Rally not enough as water polo falls to Air Force 12-9

ORANGE, Calif. – A second-half rally by the Chapman University men's water polo team fell short as the Panthers lost to visiting Air Force Academy (Colo.) 12-9 at the Allred Olympic Pool on Friday afternoon. The Panthers trailed by six goals late in the first half, but cut the deficit to three on three separate occasions before ultimately suffering their first home loss of the season.

Facing the No. 18 team in Division I, the game looked like a mismatch from the start. Air Force (4-6) jumped out to a 4-0 lead and led 7-1 with under a minute to play in the first half. However, coming out of a timeout, Chapman (6-7) sophomore 2-meter Brett Carter scored with 26 seconds left to give the Panthers a little momentum going into the break.

The Falcons scored on their first possession of the third quarter to extend their lead to 8-2, but Chapman followed with three consecutive goals to cut the lead to three. The last of the three goals came from senior utility Pierre Masson with 4:43 left in the quarter only to see Air Force push the lead back to 10-5 heading into the fourth quarter.

Chapman scored three of the next four goals to again cut the lead to three. Masson's second goal of the game made the score 11-8 in favor of the Falcons with 2:55 remaining. Air Force's Alex Arcidiacono's scored with 53 seconds left to put the nail in the coffin. The Falcons' Andrew Hamilton led all scorers with three goals.

Carter, Masson and freshman driver Chase Middlesworth each scored a pair of goals for Chapman. Middlesworth added two assists.

In goal, junior Taylor Roszkos and senior Randy Rosales combined for 13 saves for Chapman, keeping the Panthers within striking distance.

Chapman travels to Riverside on Saturday for the Cal Baptist Tournament before returning home to host Occidental College on Sunday at 11 a.m.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/mwaterpolo/2011-12/files/AF-CU.pdf