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MEN'S LACROSSE: GAME SUMMARIES (2006)
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AUGIES MAROON PIRATES!!! (5/11/06)
: Complete Photo Gallery COMING SOON!
After a less than stellar performance on the national arena the
day before, and after a great end of year banquet with quite a few
parents, the Bucs woke up the next day to play Augustana.
The Augies were, by some, the surprise team of the tournament.
From the GRLC, dominated by Harding, the Augies had knocked off
Harding, then #7 in the nation, in the conference semifinals,
followed by a win against another team ranked above them all year
for the automatic bid to nationals. With their newfound status,
the Augies moved all the way up from #24 in the nation to #10 in
the final poll, leapfrogging Southwestern in the process.
Having a chance to watch the Augies play against Eckerd the day
before, the Bucs thought they had a solid chance to win a game
against this young team that parallels the Bucs in so many ways.
It did not happen. All credit must be given to Augustana and
their coaches as they continuously proved throughout the
tournament they belonged at nationals. While only a few guys had
played before (sound familiar), the Augies were very fluid on
offense, not forcing anything, passing the ball very well, getting
everyone involved and finding match-ups they liked. In short they
were very patient and very well coached. More importantly, they
had one thing the Bucs did not.
Simply put, they had a desire to be there that morning and play
the game. The bucs did not. The Bucs played one of their worst
games in coaches history. Not to beat around the bush, the Bucs
were flat, their heads were somewhere else, and often the play, or
lack of on the field was a direct correlation to their
preparedness. Missed passes, failure to pass the ball to open
guys and a general laissez-faire attitude left the Bucs with a
hole which they could not overcmoe as the second half began.
While the Bucs scored first, and were down 2-1 at the end of one,
most of the time the ball was spent with the Bucs throwing the
ball away, missing ground ball opportunities, conceding plays,
etc. that most of the time the Bucs would challenge every step of
the way.
For the first time in a very long time, the Bucs had literally
checked out as a team by the end of the first half and did not
check back in. While there were players that did very well, (Ryan
Brown scored half of the goals on the day), as a team we were
lacking.
On the other side, as was stated earlier, the Augies were very
excited to be there and played as such. They controlled the game
from the second quarter on and never looked back, finsihing the
game with a convincing 10-4 win.
Augustana was absolutely the better team that day and very much
deserved to win. One could not help but wonder, however, if the
Bucs had shown up and played the way they played all season, how
good of a game that would have been.
As the bucs walked off the field, 0-2 and facing the #9 team in
the nation the following morning, the prospects for gaining any
respect, more importantly playing Southwestern Lacrosse, were
looking grim at best. The bright spot was a great feast at Newt's
parents. The drive was long, but the brisket, sausage, and ribs
with all the fixins, as well as the Newman hospitality were over
the top.
It was a great way to end a bad day, with hopes that it could only
get better and that the Bucs could "salvage" something from the
tournament. Special thanks goes out to John Kotarski, who has
supported the team with great photos for a couple of years now,
for taking some great pictures of a not so great game.
- Bill Bowman
 Back to Men's Schedule/Results (2006)
Back to Men's Lacrosse Home
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