HOLY CRAP THERE'S REAL LACROSSE THIS WEEKEND
— College Crosse (@SexyTimeLax) January 30, 2015
For some, the focus of this weekend is Super Bowl Sunday; for others, the impending arrival of February signals that March Madness cannot be far behind. For those of us, though, whose days began beside fields on which we watched our sons hustling in the first practices of what does not yet feel like spring, it is lacrosse season, and, as it was for my middle-schooler and me this morning, so it was for the Georgia women’s club lacrosse team, which began its 2015 season by fighting like cats and dogs with longtime rival Clemson on the road this afternoon.
The Red and Black opened on a 4-1 run, with goals by Parisa Ayers and Mady Katz, plus a pair of scores by Arden Birdwell, the second of which came off of a pass from Katz. A save by Caroline Youngs briefly held Clemson at bay, and, after the Tigers pulled within two, Jenna Dreyer extended the Georgia lead to 5-2.
The Orange and Purple pulled even with the Athenians until Dreyer won the faceoff and brought in a Tali Brennan feed for the score that gave the Bulldogs a 6-5 edge at the break. Another Dreyer faceoff win led to an Ayers assist on the goal that gave Birdwell a hat trick. Katie Ezell got in on the act, as well, finding the back of the net to make it 8-5, then a Birdwell left-hander and an Ezell draw taken back all the way put Georgia up by five.
The Tigers tallied a pair of goals while playing with a one-woman advantage, but takeaways and loose ball pickups produced a flurry of goals, mostly for the visitors. Both teams continued scrapping until the closing minutes, in which Sarah Biondich swiped the ball from a Clemson offensive player, Gaby Lohner had a shot blocked, the Bulldogs recovered the loose ball, and a pair of Bulldogs shot wide. Despite the late misses, Georgia found the back of the net often enough to double up the hometown Tigers, emerging from the road encounter with a 16-8 triumph.
The Georgia women’s club lacrosse team, which entered the 2014 postseason as the No. 4 seed in the WCLA Championships, is off to another solid start this season. One week from today, the Red and Black ladies will be back in action in Atlanta, with a double-header against Georgia Tech and Tennessee. Also next Saturday, the Bulldog gents will begin the men’s club lacrosse campaign against Georgia Southern at the intramural fields in Athens.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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