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Georgia Men's and Women's Club Lacrosse Teams Shine in Weekend Road Games

I’m a day late (though, hopefully, not a dollar short), but, in my defense, it was a busy weekend for Bulldog lacrosse. The two teams representing the country’s oldest state-chartered university were far from home this weekend, but, between them, they combined to go 4-2, with one of the losses coming in a narrow contest to the nation’s No. 1 team. For those of you who don’t follow the men’s and women’s squads on Twitter, here is what went down while you weren’t looking:

The Georgia women’s club lacrosse team had a full weekend at the Mile High Invitational in Boulder, Colo., beginning with Friday afternoon’s outing against Brigham Young. Sophomore midfielder Maddie Hunter drew first blood for the Red and Black on a pivot in front of the goal, and senior attack Jenna Dreyer made it 3-0 on a free position shot and a subsequent score, but the Cougars answered, tying the game with nine minutes remaining in the half. The Bulldogs bounced back, going up by a 6-3 margin at the break and holding an 8-5 edge late before senior midfielder Katie Ezell cut back from the right side to extend the lead to four. Georgia was able to run out the clock to defeat BYU, 10-6.

For the Georgia men’s club lacrosse team, the weekend in Lynchburg, Va., got underway late Friday evening in Liberty University’s annual "Midnight Mayhem" game. The 15th-ranked Flames notched the first goal of the game, but sophomore attack David Olsen answered for the Bulldogs. Liberty took advantage of a series of extra-man situations to build up a 10-4 halftime lead, and the home team continued the barrage after intermission, extending its edge to 16-4 as the third quarter drew to a close. Although senior midfielder George Walker tacked on another Georgia score, the Flames cruised to a 19-5 victory over the Red and Black.

Back out west, the ladies took the field early Saturday against undefeated and top-ranked Michigan. Georgia came out of the gate hot, as junior attack Mady Katz controlled the draw and fellow junior attack Arden Birdwell scored a left-handed goal off of a fast break. Sophomore midfielder Nilla Paine and sophomore attack Gaby Lohner scored in the course of building a 3-2 Georgia lead, but the Maize and Blue carded the last two goals before halftime to give the Michiganders a 4-3 advantage. Birdwell snarled the score at four in the second half, and a 6-6 tie persisted with six minutes remaining, but the Bulldogs fell, 8-6, in a contest heavy with yellow cards.

The men returned to action in the Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon against Pitt, taking the initial lead of a back-and-forth battle that saw the score knotted at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5 through two periods and change. Consecutive goals by junior midfielder Cayman Sotudeh and junior attack Daniel Omeara gave the Bulldogs the first two-score lead of the contest, and the Athenians stretched their advantage to 9-5 before the Panthers responded with consecutive goals. Aided by senior attack Michael Trainer’s four-score day, though, Georgia held on for the 11-7 victory.

The Athenian women bounced back from their hard-fought contest against Michigan to take on Colorado State, leaping out to a 3-0 lead on goals by Birdwell, Ezell, and Dreyer, respectively. Birdwell continued to find the back of the net in a first half that saw Georgia build up an 11-2 halftime edge, and the combination of draw controls by Dreyer and saves by sophomore goalie Caroline Youngs paved the way to an eventual 16-4 domination of the Rams.

Sunday saw an early date between the Bulldogs and Ohio State in Boulder. Georgia got on the board initially, thanks to a steal by sophomore defender Emily Tower, a pass by Katz, and a goal by Dreyer. The Red and Black led, 5-2, at the break, but the Buckeyes pulled within one on a pair of goals early in the second half. Senior attack Parisa Ayers answered by controlling the draw, sprinting down the field, and stinging the top right corner of the net. Although Ohio State never quite went away, Georgia kept the pedal to the floor enough to prevail by a 17-9 final margin.

The Red and Black gents will be on the road next weekend, when they will face Ole Miss in the Magnolia State on Friday night and Auburn in the Yellowhammer State on Saturday evening. Sandwiched between the two will be an early afternoon clash between the Georgia ladies and their Gator counterparts in the Sunshine State. It’s Red and Black versus Orange and Blue next weekend, so let’s pay attention to both Bulldog lacrosse teams, shall we?

Go ‘Dawgs!

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