USAF ACADEMY, Colo. -- The Augustana Vikings men's water polo team went 1-1 on Sunday on the final day of the Rare Air Invite, defeating the No. 10 ranked La Verne Leopards by a score of 14-11 before falling to the Air Falcons by a score of 16-9.
Against La Verne, the Vikings got off to a fast start, doubling up the Leopards 4-2 after eight minutes of action. Four different players scored in the frame, beginning with
Ian Palmroos' tally to kick off the game two minutes in.
Stevan Rasic connected on a goal with two seconds remaining to put Augustana up two entering the second quarter.
Oskar Bannister and Trentin Leichleitner accounted for the other two strikes for the Vikings.
In the second, La Verne flipped the script with a 4-2 advantage of its own. After a
Rhys Lomax score early on that put the Vikings up two, the Leopards responded with four of the final five tallies in the frame to make it a 6-6 deadlock at the halftime break. Bannister added the other goal for the Vikings in the period.
Jake Fisher earned the lead back for Augustana just over a minute into the third, but La Verne grabbed the advantage in the quarter with three goals to the Vikings' two. Trailing by a point to begin the fourth, Augie ratttle off the first five scores of the period, including two by Rasic. The Leopards pulled within three on two different occasions, but that three-point lead for the Vikings proved to be the final margin as the team held on for the 14-11 victory.
Rasic led the team with four goals, while Bannister followed right behind with three.
Declan Hutton notched the win in net after collecting 13 saves.
In the finale against the host school Air Force, the two teams battled to a low-scoring first quarter with just the Falcons coming away with the lone tally. Air Force broke things open in the second with six added to its total, including the first four of the period, to bring a 7-3 into halftime.
Oskar Bannister scored twice the quarter to keep the Vikings within striking distance.
Air Force mirrored its second quarter production with another 6-3 differential in the third. The two teams played to an even 3-3 tie through the final eight minutes to keep the Falcons' cushion at seven. Air Force wrapped up the game with a 16-9 triumph.
Bannister fueled the Vikings with four goals,
Tyler Leslie added three steals and two drawn exclusions.
With the results, Augie now sits at 2-3 on the season. The team will be back in action in two weekend at the Gary Troyer Tournament in southern California.
