No. 19 St. Francis College Flies Past the United States Air Force Academy, 11-10
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Sophomore Josh Stedman scored five of his career-best eight goals in the final period for the Falcons, but the Air Force water polo team came up short in an 11-10 loss to No. 19-ranked St. Francis College at the Cadet Natatorium.
With the Falcons trailing, 9-4, to open the fourth quarter, Stedman tallied four straight scores to bring Air Force within one point with 3:53 remaining in regulation. The Terriers responded with a goal less than 40 seconds later to push their advantage back to two goals, and took an 11-8 lead with just 1:31 on the clock.
Air Force got back on the board with a five-meter penalty shot from Jantz Johnson with 27 seconds to play. Meanwhile, Stedman closed out the game with his eighth goal of the day, scoring with just one second on the clock to bring the final score to 11-10.
St. Francis registered the first two goals of the game before Garrett Womack put the Falcons on the board with 3:02 left in the opening period. Stedman registered his first goal of the game, a 6-on-5 score, with less than a minute to play in the first quarter to tie the game at 2-2. However, the Terriers responded with a 6-on-5 goal of their own to take a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period.
In the second quarter, St. Francis outscored Air Force, 3-1, with the Falcons' lone goal coming from Stedman. Taking a three-goal lead into the intermission, the Terriers added two more goals to begin the third period to gain a five-goal advantage. Again, the only Air Force goal in the quarter came from Stedman, who scored on a penalty shot with 2:26 remaining in the period to cut the margin to 8-4, while St. Francis added another score to bring their lead back to five goals.
Air Force was hurt by its inability to score after drawing ejections, going just 1-of-10 on their 6-on-5 opportunities, including 0-for-8 in the second half. The Falcons were also awarded three five-meter penalty shots, converting on two of their chances.
Release courtesy US Air Force Athletic Communications