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The No. 13 ranked Air Force Falcons get to play at their home pool for the first time all season when they take on the No. 18 ranked Santa Clara Broncos. This game is also a key WWPA matchup, Air Force is currently fourth and Santa Clara is fifth in the standings.
Air Force is coming off a 1-3 weekend at the SoCal tournament, but that set of games was a success since the Falcons defeated UC Davis which allowed them to place up in the tournament where they went up against tougher competition such as Long Beach State and UC San Diego, both loses. Sana Clara was at the same SoCal tournament where they went 0-4 on the weekend, and they are currently riding a four-game losing streak.
This is Santa Clara's first trip to Colorado Springs, and the altitude could be an issue on Sunday afternoon. Look for the Broncos to possibly fade away in the second half as they likely will be struggling for oxygen by playing nearly a mile above sea level.
However, since Santa Clara is traveling so far for they are making a training trip out of this, they were able to arrive at Colorado Springs to practice on Friday and Saturday before the Sunday afternoon tilt, so possibly the Broncos players will have somewhat become acclimated to the high altitude.
Santa Clara head coach Keith Wilbur discussed his teams trip to Colorado Springs:
"This conference game with Air Force can potentially help with seeding, but it is much more important in terms of measuring our improvement," said Wilbur. "Air Force beat us earlier in the season at the NorCal Tournament and playing them in Colorado Springs where they are used to the high altitude and get to play at home will be tougher conditions. I see this as a great challenge for the team to play in a difficult environment against a conference opponent who is currently ranked higher than us."
This is the second meeting between the two schools this year, and Air Force won that matchup 9-7 at the NorCal Tournament. The Broncos are led by Tucker Carlson who leads the tam with 32 goals and Jimmy Moore has found the back of the net 20 times. Then there is center Theo Nasser who has drawn 34 ejections, and has 12 goals.