As the final whistle blew Sunday, Texas found itself perched atop the LSA North as the only undefeated team left. The weekend was long and hard on the young Longhorns, but tenacious defense paved the way from the first play on Friday, to the last on Sunday.

The team found themselves down 5-2 near halftime against a tough SMU squad on Friday. After going ahead 2 - 0 early, the Horns had given up 5 unanswered to the Mustangs. It wouldn’t be long, though, before the Horns would tally two more quick goals to narrow the gap. The second half told a different story for Texas, as the defense brought it together, giving up only one goal, and allowing far fewer shots to be taken on sophomore goalie Towers Wilen. Possession was all Texas’ in the second half, as they would score three, taking the lead 7-6, before holding the ball for more than 3 minutes to finish the game, preventing SMU from having a chance to regain the lead.

Saturday’s battle against UNT in Denton told the same story of previous matches- tough defense led to lengthy possessions for the offense. Texas would go on to score 14, with 5 players, Attackmen Tyler Nix, Matthew Tuttle, and Tyler Harris and midfielders Zac Wilson and Alex Kroviak , all netting two goals apiece. Kroviak passed for two assists, as did Tuttle. Paul McCloud also tallied one assist. Goalie Will Todd continued to put up great numbers in goal, as the competition for starting goalie rages on. He would go for an amazing 20 saves on the day. Texas held the Mean Green scoreless until late in the 4th quarter. Every player saw the field in the win.

Finishing big has been the driving force for the Longhorns all season, and after a long weekend in Dallas, the goal for Sunday’s game against OU in Austin would be no different. Just like the day before, the Texas defense would allow no goals for 3 quarters of OU offense. The Horns would tally 10 goals, many of which were with an ever-improving man-up offense. Sophomore Midfielders Paul McCloud and Alex Kroviak both assisted twice and scored twice in the match. Attackmen Tyler Nix found the back of the net 3 times and assisted once. Junior Matthew Tuttle also put one in the cage. In a rarely seen transition play, Captain defenseman Ernst Leiss' shot slipped past the goalie, marking Leiss’ first goal of the season. Texas would go on to hold off the Sooners, giving up only two total in the match, and securing their undefeated status for yet another weekend. The next Longhorn battle will be in Dallas yet again, where the young team will face out of conference challengers Missouri and No.2 ranked Colorado.

by Alex Kroviak

Additional articles about the weekend available at Westside Lacrosse:
Texas Ends Southern Methodist's Unbeaten Run, 7-6
Unbeaten Texas Downs Oklahoma For Fourth Straight Win