Back-to-Back SELC Titles for UGA
By Lee Wilson
Game photos by Dave Adams
Johns Creek, GA (April 20, 2008) – It had all the makings to be a game for the ages. Top seed Virginia Tech and defending SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) champions the University of Georgia are as evenly matched as any two teams in the tournament, and they are the best. And they did not disappoint, providing one of the most exciting games of the tournament.
On Sunday afternoon, though, Georgia was the better team, defeating the Hokies 17-16 on the heels of a goal with 22.7 seconds left in the game by Patrick Battey to win their second straight SELC title. Battey, a Junior from Westminster in Atlanta, slipped behind the Virginia Tech defense and finished the one on one play with Hokie goalie Andrew Jaffke.
A thought that left head coach Jason Slider elated and proud.
“Unbelievable, it’s just unbelievable,” said Slider. “I can’t believe it came down to this again. It’s just unbelievable for our team. They earned it, they put the effort out there.”
Yes, they did. But so did the Hokies, who lead 8-7 at the half. Then the Bulldogs rattled off eight straight goals to grab a lead that seemed to seal Virginia Tech’s fate, but the Hokies were not about to roll over and give up. They came back with an unbelievable run of their own, scoring seven straight to leave the game tied at 15 with less than three minutes to go in the game.
The offensive surge was certainly no surprise to Slider.
“I never feel comfortable with a lead on these guys, not even a seven-goal lead,” said Slider. ‘I knew they would make a run, it was only a matter of when and how much.”
But the Hokies came up just short, a disappointing feeling for head coach Joel Nachlas.
“The problem is we got in the hole in the third quarter,” said Nachlas. “That was where we lost the game.”
Still, the Hokies fought with a great deal of heart to overcome a fourth quarter deficit of five goals just to fall to a talented Bulldogs squad. Nachlas said there were moments where the Hoies showed their prowess, just not enough of them.
“I thought we had moments today where I was very pleased,” said Nachlas. “I thought we had a lot of moments, first quarter and third, where we were just not on our game today.”
The Bulldogs were mostly on their game today even after playing a close game against the talented Florida State squad Saturday night, edging out the Seminoles 13-9.
“Florida State wore us out, played us a real tough game,” said Slider. “But these guys showed up to play today and they fought hard.”
They were lead on the field by All-Tournament players Shaun McGahan (7 goals), Kevin Magyar (3 goals, 2 assists), Cabell Cox (6 goals, 1 assist) and goalie Matt Smith, who made the saves when he had to.
The Bulldogs will head to Dallas, Texas for the MCLA Division 1 Championships for the 2nd year in a row. They lost in the first round last season to UCSB 8-3 as a 12 seed.
If they are to do better this season they will need more performances of the nature of the one that took place Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs, as coach Slider put it, earned their victory. They will have to do more than that to win at the big dance.
