1-for-3 in the game. The two teams split 22 face-off wins, with junior Kyle O’Neill (Portsmouth, R.I.) winning 8-of-15 to lead Air Force.

Meister led the Air Force offense with his two goals and an assist, while Lochocki added two goals and Nevitt and junior Michael Weber (Wantagh, N.Y.) each finished with a goal and an assist. Senior goalkeeper Justin Pavoni (Park City, Utah) finished with 11 saves, including nine in the second half alone, and a game-high seven ground balls.

For the Bulldogs, Cliff Smith notched five points on four goals and an assist, while Pat Hurto added three goals to pace the offense. Kyle Harer made 10 stops in goal for Butler, while adding six ground balls.

The Falcons are back in action on Sunday, when they travel to Columbus, Ohio, for a match-up with Ohio State. The game is slated to begin at 12:00 p.m. (ET) at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.


Butler 11, Air Force 7
Air Force Scoring: Goals: Will Meister 2, Conrad Lochocki 2, Griffin Nevitt, Paul Adams, Michael Weber. Assists: Griffin Nevitt, Michael Weber, Will Meister.
Butler Scoring: Goals: Cliff Smith 4, Pat Hurto 3, Doug Mathias, Phil Brauch, Jeremy Sieverts, Ben Sultze. Assists: Will Morgan 2, Adam Wade, Cliff Smith, Ben Sultze, Doug Mathias, Jeremy Sieverts.

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