May. 14th, 2004 - Cal Poly defeats Georgia Tech
Cal Poly defeats Georgia Tech
Article By David Leach
Fenton, MO – On a cold and rainy Missouri day two technical schools from opposite sides of the country faced off in the final game of the consolation round at the USL-MDIA National Tournament. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-2) were defeated by the Cal Poly Mustangs (2-1) Friday by a score of 11-3.
The rain started Thursday morning and seemed to never let up. With soggy sticks and a field that at times resembled a slip-and-slide, the two teams of aspiring engineers met for the first time in club history.
"The weather wasn't much of a factor, it was more of a fatigue issue for us", stated Ken Lovic, Georgia Tech Head Coach, "We don't have as deep a roster as some of the teams here."
Cal Poly, after beating Simon Fraser 14-11 on Wednesday, showed up against Georgia Tech ready to play. With strong defense and effective offense, the Mustangs took a commanding 3-0 1st quarter lead.
Cal Poly attackman Peter Reed (Scottsdale, AZ) would later comment "It was all about fast-breaks, they just couldn't keep up."
Georgia Tech goaltender Andy Babcock (Rome, GA) may have been surprised at the 1st quarter Cal Poly presence as he faced only 4 shots, coming up with 1 save. Babcock would later reassert himself as the starting Yellow Jackets goaltender in the 2nd quarter making 4 saves, and allowing only 1 goal before yielding to Junior Mike Yeager (Alpharetta, GA).
Down 3-0, Georgia Tech rallied at the start of the 2nd quarter. With 9 shots and midfielder Ryan Hansen's (Roswell, GA) superb face-off skills, the Jackets came out firing. Tech scored 2 quick goals, making the score 3-2.
Tim Casey (Encinitas, CA) and Peter Reed proved they are important cogs in the Cal Poly machine as they continuously found one another around the net to pull away from Georgia Tech. Reed (4 goals) and Casey (1 goal, 3 assists) lead the Mustangs in scoring, while defenseman Matt Faustman (Walnut Creek, CA) dominated the field on groundballs with 7.
With wet sticks and poor traction, groundballs were key. A total of 68 groundballs were tallied during this game with Faustman of Cal Poly collecting 7 and Georgia Tech middie Bryan Garman (Towson, MD) collecting 7 of his own.
"We needed to step it up individually and our strong senior leadership paved the way, just as they have all season" Garman said after the game. "This is our first time at Nationals. It didn't turn out the way we would've liked it but it was still a great way to cap the season off."
This is the third consecutive season that Cal Poly has been invited to the tournament here in St.Louis and head coach Ryan Herchenroether sees a bumpy road ahead. "We're losing a lot after this season. It's tough to say at this point, but we hope to be back. Our #1 goal next season will be to win the conference." The Cal Poly Mustangs, as successful as they have been in recent history, have yet to win the WCLL (Western Collegiate Lacrosse League) title.
Georgia Tech Head Coach Ken Lovic, now in his 7th year with the Yellow Jackets, continues to have great expectations for his team. "We're only losing 3 guys this season and with this experience under our belts we can return to the SELC (SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference) and raise the level of play."