Halftime Lead Squandered in Third Quarter Collapse
Mar. 1, 2008 The Red Raiders came out for this game on a beautiful sunny day in Plano, TX fired up and ready to avenge their 2007 loss against the Southern Methodist Mustangs.
Tech enjoyed a 4-2 lead going into halftime through its excellent defensive play and precise ball movement on offense. The third quarter, however, would tell a different story, as the Red Raiders were outscored 5-0. The young Red Raider team would never recover, losing by a total of 6 to the Mustang's 9.
From SMU:
Plano, TX -- Saturday's game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the SMU Mustangs featured two fierce LSA North rivals. The contest lived up to its billing in what was supposed to be the showcase game sandwiched between a youth and high school game at Clark Field in Plano, TX.
Both teams came out firing from the start. The obvious difference was that Texas Tech was able to capitalize on their looks to take a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. SMU's first quarter saw the team shoot fifteen times but either found pipe or Tech's goalie who had seven saves. SMU was finally able to find the back of the net in the second quarter to cut the lead down to two heading into halftime.
Reinforcements for the Mustangs arrived just before the start of the third quarter. Although the late-arrivals only accounted for two of SMU's seven second half goals, they provided a much needed spark of energy for the rest of the team. The Mustangs offense finally began capitalizing on Tech's troubles clearing the ball and won the third quarter 5-0.
SMU's defense, led by Jon Daugherty (Defense - Jr.), Eric London (LSM - Jr.), and David Perrin (Goalie - So.), tightened up in the second half allowing only two goals on nine Tech shots. The man-down unit was impressive again allowing no goals in four Red Raider chances. Offensively, WB Cavender (2G) and Andrew Monaco (2G) led the way with freshman midfielder, Matt Pearson (1G), contributing the big goal that put the Mustangs in front for good.
|
