Apr. 14th, 2003 - Another Classic, Aggies Nip Horns 10-9
By Rene Kozarsky
COLLEGE STATION, TX- The 2003 regular season edition of the annual Texas/Texas A&M; matchup lived up to its billing as the Aggies hung on in a seesaw fourth quarter to squeak out a 10-9 victory Saturday night. The contest, which is commonly considered one of the most intense rivalries in all of the USLIA had a little of everything, from bone crushing hits to last second heroics-it had it all.
The 10th ranked Aggies opened the scoring on a Justin Thomas (Austin/Westwood) fast break goal just two and half minutes into the game. But Texas had a quick answer scoring the next three goals of the game over the course of the next 12 minutes to open a 3-1 lead. The Ags managed close the gap to one with seven seconds left on a Ryan Turnbow (The Woodlands) shot from up top.
As in many rivalries, you could toss the rankings and stats out the window, as 18th ranked Longhorns played an inspired second quarter. The hustling Horns seemed to settle the tempo of the game from the fast paced first quarter and finally opened up a 6-3 lead, capped off by a George McGee goal. McGee (Austin) intercepted a clear and finished his shot with 38 seconds left in the half.
The third period saw the Ags go on a three goal run of their own, tying the score on a Jeff Mazzolini (Klein Oak) goal. Mazzolini picked up a loose ball out of a scrum of bodies at midfield and raced down into the offensive zone and fired off a shot that found its way into the back of the net. The goal sent the A&M; Parents Weekend crowd of about 500 into a frenzy, but that momentum would be short lived. UT's Simon Telfer (Plano) found Eric Zissman on a cross crease feed with just 44 seconds left to give the Horns an important one goal lead heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter saw the tradition of down to the wire finishes continue. The teams traded the lead, first the Ags grabbed an 8-7 advantage, then the Horns jumped out to a 9-8 lead of their own with 9:45 left to play. Aggie attackman Jason Dunn (The Woodlands) netted his third of the night at the 8:45 mark to tie the game for the final time. But then All USLIA defenseman Mark Lamb (Plano) turned the game. Lamb scooped a loose ball up in his own end, raced down the field and took an opportunistic shot which beat UT keeper Dave Alter up high.
"I don't remember how I even got the ball. I starting running down field and no one picked me up. I had the stick in my left hand and my guy was just playing me on my hip, so I just shot (the ball) and it wen to over his shoulder," commented the senior after the game.
But Texas still had over seven and a half minutes left to score the equalizer. A&M; managed to run a good chunk of the time off the clock, but UT stole the ball back in the final minute to set up a good old fashion Texas size showdown. The Horns worked an isolation play form behind and missed wide on their shot. They would retain possession and miss another shot with just seven seconds left. UT Head Coach timeout and set up a final play. Freshman middie Justin Bednard (Austin/ McNeil) in bounded the ball from behind and pushed the right pipe. A&M; middie Guy Poorman (Flower Mound) played solid short stick midde defense, but Bednard managed to find an angle and launched a hard high shot. But Aggie keeper Matt Hughes (Plano) rose to occasion and made the save to preserve the win.
"He was coming from X, I just don't think he had enough time to get a better angle. I just tried to get as big as possible and hoped the ball would hit me" remarked Hughes after the game. The junior registered 11 saves on the night.
His counterpart Dave Alter (Coppell) also had a spectacular night stopping 15 shots.
"This is always a great game to play. Matt Hughes played an incredible game."
Hughes returned the compliment.
"I remember playing Alter in high school. I started playing when I was a junior so I looked up to him a lot when we were younger. Now he's at Texas and I'm at A&M; so its still the same rivalry."
A&M; Head Coach Tony Scazzero also added his insights after the game as well.
"Both goalies played great today-just as I expected. But I really felt that it was team offense, rather than team defense took over in the end."
Although an important game for both squads, it could be just the preliminary matchup if both teams win their semifinal LSA contests. And that would set up a battle for the all-important AQ.
"I think one of the things we have suffered from this year is injuries. Guys around the country don't now that-we don't get a lot of press. This game I had two starters out and hopefully in two weeks we'll have everyone back and healthy. Maybe those guys can make a goal difference for us" added UT Head Coach Jason Trautwein, who is finishing up his second year at the helm in Austin.
"I think even if we won this game, the way the voting has been going I doubt it would have moved off up six spaces for the win. So we have to win the big one."
The A&M; win helped make their post game reception for A&M; lacrosse pioneer C.F. "Doc" Hall a happy one. Hall was the driving force behind A&M; lacrosse in the early seventies serving as the team's first faculty advisor.
A&M; finished their regular season with the win, while Texas returned home to Austin on Sunday and suffered a defeat to Texas Tech. Both teams are now off for two weeks until the LSA playoffs.
Box Score
Texas: 3 - 3 - 1 - 2 = 9
A&M;: 2 - 1 - 3 - 4 = 10
Goals: A&M-Dunn; 3, Turnbow 2, Thomas 2, Lamb 1, Mazzolini 1, Poorman 1
UT-Chambliss 3, Zissman 2, Scklar 1, Telfer 1, Bednard 1, McGee 1
Assists: A&M-; Thomas 3, Dunn 2, Dowell 1
UT- Bednard 1, Ponds 1, Scklar 1, Telfer 1, Zissman 1
Saves: A&M-Hughes; (60:00) 11 saves
UT- Alter (60:00) 15 saves
Faceoffs: Texas 8, A&M; 13
Ground Balls: Texas 18, A&M; 23
Shots: Texas 33; A&M; 39
EMO: Texas 0/1; A&M; 1/8
Clears:
Texas 17 Clear/6 Fail; A&M; 11 Clear/3 Fail
Officials: Jank, Menzel, Shultice
Attendance: 500
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