Making Sense: 'Horns Hook First Upset by Jac Coyne | LaxMagazine.com
January 30, 2011
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."
