Courtesy: Air Force Athletics
Air Force men’s water polo (7-3) split a pair of matches in day two action at the Inland Empire Classic, held at the Axelrod Aquatics Center on the Claremont Colleges campus in Claremont, Calif. The Falcons opened with a 15-10 win over Pomona-Pitzer and then dropped a one-goal game 11-10 to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Against Pomona-Pitzer, the Falcons jumped ahead 6-3 after the first quarter and pulled away in the third quarter for its fourth-straight win. After both teams scored four goals in the second to make it a 10-7 game, Air Force outscored the Sagehen’s 3-1 in the third to go ahead 13-8.
Grant Synder scored four goals and had three assists. Colin Chase and Kaito Ham added three goals each. AJ Kuypers had nine saves in goal for the win.
In the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps game, the Falcons trailed for most of the game, before mounting a furious late-game rally. Trailing 10-7 in the fourth quarter, the Falcons went on a 3-0 run to tie the game, capped by a goal from Jackson Carter with 30 seconds to go. The tie was short-lived as CMS would get a goal with nine seconds left to retake the lead and hold on for the win. Air Force had one final shot to re-tie the game, but a hurried shot as time expired missed just wide of the left post. Snyder scored four goals in the game with Ian Christie adding three. Kuypers had five saves in goal. The Falcons had a solid weekend overall, going 3-1.
“We played two great games today,” head coach Ryan Brown said. “We fell a little short against Claremont with too many missed shots. Credit to Claremont for finishing their shots down the stretch. I’m super proud of the way the team is playing with back-to-back tough weekends to both coasts. Now its time to get ready for Navy at home on Thursday.”
The Falcons have a busy upcoming week, beginning with a battle for The Vase against service academy rival Navy on Thursday night, Sept. 15. Air Force then hosts the Rare Air Challenge tournament from Fri.-Sun., Sept. 16-18.
