DALLAS, Texas - In what started out as a strong defensive battle, the Air Force lacrosse team dropped a 9-2 decision to Bucknell Saturday afternoon in game two of the Patriot Cup, held at SMU's Ford Stadium. With the loss, the Falcons fall to 3-4 on the season, while the Bison, who received votes in the latest national polls, improve to 4-4 on the year.

Bucknell opened the scoring early in the first period, taking a 3-0 lead in the opening stanza. The Bison extended their lead to 4-0 in the second quarter before sophomore Tristan Newkirk (Albany, N.Y.) put Air Force on the board with a rebound of his own missed shot at the 2:36 mark in the period.

Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the third period, while Bucknell once again opened the scoring in the final quarter with a man-up goal just 28 seconds into the stanza. A tally by Eric Evans (Sr., Ellicott City, Md.) with just over eight minutes remaining brought the Falcons within three goals, but the Bison closed out the game with four unanswered scores to take the 9-2 victory.

Senior Dan Gnazzo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) had a solid performance in goal, notching 10 saves and four ground balls with eight goals against.

The Falcons return to action Tuesday, March 24, as they travel to Riverdale, N.Y., to face Manhattan. The game is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. (ET).

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DALLAS, Texas – Senior goalie Matt Antonelli (Arnold, Md./Archbishop Spalding) backed a terrific defensive effort with a career-high 13 saves and classmate Perry Menzies (Upperco, Md./Hereford) scored three more goals to lead the Bucknell men's lacrosse team to a 9-2 victory over Air Force on Saturday at the Patriot Cup at SMU's Ford Stadium.

Playing in the state of Texas for the first time in program history, Bucknell scored the first four and last four goals of the game. In between, the Bison yielded only single goals in the second and fourth quarters, despite being outshot 37-36. Antonelli, who picked up the win in relief against Denver on Tuesday, made his first start of the year in this one and made 10 saves in the middle two periods alone.

The win was Bucknell's third in a row, and the Bison have climbed back to .500 at 4-4 after a 1-4 start. Mike Danylyshyn (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) scored two goals and Joe Mele (Westbury, N.Y./Kellenburg Memorial), Tim Brandau (Owings Mills, Md./McDonogh), Chris Palmer (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School) and Billy Eisenreich (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) also scored for Bucknell.

Mele got the Bison on the board with an unassisted goal just 2:26 into the contest. Menzies, who recorded his third straight hat trick and now has 12 goals in the last four games, scored twice in a row to make it 3-0 after one quarter. Eisenreich scored off an assist from fellow freshman Nick Gantsoudes (Redding, Conn./Avon Old Farms) with 5:21 left in the half for a 4-0 lead.

Air Force (3-4) finally solved Antonelli with 2:53 remaining in the half as Tristan Newkirk broke up the shutout.

Bucknell carried an EMO into the fourth quarter and Danylyshyn scored with the man advantage to make it 5-1. Eric Evans answered for the Falcons, but Danylyshyn, Palmer, Menzies and Brandau all scored in the final 7:30 to put the game away.

Bucknell finished with a 34-27 edge in ground balls and won eight of the 14 faceoffs. Jake Clarke (Cos Cob, Conn./Greenwich) won seven of his 11 draws and snagged five ground balls. Freshman poles Jason Neithamer (Alexandria, Va./St. Stephen's & St. Agnes) and John Scally (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton) combined for nine ground balls.

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2009-03-21