Southwestern plays well against nationally ranked A&M (3/5/00)
Southwestern plays well against nationally ranked A&M (3/5/00)
Southwestern traveled to to College Station on Sunday to play 16th ranked
Texas A&M. With 15 guys on the travel squad, Southwestern played a great
second half holding the high powered A&M offense to under 20 for only the
second time in division play all year. The final score, an 18 - 3 loss, was
a true testament to the defense of the team. The long sticks have played
well all year, but the middies stepped up their defense and held A&M to only
six goals in the second half.
Southwestern's weaknesses were apparent against such a good team, giving up
over half the goals A&M scored on fast breaks. When the ball was settled,
Southwestern played the A&M offense exceptionally well, often disrupting
potential shots because of good defensive movement and slides.
The score was 12 - 0 at half-time, mainly because of fast-breaks. The guys
came out in the second half ready to play, and simply hustled their way into
a half that saw Southwestern hold A&M to six goals, while picking up 3 of
their own.
Again, not enough can be said about the defense, and the play of the
middies. Our freshmen stepped up and everyone made key contributions.
Freshman Ben Thompson played his best game of the year, and Mike Kacher,
Matt Garcia, and Walker Clark, all gave the starting middies much needed rest
during the game by contributing to solid defensive play.
Once again, Nick Sortin played a great game at goal, stopping several point
blank shots and making many saves while being screened from the ball. Nick
has definitely stepped up his play this year, and should be considered as a
standout player in both the Lone Star Alliance and SWLA this year based on
his solid and steady play.
The guys have two weeks off before returning to the field for a final three
game push. Southwestern must win all three games to avoid its first losing
season in almost ten years. All three games will be tough, as Southwestern
travels to both SWT and Austin College for a double game weekend at the end
of March. The key game will be our final home game on Saturday the 1st of
April against Trinity.
