Apr. 5th, 2002 - # 4 Auburn pounces on Georgia Tech in Atlanta

The 4th ranked Auburn Tigers pounced on the host Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets early in a SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) contest in Atlanta to keep their perfect season intact. The undefeated Tigers (10 – 0) raced out to a 9 goal lead by halftime and coasted to an eventually 11 goal victory at Georgia Tech's SAC Field.

Sophomore Georgia Tech attackman Bob Jaeger (Orchard Park, NY; Orchard Park H.S.) opened the game's scoring early in the first quarter. After receiving a quick feed from teammate Will Oakley (Wilmington, NC; St. Andrews), Jaeger pumped in a quick bounce shot on the artificial turf that beat Auburn goalie Jeremy Litchig (Reistertown, MD; The Park School).

After that quick Georgia Tech goal, Auburn buckled down and took over the game. Senior Auburn attackman Mike Hudman (Memphis, TN; Christian Brothers) scored the first of his game high seven goals to answer just 1:37 later to tie the game up. It was all Auburn for the remainder of the 1st half. Goals by Thomas Slattery (Memphis, TN; Christian Brothers), Adam Zensinger (Randolph, NJ; Randolph H.S.), Matt Garibaldi (Memphis, TN; Christian Brothers), plus one more from Hudman increased the Auburn lead to 4 goals. A late dodging goal from the top of the box by Georgia Tech's Will Oakley ended the Auburn run with 58 seconds left in the quarter. Needing an upset of highly ranked Auburn to solidify their post season chances, the Yellow Jackets trailed the Tigers 5 to 2 after one quarter of play.

Auburn didn't slow down there. After winning the opening face-off, Auburn midfielder Mike French (Alexandria, VA; Thomas Jefferson H.S.) scored a quick goal just 27 seconds into the 2nd quarter with a nice dodge from the right side. Georgia Tech tried to answer the bell again. Jaeger had two nice looks on the Auburn cage but failed to find the back of the net for the Jackets. Following the 2nd missed Jaeger shot, Auburn quickly cleared the ball and Garibaldi found Hudman on the crease for another Tiger goal. The game was quickly getting out of reach for Tech. Transition problems for Georgia Tech allowed Auburn to score numerous goals in the 2nd quarter. At times, Georgia Tech had trouble keeping up with the speedy Auburn squad on the fast artificial surface. Auburn's defense clamped down shutting out the Tech offense in the 2nd quarter. Senior defenseman Matt Bazar (Memphis, TN; Christian Brothers) and Junior defenseman Andrew Meinen (Lake Forest, IL; Lake Forest H.S.) led the aggressive Auburn defense. Back on the offense end, Hudman added 2 more goals to lead the Auburn scoring effort in the 2nd quarter. Halftime score from Atlanta had Auburn leading 11 – 2.

With the big lead, Auburn began to look ahead to the big Virginia Tech game at home on Saturday. The Tigers changed goalies at half-time to rest Litchtig. Junior Trey Towery (Memphis, TN; Christian Brothers) saw action for the entire 3rd quarter and half of the 4th quarter before yielding to Auburn's third goalie Freshman Mike Conway (Marietta, GA; Lassiter H.S.). Towery had a nice one-on-one stop of Georgia Tech midfielder Craig Kronenthal (Englishtown, NJ; St. John's Vianney) in the 3rd quarter. Auburn and Georgia Tech mostly traded goals in the second half, but the damage had already been done. Georgia Tech even changed goalies at the start of the 4th quarter allowing Freshman Mike Yeager (Alpharetta, GA; Chattahoochee H.S.) to see some game action over starter Mike Wojotaszek (Westminster, MD; Calvert Hall).

With the loss, Georgia Tech's overall record falls to 4 – 4. The Jackets have two big conference home game remaining as they host Florida next weekend and then conclude the 2002 season with the annual showdown with their archrival, the Georgia Bulldogs. The Jackets will need to at least get one victory, perhaps two, if the Tech wants to qualify for the 2002 SELC tournament in Chattanooga.

Georgia Tech Head Coach Ken Lovic had this to say after the contest. "Auburn is so fast, especially on the (artificial) turf. Next to Colorado last year, they are probably the fastest team I've ever seen since I've coached at Tech over the last five years. Auburn moves the ball really well and they have several solid defenders. The Auburn/Virginia Tech game this Saturday should be an excellent game."

Auburn's victory increased the Tigers' perfect record to 10 – 0 for the '02 campaign. Auburn now is firmly focused on the Virginia Tech's visit to the Plains this Saturday in a battle of undefeated SELC teams. The winner of this contest will most likely earn the top seed at the 2002 SELC tournament.

Auburn Head Coach Dave Czernecki talked about his team's effort on Thursday night following the game. "After a month layoff, it took us awhile to get going tonight. I was pleased with our defensive effort tonight. (Defenseman) Bazar and (Goalie) Litchtig played well." Czernecki is also looking forward to Saturday's big game with Virginia Tech. "It should be another tough game with the Hokies. We saw Virginia Tech play BYU on TV and it looks like they have a few more bodies than last year. The rematch from our 2001 SELC championship should be fun."

Auburn at Georgia Tech
SAC Field
Thursday, April 4, 2002
Atlanta, Georgia

Box Score:
Team: 1st qtr – 2nd qtr – 3rd qtr – 4th qtr = Final
Auburn: 5 – 6 – 3 – 4 = 18
Georgia Tech: 2 – 0 – 2 – 3 = 7

Scoring Summary
Qtr Time of the Goal Team Goal scorer (Assist if applicable): Game score
1st qtr 13:31 GT (EMO) Bob Jaeger (Will Oakley): GT 1 – 0
1st qtr 11:54 AU Mike Hudman (Adam Zensinger): TIED 1 – 1
1st qtr 11:37 AU Thomas Slattery: AU 2 – 1
1st qtr 6:02 AU Adam Zensinger (Mike Hudman): AU 3 – 1
1st qtr 3:01 AU Mike Hudman: AU 4 – 1
1st qtr 1:46 AU Matt Garibaldi: AU 5 – 1
1st qtr :58 GT Will Oakley: AU 5 – 2
At the end of the 1st quarter, Auburn leads 5 – 2.
2nd qtr 14:33 AU Mike French: AU 6 – 2
2nd qtr 13:26 AU Mike Hudman (Matt Garibaldi): AU 7 – 2
2nd qtr 13:12 AU Adam Zensinger: AU 8 – 2
2nd qtr 12:42 AU Mike Hudman (Chris Morrison): AU 9 – 2
2nd qtr 11:35 AU Mike Hudman (Adam Zensinger): AU 10 – 2
2nd qtr 7:16 AU Adam Zensinger (Thomas Slattery): AU 11 – 2
At half-time, Auburn leads 11 – 2.
3rd qtr 9:15 GT (EMO) Gary Bridges (Sean Dvoran): AU 11 – 3
3rd qtr 8:39 AU Matt Garibaldi: AU 12 – 3
3rd qtr 6:50 GT Sean Dvoran: AU 12 – 4
3rd qtr 4:01 AU Mike Hudman (Chris Morrison): AU 13 – 4
3rd qtr 1:05 AU (EMO) Mike Hudman (Chris Morrison): AU 14 – 4
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Auburn leads 14 – 4
4th qtr 12:15 GT Will Oakley: AU 14 – 5
4th qtr 11:21 AU Matt Garibaldi (Skip Smith): AU 15 – 5
4th qtr 10:44 AU Thomas Slattery (Matt Garibaldi): AU 16 – 5
4th qtr 7:04 AU Chris Morrison: AU 17 – 5
4th qtr 3:49 GT Brady Broich: AU 17 – 6
4th qtr 2:14 AU Chris Morrison (Matt Garibaldi): AU 18 – 6
4th qtr 1:57 GT Mike Verga: AU 18 – 7
Auburn wins by a final score of 18 – 7.

Georgia Tech Scoring:
# 12 Will Oakley (2 goals, 1 assist)
# 25 Sean Dvoran (1 goal, 1 assist)
# 9 Brady Broich (1 goal)
# 6 Mike Verga (1 goal)
# 21 Bob Jaeger (1 goal)
# 3 Gary Bridges (1 goal)

Auburn Scoring:
# 16 Mike Hudman (7 goals, 1 assist)
# 6 Matt Garibaldi (3 goals, 4 assists)
# 5 Adam Zensinger (3 goals, 1 assist)
# 17 Chris Morrison (2 goals, 2 assists)
# 23 Thomas Slattery (2 goals, 1 assist)
# 15 Mike French (1 goal)
# 32 Skip Smith (1 assist)

Groundballs (by quarter):
GT: 12 – 8 – 8 – 7 = 35
AU: 7 – 6 – 5 – 8 = 26

Shots (by quarter):
GT: 10 – 8 – 10 – 9 = 37
AU: 7 – 15 – 6 – 7 = 35

Face-offs won: Auburn 17, Georgia Tech 12
Penalty Time: Auburn 3:00 min., Georgia Tech 2:30 min.
Extra-Man Offense: Auburn 2/3, Georgia Tech 2/3.

Weather: 55 degrees, Clear
Attendance: 100
Officials: Lou Diaz, Skip Thomas, Ron Mallonee.

Selected Game Photos (courtesy of Dave Adams):