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The Air Force Falcons are the 3rd team in our 2020 men’s college lacrosse schedule preview series and the first team from the SoCon. The Falcons finished 10-5 in 2019 and 6-1 in SoCon play. Air Force reached the conference semifinals, but lost in a low-scoring 7-6 matchup with Richmond.
Here’s their entire 2020 schedule:
Air Force’s 2020 Schedule
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes |
| 1/25 | Air Force | Notre Dame | Scrimmage |
| 2/1 | Air Force | Duke | First meeting since 2018 |
| 2/8 | Denver | Air Force | |
| 2/15 | Air Force | Utah | |
| 2/22 | Cleveland State | Air Force | Faceoff Classic (at Denver) |
| 2/23 | St. Bonaventure | Air Force | Faceoff Classic (at Denver), First ever meeting |
| 3/1 | Air Force | Virginia | First meeting since 2004 |
| 3/7 | Canisius | Air Force | |
| 3/14 | Furman | Air Force | SoCon |
| 3/21 | Air Force | Bellarmine | SoCon |
| 3/24 | Air Force | Detroit Mercy | |
| 3/28 | Mercer | Air Force | SoCon |
| 4/4 | Air Force | Jacksonville | SoCon |
| 4/11 | VMI | Air Force | SoCon |
| 4/18 | High Point | Air Force | SoCon |
| 4/25 | Air Force | Richmond | SoCon |
Who’s In?
- Duke Blue Devils (2/1)
- St. Bonaventure Bonnies (2/23)
- Virginia Cavaliers (3/1)
Who’s Out?
- Marist Red Foxes (12-6 W)
- Yale Bulldogs (13-6 L)
Air Force’s Opponent’s 2019 Average Win Percentage & RPI
| Avg. overall win pct. | Avg. nonconference win pct. | Avg. conference win pct. | Avg. overall RPI | Avg. nonconference RPI | Avg. conference RPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. overall win pct. | Avg. nonconference win pct. | Avg. conference win pct. | Avg. overall RPI | Avg. nonconference RPI | Avg. conference RPI |
| .470 | .543 | .386 | 41.47 | 35.88 | 47.86 |
Circle These Dates
- 2/1 at Duke: You may have realized in the past few seasons that Duke usually starts out slow. It was the case last season against High Point and in 2017 against these Falcons. The Blue Devils lose nearly 40% of their scoring from a year ago as well as over 50% of their starts and still have to face a tough defense.
- 2/15 at Utah: In their first ever meeting last year, Utah emerged victorious thanks to the final two goals of the game en route to a one-goal win. But this year, people know who the Utes are and have plenty of film to work from. Wouldn’t be surprised if Air Force gets a win this time around.
- 2/23 vs. Cleveland State (at Denver): The Falcons should have three wins over the Vikings. But they lost in 2018 when they had their crazy season with Bill Wilson serving as their interim head coach. Air Force rebounded with a win over a Cleveland State team that finished above .500 in 2019. With the Vikings in their fourth year as a program and with some of their guys finally becoming seniors, this should be an even matchup out west.
- 3/1 at Virginia: This will be the first time the two teams have met since 2004. That was their only meeting, with the Falcons beating the Cavaliers 7-6 in Denver. Virginia also went 5-8 on the year. Things should be a little different this time around.
- 4/18 vs. High Point: Air Force does not have an easy end to their regular season. Their final home game is against the Panthers who still have Asher Nolting on offense. In last year’s meeting, Nolting recorded a hat-trick along with six assists in a four-goal win for High Point. That will be a big task for the Falcon defense, perhaps it could be Quentin Carlile’s assignment.
- 4/25 at Richmond: Richmond and Air Force met twice last season with the Falcons taking the regular season meeting out in Colorado with ease. But it was a different story in the SoCon semifinals with the Spiders coming out on top with a one-goal win thanks to two tallies in the final 5:52 of regulation. Richmond went on to win their second straight SoCon title, the first to achieve that since Air Force in 2016 and 2017.