- Chris Jastrzembski
Previewing Air Force's 2022 men's lacrosse schedule
The Air Force Falcons are the 15th team in our 2022 men’s college lacrosse schedule preview series and the second team from the newly rebooted ASUN. Air Force finished 4-9 overall in 2021 and 3-3 in SoCon play. The Falcons barely made the SoCon Tournament, but lost to top-seeded Richmond in the semifinals.
Air Force joins former SoCon partner Bellarmine, along with Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy, Robert Morris, and Utah in the new ASUN conference. Their conference tournament will be held May 5-7 at Milton Frank Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama. The top four teams in the ASUN standings qualify for the postseason tournament.
Here's their entire 2022 spring schedule:
WHO'S IN?
Colgate Raiders (2/19)
Canisius Golden Griffins (2/26)
Marist Red Foxes (3/5)
Marquette Golden Eagles (3/26)
Detroit Mercy Titans (4/9, also joining ASUN)
Cleveland State Vikings (4/16, also joining ASUN)
WHO'S OUT?
Duke Blue Devils (17-7 L)
North Carolina Tar Heels (15-5 L, teams are scrimmaging each other)
VMI Keydets (18-4 W)
High Point Panthers (13-8 L)
Richmond Spiders (9-8 W & 11-6 L)
CIRCLE THESE DATES
3/5 vs. Marist: This has the makings of a potential NCAA Tournament play-in game come May. Both teams could win their respective conferences this year. The last time these two teams met was back in 2019, a 12-6 win in favor of the Falcons.
3/12 at Bryant: Air Force travels to Smithfield, Rhode Island for their first ever game with the Bulldogs. Again, feels like another potential play-in game. Bryant has some stellar attackmen in Marc O'Rourke and Logan McGovern, as well as a pair of faceoff specialists in Nathan Laliberte and Jacob Alexander. Add in Luke Carraciolo in goal and I wouldn't be surprised if they're in the top 20 by this time of the season.
4/2 vs. Utah: ASUN play opens with perhaps a rising rival in Utah, perhaps the western-most rivalry in college lacrosse. With Denver in the Big East, it makes sense that these two schools are in the same conference as travel partners. Air Force has played the Utes every year since Utah went varsity in 2019. All three meetings have been decided by a goal, with the Falcons winning the last two showdowns. Utah also has a new head coach in Drew McMinn, coming over from Robert Morris. Speaking of the Colonials...
4/23 at Robert Morris: Robert Morris is probably the favorite to win the rebooted ASUN, but Air Force isn't that far behind. Even as an independent last year, the Colonials tested themselves with some really tough opponents such as Duke, Virginia, and Syracuse. They do have a new head coach in Craig McDonald, but the identity of the program should still be the same.