Courtesy: Air Force Athletics
Air Force men’s water polo (12-14) split a pair of games Saturday at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament at SRAC Pool on the San Jose State campus in San Jose, Calif. The Falcons opened with a 21-13 win over Fresno Pacific in the morning and fell 21-12 to Pomona-Pitzer in the nightcap.
In the opening game against Fresno Pacific, the Falcons played strong from the get go. After allowing the first score, Air Force scored five unanswered goals in the first quarter to go ahead 5-1. The Falcons tacked on seven goals in the second quarter to go up 12-4. Air Force added three goals in the third and six in the fourth quarters.
Tom Leggett scored eight goals and an assist for nine points to lead the Falcons. Jack Richards notched a hat trick with three goals and an assist, good for four points. Jacob Yi added five assists and David Brown and Jonah Vander Veen had three assists each. Luca Smith had 13 saves in goal for the win.
In the second game against Pomona-Pitzer, a slow second quarter allowed the Sagehens to take control of the game. After a quarter of play, the game was tied at 3-3. Pomona then out-scored Air Force 6-2 in the second quarter to go ahead 9-5 at halftime. The Falcons offensive struggles continued in the third quarter, getting held to two scores. The offense got back on track in the fourth quarter with five goals.
Leggett led the Falcons with five goals and four assists for nine points. Richards notched his second hat trick of the day with three goals and four assists. Colin Chase added two goals and Vander Veen had two assists. Smith had five saves in goal for the Falcons.
Air Force closes out the tournament Sunday against #5 Fordham.
