Apr. 13th, 2003 - Peel's six goals leads No. 5 BYU over No. 22 Utah
By DAVID RUECKERT
BYU's offensive pressure caused the Utes wither, and beat Utah 14-6 Friday night, courtesy of midfielder Jordan Peel's six goals. The Cougar lacrosse team (10-4) turned up the defense in the second half and put the fire out of the young, streaking Utes (4-6).
BYU coach Jason Lamb said his team winded a storm in the first half. "Utah came out fired up. I knew we weren't going to spank them early on," Lamb said. "Offensively, they didn't have anything to withstand our pressure in the second half."
Peel put the Cougars on the scoreboard first, with attackmen Jordan Archibald and Jarom Winn following suit. The Utes' athleticism and heart was seen though, with midfielder Mason Goodhand Jr. and attackman Stefan Turkula finding the back of the net in the next few minutes. At the end of the first quarter, the score was tied 3-3.
In the second quarter, BYU got a boost in the face-off category. Utah lost the ball on several illegal procedure calls. BYU dominated that aspect of the game, 17-6. To make matters worse for the Utes, BYU's offense and defense began clicking. Utah coach Mason Goodhand said it was little mistakes that began to wear down his team.
"When you make mistakes against a team like this you can see it on the scoreboard," Goodhand said. "BYU was awake and rested compared with the Rams." Last week, Utah upset No. 3 Colorado State in Salt Lake City.
BYU defenseman Charles Kikumoto led the way in stifling the Ute offense by batting down passes, winning ground balls and leveling any Ute that ventured too close to him.
"It was a physical game, that's part of the in-state rivalry," Kikumoto said. "We had some break downs in transition in the first half, but our [defense] stepped up." At halftime, BYU led 6-3.
The third quarter was an offensive show-case for the Cougars. Mark Tschaggeny, Randall Cone and Scott Dean scored. In a play that defined the half for both teams, Tschaggeny sprinted back on defense and went over an unsuspecting Ute's head to check the ball away. Tschaggeny won the ground ball, drew a technical foul as he broke into transition and drew another flag when a Ute defender hit him from behind and out-of-bounds. Goodhand was furious with the call and received a third flag. Peel took advantage of the six-on-three, tallying his fourth goal of the night. Goodhand said he wished he had kept quieter during the game.
"If I could change anything tonight, it was the way I treated the refs," Goodhand said. "I lost my focus on what I could control."
Goodhand keeps a long piece of athletic tape taped to his shirt during games. When he gets too vocal, his players ask him to put the tape over his mouth. Utah's diamond in the second half was freshman midfielder Matt Marr. Marr scored twice in the half.
"I used my speed and size to lean into the defense," Marr said. "It was tough finding shots because BYU slid fast."
Peel used his dodges to get right and left shots off, keeping his defenders guessing throughout the half.
"I had room and time to get off great shots," Peel said. "My teammates were creating opportunities for me too." Lamb said Peel's performance wasn't surprising.
"I know he has the tools to play like that," Lamb said. "I just don't know how to push the buttons to make it happen all the time. It's like the Cheerios suddenly kicked in."
Lamb said it's good for the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Lacrosse league to see that the BYU-Utah game is competitive and meaningful.
"You can't chalk it up as a win," Lamb said. "It's a good game on the schedule."
BOX SCORE:
1 2 3 4 TOTAL
3 3 5 3 14
3 0 1 2 6
BYU:
Peel, Jordan- 6 goals
Archibald, Jordan- 3 goals, 1 assist
Winn, Jarom- 1 goals, 2 assists
Tschaggeny, Mark- 2 goals
Cone, Randall- 1 goal
Dean, Scott- 1 goal
UTAH:
Goodhand, Mason- 1 goal, 1 assist
Turkula, Stefan- 2 goals
Marr, Matt- 2 goals
Christianson, Nick- 1 goal, 1 assist
GROUND BALLS: BYU- 44, Utah- 20
SHOTS: BYU- 44, UTAH- 27
FACE OFFS: BYU- 17, UTAH- 6
SAVES: BYU- 10, UTAH- 15
E.M.O.: BYU-4/10, UTAH- 0/3
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