Apr. 14th, 2003 - No. 20 Georgia Tech beats No. 15 Auburn on the road
Special to USLIA.com
Georgia Tech hadn't beaten Auburn in 6 years, but on Saturday afternoon the Jackets finally ended the long losing streak on the road. The Rambling Wreck defeated the Tigers down on the Plains of Auburn in a key SELC match-up by 4 goals. With the victory, Georgia Tech (9-3) secured the third seed in the upcoming SELC tournament in Atlanta.
Auburn opened the game's scoring. Thomas Slattery netted an open goal when Tech's defense had a breakdown on a clear. The Jackets would tie the score at 1 goal when Sean Dvoren scored on a feed from Will Oakley. Slattery would add his second of the day later in the first on a man up opportunity for the Tigers. Tech's second goal came from Oakley on an isolation drive from behind the goal. The game was tied 2-2 after one quarter of play.
Georgia Tech took the lead in the 2nd quarter that they wouldn't relinquish. Auburn scored the first goal of the quarter when Andy Sabatier scored on an assist from Slattery. The Jackets then ripped off 3 straight goals by Ryan Hansen, Gary Bridges, and Will Oakley to seize control of the contest. At the half, Tech enjoyed a 2-goal lead.
Emotions started to flare in the 2nd half. The Yellow Jackets continued to win a majority of the draws. Ryan Hansen was doing a solid job on face-offs against Auburn's standout midfielder Skip Smith. Georgia Tech won the face-off war during the game by four.
Auburn struck first after halftime as Slattery netted his 3rd goal of the game on a great one-on-one move to beat standout freshman defenseman Mike Algozer from Tech.
Georgia Tech's defense responded as the game took a turn toward Auburn's favor in the 3rd quarter. Game play shifted to fast paced run and gun style, which benefited the speedy Tigers. However, the Jackets defense was up to the challenge. Freshman goalie Andy Babcock turned away several shots during the quarter. The Jackets' defense continued the final play in '03 led by Algozer, senior Bryant Jarrell and Mark Muecke thwarted run after run by Auburn. On the offensive end, Georgia Tech responded with 2 goals of their own (B. Jaeger, S. Dvoren) and the Jackets pushed the lead up to three after 3 quarters of play.
In the fourth quarter, emotions erupted. Auburn's Adam Zensinger and Georgia Tech's Bryant Jarrell got tangled in a scuffle. The referees took a good 45 seconds to break it up and dole out the ensuing penalties. Tech turned away another Auburn man-up and then proceeded to score 4 straight goals to put the game out of reach. Will Oakley, Jimmy Pallotta, Craig Kronenthal, and Bob Jeager all scored for Tech to give the Jackets an impressive 11-4 lead. The Jackets began to cruise but the Tigers were not done as Matt Garibaldi scored 2 straight and Slattery netted one more to allow Auburn to close the gap to 11-7.
But Tech's defense was too much on this afternoon as they turned away threat after threat in the final minutes to preserve the 11-7 win for the Jackets.
Tech head coach Ken Lovic noted the victory. "We played a solid game today, offensively and defensively. The guys responded to a big challenge and beat a very talented team today. It's been a long 6 years coming (referring to Tech's 6 year losing streak to Auburn)."
With the win, Georgia Tech secured the # 3 seed for the upcoming 2003 SELC Championship Tournament in Atlanta (April 25-27). The Jackets will face the # 6 seed which most likely will be filled by Tennessee or NC State. Georgia Tech's final regular season game is this Thursday evening in Athens when the Jackets face-of with archrival Georgia.
With the loss, Auburn's record falls to 7 – 5. The Tigers will regroup and conclude their regular season against Emory in Atlanta this Wednesday night. Auburn has secured the # 4 seed for the upcoming SELC tournament and most likely will face Florida State in the SELC quarterfinal round.
Georgia Tech at Auburn
Saturday, April 12, 2003
Auburn, Alabama
Box Score
Georgia Tech: 2 – 3 – 2 – 4 = 11
Auburn: 2 - 1 – 1 – 3 = 7
Goals
AU- Slattery 4, Garibaldi 2, Sabatier
GT- Oakley 3, Dvoren 2, Jaeger 2, Pallotta, Bridges, Kronenthal, Hansen
Assists
AU- Slattery 2
GT- Oakley 2, Pallotta 2, Jaeger 2, Verga
Saves
AU- Towers 13
GT- Babcock 15, Yeager 2
Groundballs: AU 35, GT 48
Face-offs Won: AU 9, GT 13
Penalties: AU- 9 for 8 minutes, GT- 12 for 11 minutes
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