QUICK HITS
- Air Force held off a late Cleveland State rally to claim the win in the opening game of the Faceoff Classic
- Sophomore Tristan Hanna had his second straight hat trick and added an assist to finish with four points
- Sophomore Michael Wilson had a pair of assists and now has points in each of his 17 collegiate starts
- Freshman Adam Clark had a goal and an assist after opening his collegiate account with three goals last weekend
- Sophomore Stephen Russo saved nine of 14 shots on goal
- CSU held Air Force to a 16-for-23 mark on clears, the third straight game it held its opponent below 71%
- For the third time this season, the Vikings' opponent did not score an extra-man goal
- Jack Frickleton and Noah Gleeson each scored his first goal of the season
GAME RECAP
Air Force scored four consecutive goals in the second quarter to break open a tie game and held off a late Viking rally as the Cleveland State University lacrosse team dropped an 11-8 decision in the opening game of the Faceoff Classic Saturday at a sunny but cold Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
Sophomore Tristan Hanna tied for game-high honors in goals (3) and points (4) to lead the Viking offense. Sophomore Michael Wilson—two assists—and freshman Adam Clark—one goal, one assist—also contributed multi-point efforts.
Sophomore Stephen Russo had his best effort of the young season. He stopped nine of 14 shots on goal in just over 40 minutes of action.
Cleveland State scored on two of its first three possessions sandwiched around an Air Force strike to hold an early 2-1 lead. Sophomore Matt Manfredi scored unassisted while Hanna struck courtesy of Wilson.
Air Force tied the game about four minutes later following a CSU failed clear. The Falcons had the final possession of the quarter, and after missing on their first shot, scored with just a single tick left to take the lead.
Hanna scored on CSU's second possession of the second quarter to tie the game, but the score wouldn't be equal for long.
Air Force scored on each of its next three possessions, and four of its next five, to open up a four-goal lead.
Junior Jack Frickleton would register a man-up goal to stop the bleeding, but for the second straight quarter, Air Force scored within the final minute of the period.
Neither team scored for the first eight minutes of the third quarter before Clark would find the net off a feed from Wilson. Two possessions later, sophomore Derek Radke capitalized on a failed Falcon clear to cut the deficit to 8-6.
Air Force scored on its next possession to push the margin back to three, which is where it stood after 45 minutes.
The Falcons found the net on their first possession of the fourth quarter. Neither team then scored for nearly six minutes before Hanna finished his hat trick.
CSU made things interesting when junior Noah Gleeson scored with just under four minutes left to pull the Vikings back within two.
However, Cleveland State turned the ball over on its next possession, and Air Force took advantage to add an insurance goal.
Hanna now has five multi-goal games in his career. Wilson has seven multi-assist outings, the most among active Vikings, and 12 multi-point contests.
Sophomore Michael Harris had four ground balls while redshirt sophomore Quinn Lemke had a trio of ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Each team had 20 turnovers in the game.
Cleveland State will be right back in action Sunday as it takes on nationally ranked Denver to close the Faceoff Classic.
