Making Sense: 'Horns Hook First Upset
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive | Twitter
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| With a new coach and a resilient attitude, No. 20 Texas
rallied to pull the first upset of the spring by edging No. 5
Florida State on Saturday night, 12-11. It's still early but the
Longhorns have the look of a contender. © Cecil Copeland/theathleticimage.com |
I had this story written. Florida State breezes past Texas. Or
something to that effect.
The No. 5-ranked Seminoles were a logical pre-game hedge. FSU has
tons of talent, a premium goalie, tournament experience, and a
steady coach. I just didn't bank on No. 20 Texas – a team
that imploded at the end of last season and was breaking in a new
coach – to play with poise, as well as with a chip on its
collective shoulder.
"We said last night was kind of statement game," said Longhorns
coach Brian Myers on Sunday morning as he was navigating his way
out of New Orleans, the site of the game. "We feel like we don't
get a lot of respect in the MCLA. Hopefully this caught some
people's attention and proves that we can play with anybody in the
Top 10 or even the Top 5."
The 12-11 win for Texas not only proves the Longhorns can square
off with any team in the MCLA, but that the Longhorns are also a
resilient bunch.
Florida State scored 20 seconds into the game and built a 4-1 lead
early in the second quarter, bringing the game to the brink of
being a runaway. Texas took a series of penalties – including
a bench penalty that Myers admitted "didn't help the cause" –
and although the Seminoles only netted one extra-man goal, the
constant man-down situations had the 'Horns on their heels.
With the help of junior midfielder Johnny McKnight, who finished
with six goals on the evening, the Longhorns battled back. Their
efforts were perhaps aided by a bit of complacency on the part of
FSU.
"We scored in the first 20 seconds and we thought, 'Hey, we'll
just cruise through this game,'" said Seminoles coach Bill Harkins.
"I think we were shocked when their team kept playing hard. They
came back and actually went ahead. I think at one point they came
back and were leading by four or five goals. We didn't know what
was going on."
"We have a young team, but I thought it showed a lot of character
by our guys to push through that adversity in the first quarter,"
said Myers. "Then we started to put some goals together and we tied
it up. Then we took the lead at halftime, 5-4, which was pretty
awesome because I think it says a lot about our guys. It also gave
us a lot of momentum going into the second half."
Throughout the game, Texas consistently provided Florida State
with an avenue to get back into the game via the yellow hanky, but
the 'Noles declined the offer. FSU went an abysmal 1-for-11 on
extra-man chances.
"If you take the national average, we score four goals and win by
a couple," said Harkins. "But they just outplayed us. Even when we
got into gear, they kept coming on. They played 50 good minutes, we
played 10 good minutes – a few at the beginning and a few at
the end."
"Our man-down stood on their head; they played unbelievable," said
Myers. "They really played as a unit and our goalie, freshman
Jordan Lee, had a great game. The book says he has 14 saves, but
all the saves he made were critical stops."
Lee's play was crucial, but it was McKnight's evening. With the
Texas attackmen taking a pass-first mentality in deference to the
'Horns powerful midfield unit, McKnight constantly found himself
open for a shot or spotted a lane to the cage.
"Johnny can shoot with anybody in the country at whatever level it
may be," said Myers, a former D-I standout who played in the MLL.
"He's one of those guys who is going to take a lot of shots, 15 to
20 shots a game, and you really can't get mad at him when they
aren't the highest percentage shots. You can't get mad because some
nights he is going to get them on cage and score six goals. If he
gets it on cage, the goalie is usually not going to save it. And
I'm really not kidding when I say he can shoot with anybody in the
country."
"He was terrific," said Harkins of McKnight. "He was great at
cutting across the crease and finishing."
Texas is clearly a legit team this year, but can we set the
storyline for the 'Horns now?
Combined with the 24-4 beatdown of conference foe LSU on Friday
night, Texas is 2-0, but Lindenwood, Oregon, Florida and Virginia
Tech loom in the next month. A showdown with defending Lone Star
Alliance champ Texas State awaits in the last game of the season.
And it's important to keep in mind that despite notching the first
upset of the season, this is a team that lists 30 of its 35 current
players as freshman eligibity-wise.
As I learned while prepping for this story, it's best not to get
too far ahead of ourselves when analyzing UT. But there's no
denying one thing: it was a heckuva win for the Longhorns.
"I don't think our guys will rest on that," said Myers. "We've
got a lot of good games ahead of us."
Game Balls
Clark Dansby – Attack, Texas State
The final score – 17-8 – makes it appear that Texas
State had a comfortable win over TCU in its season opener, but the
Bobcats led by just two goals, 9-7, in the second half before
pulling away. Dansby was a big reason why TxState was able to even
have a lead. The sophomore had one goal and dished six assists,
most of them coming in the first half. Dansby is a transfer from
St. Edward's (MCLA D-II), where he led the Hilltoppers in goals and
points in 2009.
Matt Frank – Middie, North Florida
The Ospreys had little trouble putting away Reinhardt on Saturday,
coasting to a 21-1 victory, helped by the junior's performance.
Frank scored five goals and dished out three assists in the
triumph.
John Goodrich – Goalie, Florida State
The Seminoles couldn't hold of Texas, but don't blame
Goodrich. The senior was outstanding, making 19 saves, allowing FSU
to make a late run. "He was terrific," said 'Noles coach Bill
Harkins. "He was our best player."
Thomas Kelly – Goalie, Occidental
Kelly turned away 22 shots and allowed just six goals in Oxy's
10-6 victory over Pepperdine in a SLC Division II league
contest.
Johnny McKnight – Middie, Texas
As noted above, the junior had a big first weekend for the
Longhorns, scoring six goals against No. 5 Florida State after
notching three markers in UT's 24-4 rout of LSU on Friday
night.
Power Fives
Men's Division II
1. C.W. Post (0-0) – Am I the only one who
thinks Eddie Plompen is going to have a monster year?
2. Le Moyne (0-0) – Despite a title drought,
the Dolphins run over the last five years is impressive.
3. Mercyhurst (0-0) – We might not know just
how good the Lakers are until April.
4. Merrimack (0-0) – If the Warriors lose to
NYIT in the opener, they'll have to sweep Le Moyne.
5. Limestone (0-0) – How much of a
transition period will the Saints need to get used to J.B.
Clarke?
Men's Division III
1. Tufts (0-0) – Only two more weeks and the
Jumbos can finally start practicing!
2. Cortland (0-0) – Off-season acquisitions
by Geneseo mean the Dragons may have to earn it.
3. Salisbury (0-0) – Does Greensboro have
enough to make it interesting?
4. Stevenson (0-0) – The Mustangs'
non-conference schedule is truly a thing of beauty.
5. Middlebury (0-0) - Only two more weeks and the
Panthers can finally start practicing!
MCLA Division I
1. Michigan (0-0) – The biggest difference
between this year and the last three? FOGO.
2. Arizona State (0-0) – I still think
Anthony LaFlam is a bigger loss than Tyler Westfall.
3. Colorado State (0-0) – Expectations are
tough, but anything less than a semifinal is a bust.
4. Chapman (0-0) – If they're not careful,
the Panthers could be 2-2 heading into March.
5. Oregon (0-0) – Lots o' teams eligible for
this spot. The Ducks are the default squad.
MCLA Division II
1. St. Thomas (0-0) – It reached the
high-20s in the Cities last week. T-shirt weather for the
Tommies.
2. Davenport (0-0) – If the MCLA played
10-minute games, Davenport would be a dynasty.
3. Westminster (0-0) – Darkhorse player of
the year candidate: Josh Condas.
4. Utah Valley (0-0) – Did the Wolverines
get the memo about the whole strength of schedule thing?
5. Dayton (0-0) – That neutral field game
against St. Thomas in late Feb. should be a dandy.
Slides & Rides
NCAA Division II
It's still pretty quiet in MD2. Things will pick up in a couple of
weeks. Look for a feature about Merrimack to roll out sometime this
week.
NCAA Division III
According to Roanoke's fan site GoNoke.org, the Maroons have strengthened
their midfield heading into this spring. Spenser Parnell, a
blue-chip high school player out of Fairfield (Conn.) Prep, is
transferring to Roanoke from Syracuse and will be ready to roll
this spring. Parnell played in eight games for the Orange last
year, scoring a goal against Denver. He'll certainly be an asset
for the Maroons, but there are still lingering questions about the
'Noke defensive unit – a group that will ultimately determine
how successful this team will be.
- When I spoke with new Ohio Wesleyan coach Mike Plantholt this fall, one of the issues he was
encountering was putting together a schedule. While OWU got the man
they wanted, the timing of the hire left the Battling Bishops'
slate incomplete, forcing to Plantholt to scramble. All things
considered, he's put together a decent schedule – certainly
one that should allow OWU to capture one of the four Pool B bids
berth with a 9-3 or 8-4 record. While it wouldn't be enough to
crack into the Pool C universe, the games against No. 13 Lynchburg
and No. 3 Salisbury provide enough strength for the Bishops'
purposes.
OWU's blood rival, Denison, has altered its schedule slightly.
Instead of their usual slow build-up to the start of the season,
the Big Red is jumping in quickly, facing Washington & Lee
before the calendar turns to March. While the Generals aren't
ranked, they are still a formidable bunch and will give Mike
Caravana a good gauge as to where his team will be at the end of
the year. Win or lose, the Big Red will have a chance to regroup as
they have nearly a three-week interlude before they play
Haverford.
- I don't know why, but I'm a sucker for a countdown clock. My
newest favorite is on Hilbert's site. The Hawks, located in Hamburg, N.Y.,
are a start-up program this year and will likely join the NEAC in
the near future. Despite the countdown clock excellence, Hilbert
hasn't exactly tested itself in its opening campaign. The toughest
game on the Hawks' 10-game docket is Morrisville State...I'm
starting to think Wesleyan head coach John Raba is a big nautical
guy. Not only are the Cardinals playing a pair of maritime schools
(SUNY Maritime, Merchant Marine), but every non-conference tilt is against a school
within 30 miles of the Atlantic Ocean...I spoke with Denison coach
Mike Caravana. He said he was supposed to give a presentation at
the US Lacrosse National Convention, but got snowed in.
MCLA Division I
- Despite the opening game setback, don't expect Florida State
coach Bill Harkins to worry about the sky falling. He's been
through a rodeo or two before. "They beat us," he said. "It's not
how you start, it's how you finish. We'll be fine. It's one game in
an 18-game season. I wish we won it, but the nice thing is we get
to play another one today." The Seminoles played Auburn on Sunday
afternoon and likely leveled their record. FSU has a nearly
three-week lay-off until an SELC conference game against Central
Florida on Feb. 18.
- One of the toughest aspects of coaching in the MCLA is the lack
of scouting tools, especially in intra-conference games. The
coaching style of Texas coach Brian Myers suits this reality.
"Going into any game, and I've learned this from the coaches I've
played for and coached with, is I don't try to think about the
other team too much," said Myers. "I go in from the standpoint
where we're going to worry about ourselves, and if we play our game
and play to our ability, us just playing Texas lacrosse and doing
what we do best, we'll be okay."
- Games of interest this week include Lindenwood at Texas State
and No. 14 UC Santa Barbara at Cal on Friday evening. Lindenwood
against No. 20 Texas on Sunday should also be interesting, if only
for comparative purposes...Brekan Kohlitz and Dave Reinhard covered
up a lot of pimples for No. 1 Michigan over the past three years.
Just last year, Reinhard won 17-of-25 face-offs in the national
championship game -- a game UM won by a lone goal. Now that the
Wolverines don't have a dominate draw-man, it could be tougher
sledding. Michigan is still the prohibitive favorites to repeat,
but as was seen in the scrimmage against NCAA D-I Bellarmine on
Saturday, the Wolverines will have to do it without the luxury of
winning 70 percent of its face-offs...No. 6 BYU plays its typically
strong schedule again, but it will be a slow ramp up to the '11
season. The Cougars host lightweight Boise State this weekend,
takes a two-week break, and then gets things rolling against No. 13
Loyola Marymount...just a reminder to MCLA fans: scores of
scrimmages could be the most worthless piece of information in
existence. It's natural to want to extrapolate scores from
exhibitions, but they signify absolutely nothing.
MCLA Division II
- St. Mary's (Calif.) plays in the non-AQ WCLL, so the Gaels' tour
of the Southeast this week will let us know whether they are
contenders for an at-large bid to the tourney or their highest
achievement will be repeating as the conference champs. As if
modeling the format for the national tournament, St. Mary's will be
playing four games in five days, including games against No. 12
SCAD and No. 11 Kennesaw State. Games against Citadel and Emory
bookend the trip for the Gaels. If it can snatch three out of the
four, St. Mary's should be in the discussion on Selection
Sunday.
- Kennesaw State certainly believes it will a contender for a
tournament birth out of the SELC this spring and the Owls jumped
out to a solid start. While Georgia Southern is no juggernaut, the
19-5 triumph showed KSU is not taking any team lightly...in the
grand scheme of things, the game between Dayton and Kentucky won't
mean a whole lot, but it will an indicator of what to expect from
these teams at their respective levels.
