Courtesy: Air Force Athletics
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force men’s water polo (8-6) went 3-0 in final day action Sunday at the Rare Air Challenge at the Cadet Natatorium. The Falcons defeated Cal Lutheran 18-17, Augustana 16-9 and Iona 16-11. Sophomore Tom Leggett led the way with 19 goals scored on the day.
In the early morning opener, the Falcons held off Cal Lutheran 18-17. The win avenged a one-point loss to the Kingsmen last week at the Titan Invitational in Fullerton, Calif.
The quartet of Tom Leggett, Colin Chase, Jack Richards and Kaito Ham combined to score 17 goals for the Falcons. Leggett registered seven goals to lead the way. Chase scored four and both Ham and Richards tallied hat-tricks.
Luca Smith and Jay Pyle combined for 17 saves in goal. Pyle came in at the half for the Falcons recording eight saves for the win.
The Falcons trailed 4-3 after the first quarter, but tied it up 9-9 at halftime. The Falcons held Cal Lutheran to just one goal in the third quarter to go ahead 12-10. The Kingsmen rallied back to tie the game up on three more occasions, inlcuding 16-16 with 2:16 to play. Leggett sealed the game with a pair of goals to close out the game.
Against Augustana, the Falcons played stifling defense early, to cruise to the 16-9 win. Air Force did not allow an Augustana goal until the 3:44 mark in the second quarter.
Both teams played defense to open, as Air Force scored the lone goal in the first quarter to go up 1-0. The Falcons oust-scored the Vikings 6-3 in the second to take a 7-3 lead into the half. Air Force tacked on six goals in the third and three in the fourth.
Leggett led the Falcons with four goals and three assists for seven points. Richards added five goals. Jacob Yi had three points with a goal and two assists. Jackson Carter had three assists. Smith had 10 saves in the win in goal.
In the final game, the Falcons rallied back from a 5-0 deficit and scoreless first quarter to defeat Iona 16-11.
Things looked bleak early on as Iona’s defensive pressure stifled the Air Force offense. Iona led 4-0 after the first quarter and went up 5-0 after scoring the first goal of the second quarter.
The Falcons clawed their way back into the game, eventually taking a 11-10 lead on a goal by Leggett. The Falcons never trailed again, pulling away late.
Leggett led the Falcons with eight goals. The sophomore tallied 31 goals on the weekend.
Jack Richards scored five goals, adding one assist. Jacob Yi added a goal and two assists. Jay Pyle picked up the win in reserve in goal. Pyle allowed just two goals over the final 13 minutes of play.
Air Force returns to action next weekend with three games in the greater Los Angeles area. The Falcons take on #10 Long Beach State, #1 UCLA and Div. III #4 Chapman starting Friday.
