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@ugalax I don't normally watch lacrosse but when I do it's UGA #godawgs #dawgsalltheway'13
— DONTYAKNOW (@StayThristy) February 10, 2013
@dawgsports we're working on the in game tweeting! Our bad!
— UGA Men's Lacrosse (@ugalax) February 10, 2013
As promised, the Georgia men’s lacrosse team stepped up its in-game tweeting following yesterday’s season-opening victory, which was much appreciated. This afternoon, the Red and Black were in Marietta to take on Kennesaw State at Sprayberry High School, the alma mater of Georgia junior defender Jake Cooper. Although the Owls leapt out to an early lead, the Bulldogs tied it up on a goal by Saturday’s leading Georgia scorer, senior attacker Trent Dean, with 10:30 remaining in the opening period.
Sophomore attacker Daniel O’Meara scored to give Georgia the lead, then freshman midfielder Kyle Reed notched an assist on the goal by Dean that put the Athenians up by a 3-1 margin. Dean’s third goal, O’Meara’s second, and sophomore midfielder George Walker’s first quickly made the score 6-1, and junior midfielder Conner Reed extended the Bulldogs’ edge to six goals with nine and a half minutes remaining before the break.
Kennesaw State narrowed the gap, but Georgia maintained the pressure for the balance of the half, moving out in front, 9-2, on a Walker goal for which senior midfielder Matt Dumbleton was credited with an assist. The Bulldogs stretched their lead to eight on freshman attacker Karthik Bhat’s first collegiate goal, and the score stood at 11-2 at the end of the third quarter.
There were eight minutes left in the game when Bhat scored again, and freshman attacker Ben Louderback joined his fellow rookie in notching his first goal as a collegian late in the final period. Another freshman, midfielder Kevin Doran, closed out the scoring with the goal in the final minute that made it 15-3 in favor of the Red and Black as the rain began to fall. As had been the case the day before, the Athenians scored four goals in the first quarter and four more in the fourth.
As evidenced by the substantial scoring by the rookies, especially in the second half, the Georgia underclassmen represented the Bulldogs well today, including sophomore midfielder Harrison Cassada. Next up for the Red and Black will be their first true road game, as the Georgia Bulldogs will take on the Florida Gators in Gainesville next Saturday, February 16. Both SELC stalwarts are among the unranked teams receiving votes in the latest MCLA poll.
Go ‘Dawgs!