If you’re like me, you’re bummed that the Fox Hounds were bounced from the Big Dance after one round and the Gym Dogs took the "balance" out of balance beam, but the Red and Black lacrosse teams redeemed the weekend by going 4-0 in impressive fashion.
Friday night’s SELC South West Divisional showdown between the men’s club lacrosse teams representing Georgia and Vanderbilt was moved to George Pierce Park in Suwanee and played under humid conditions, but that did not prevent senior attack Michael Trainer and freshman midfielder Cory Phillips from scoring back-to-back goals to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. The Commodores responded, prompting senior midfielder George Walker to tack on another score near the end of the first quarter.
Junior midfielder Cayman Sotudeh found the back of the net to give the Red and Black a 4-2 advantage, then Phillips notched two more to card the hat trick and give the Classic City Canines a 6-3 edge at the break. In the second half, Vandy took advantage of Georgia penalties to pull within 8-5 before Trainer capped off the scoring with the goal that gave the Bulldogs the 9-5 conference victory.
lots of shots and running around with no purpose, it’s kinda like a miami nightclub out here right now
— UGA Men's Lacrosse (@ugalax) March 21, 2015
On a busy Saturday, the fifth-ranked Georgia women’s club lacrosse team played its final home games of the season, and the Red and Black ladies sent the seniors out in style in their last action in the Classic City. In the early afternoon date with South Florida, a turnover by the visitors on the opening draw led to a Bulldog fast break, an assist by senior attack Parisa Ayers, and a goal by junior attack Mady Katz. At that point, the rout was on, as eight different Athenians scored in the course of putting Georgia up by a 12-0 margin with nine minutes remaining in the half. Senior attack Jenna Dreyer had a first-half hat trick, the Red and Black led by a baker’s dozen at intermission, and the Bulldogs took it easy on USF in the second half to notch a 17-0 victory.
In the latter outing of yesterday’s double-header, the Georgia ladies took on Coastal Carolina, and the results were similarly lopsided in favor of the home team. Although the Chanticleers drew first blood on a free position shot, a steal by senior defender Cathryn Winslow and a score by junior attack Arden Birdwell tied the contest at one apiece, after which the Red and Black proceeded to score the next 15 goals to build up a 16-1 halftime lead. The Bulldog women cruised to a 20-1 triumph.
Captains meeting is over. We are ready to go. pic.twitter.com/6n8dSuNoUU
— UGA Women's Lacrosse (@UGAWomensLax) March 21, 2015
Yesterday’s third and final lacrosse game in Athens pitted the Red and Black men against their counterparts from Texas Christian, and it didn’t take long before the Georgia gents took command much as the ladies had done earlier in the day. Trainer once again scored the game’s opening goal, making him the first of seven different Bulldogs to find the back of the net in the first quarter. Seven more scores followed in the second stanza, including the buzzer-beater that made it 14-1 at the break, and everyone continued to get into the act in the second half when sophomore attack Connor Johnson and freshman attack Tommy Stanton each notched his initial goal of the contest early in the third period. At the end of the day, Georgia came up a winner by a 23-4 margin to cap off a weekend of increasingly dominant victories.
Next weekend, the Bulldog men will be in Lynchburg, Virginia, to take on 15th-ranked Liberty on Friday and Pittsburgh on Saturday, while the Red and Black women will be in Boulder, Colorado, to face BYU, No. 6 Colorado, Colorado State, and No. 4 Texas. March may come in like a lion and go out like a lamb, but, for Georgia, the month ends with a half-dozen lacrosse games, half of which are against ranked opponents, in a single weekend. Be sure to tune in, won’t you?
Got the game ball from coach. Looks like there could be a new 1st string tweeter in town. pic.twitter.com/6XwuJJQtGR
— UGA Men's Lacrosse (@ugalax) March 21, 2015
Go ‘Dawgs!
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