Texas Tech Men's Lacrosse has released their 2007-2008 team awards and officers for the 2008-2009 season!

Congratulations to these players for their fine accomplishments!!!

2008-2009 Officers-

President - Bryce Wolf

Vice President - Cole Moore

Fundraising VP - Cody Travers

Treasurer - Matt Davis

Secretary - Justin Castle

Rookie Coordinators - Mason Hebert and Will Campbell

Media Relations - Malic Abusawa

2007-2008 Team Awards-

Rookie of the Year - Willie Sterner

Most Improved - Ryan Lott

Offensive MVP - Bryce Wolf

Defensive MVP - Matt Bickham

Midfield MVP - Matt Davis

Team MVP - Clayton Schneider and Matt Davis

Heart Award - Cody Travers

Norman, OK -- The Red Raiders (7-4, 3-1) entered the weekend with a record of 3-4, a poor representation of the team's success so far this season. In their fifth weekend away from the Hub City, the Red Raiders showed they could handle a challenging 4-game weekend in Oklahoma, despite missing key players due to injury and/or illness.

The weekend opened against the University of Oklahoma on Friday night. The game was hosted as the premier game of the 2008 OU Face-off Classic, and was held at OU's Soccer field, and was held in honor of OU's 'Senior Night'.

Tech came out with a roaring 6-0 lead, only to be answered by OU yielding a 7-6 score, in favor of Texas Tech. The game went back and fourth for some time, where Tech only lost the lead once. Despite some shaky play in transition, the Red Raiders held on to the game and at the final buzzer, Tech left with a win with a score of 14-13.

Saturday held a two game challenge for Tech against LSA North Opponent Oklahoma State and GRLC foe Nebraska.

Feeding off the momentum of Friday night's thriller victory against Oklahoma, the Red Raiders took on the Cowboys of Oklahoma State with motivation and tenacity. The Red Raider defense let in only one goal while the offense showed explosivity and great shooting. Texas Tech would win the game by a margin of 27-1, the team's highest offensive production so far this season. Junior attackmen Bryce Wolf finished the game with 17 total points, 4 goals and 13 assists. Junior midfielder Clayton Schneider provided 4 goals and 4 assists, while freshman William Sterner also had a great showing with 6 goals and an assist. Freshman midfielder Ryan Lott and sophmore defenseman Erik Peterson also pumped in their first goals as Red Raiders.

Later that day the Red Raiders took on the Cornhuskers of Nebraska. The two teams have not played each other since the infamous Big XII Tournament in Plano, TX back in 2006. Showing sings of fatigue having already played two games in two days, the halftime scoreboard read 10-6 in favor of the Red Raiders. Some quick halftime adjustments were made and Tech rattled off 12 second half goals, compared to Nebraska's 1. Junior Bryce Wolf had another dynamic outing with 6 goals and 5 assists, as did freshman William Sterner with 6 goals and 3 assists. At the end of the game, Tech came away with the victory with a score of 22-7.

In the fourth game in three days, Tech faced off against UMLL opponent North Dakota in the two teams' first matchup ever. Excellent defensive play and goaltending lead the Red Raiders to their first shut-out of the 2008 season. Once again, freshman William Sterner came away with another 6-goal game (and 2 assists), while Junior Bryce Wolf had eight points (4g, 4a). LSM Will Campbell came away with three goals of his own while midfielder trio Matt Davis , Joe Wells , and Kyle LaMotta each had four-point games themselves.

Official stats to be updated shortly.

After four games on the road, the Red Raiders defeated their opponents by a total margin of 84 goals to their opponents' 21. The team hopes to carry this momentum onward to next weekend, where they will face high-powered GRLC opponents Illinois and Missouri in Columbia, MO.

WRECK 'EM!

Following a great showing against #8 Arizona State, Texas Tech looked to conclude their Spring break trip to Arizona with a win ... and they did just that! Facing their first-ever NCAA opponent, Division 2 newcomer Grand Canyon University, the Red Raiders finally put things together and began to click. After 4 exciting quarters, the scoreboard read in favor of Texas Tech by a margin of 26-13.

From GCU Athletics:

Phoenix, AZ -- ... the Antelopes gave Texas Tech University a battle in front of 320 fans Monday night in the final home game of the season. But in the end, the Red Raiders left with a 26-13 win.

"We get better every game because people are starting to learn more and more," GCU freshmen attacker Billy Lloyd said after scoring on all five shots he attempted. "But one thing we really need to learn to do is play through the full four quarters."

Grand Canyon (0-7) drew within 13-9 when Patrick Murphy scored one of his four goals at the 9:16 mark in the third quarter. Texas Tech (3-4) increased its lead to 16-10 on one of Reid Fontenot's six goals six minutes later in the quarter. But the Red Raiders put the game away in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 goals that broke the Antelopes' backs.

"We can't have that," Lloyd said of the fourth quarter breakdown in which GCU was outshot 17-6. "That changed the momentum from having a chance at a comeback. It makes it harder. Everybody just kind of got down."

Murphy had four goals and three assists, cashing in on an extra man advantage. Lloyd (pictured) had the other power play goal as the Antelopes converted on two of three extra-man advantages.

"We hung with 'em," Marshall said. "I guess it's just a matter of the process. We're learning to be more intelligent with the ball. I hope we don't lose our patience as we develop."

Grand Canyon picked up 38 ground balls. Texas Tech had 39. That's encouraging. But Marshall wants to see GCU become more effective after winning the scrum for the loose ball. 

"Different situations give us problems," he said. "We get outsmarted on certain ground balls. We do see a lot of improvement. I'm proud of our guys for developing. I think we're still a little short of where we should be, but I think in the next week, we can start playing up to our full potential." 

The Antelopes have made giant strides in their ability to attack. They ripped off 40 shots to the Red Raiders' 52. That's impressive considering the NCAA Division I school has been established for a few years.

"The coaches stick with it and keep us motivated," Lloyd said. "Coach has helped us a lot. We just need more experience." 

The Red Raiders made their Spring break trip to the desert to play #8 Arizona State in Phoenix, AZ. Despite a halftime score of 10-2, the young Red Raiders came out firing in the third quarter, narrowing the Sun Devil's lead to 11-8. The third quarter explosion wouldn't be enough, however, as the Sun Devils tallied up 7 compared to Tech's 3 in the 4th quarter, ending the game with a score of 10-17.

From Sun Devil Lacrosse:

Tempe, AZ -- ASU beats Texas Tech 17-10 on a great night in Tempe, Arizona.  ASU was led by Junior Attackman Tyler Westfall 5G, 4A.  ASU got off to a great start leading at the end of the first half 10-2.  Texas Tech would not go away as they made the score 11-7 at the end of 3.  ASU was able to open the lead in the 4th and ended with the win.  ASU is now 5-2.  The Sun Devils can be seen next at home against Illinois on March 19 at 7pm.

With the close loss to SMU the day before still fresh in their minds, the Red Raiders traveled to Ft. Worth to play the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University. On a gloomy overcast day in the metroplex, Tech showed up and earned their first division win of the season, moving them to 1-1 in the LSA North. Although a somewhat rag-tag and sloppy game, the Red Raiders were able to come away with the win, much thanks to great work in transition in the second half and excellent play between the pipes throughout the game.

From TCU:

Ft. Worth, TX -- This game featured a large amount of Run and Gun Lacrosse. Each team's goalie had a huge day in net as the goals were peppered with shots. Texas Tech would score with :02 seconds left in the second quarter to go into half time with a 6-3 lead.

The Horned Frogs opened up the third quarter with a goal to answer right back. TCU would score another goal in the third while holding Texas Tech scoreless. Moving to the fourth quarter Texas Tech would take a 6-5 advantage as the fourth go underway.

Texas Tech scored the first goal of the Fourth to go up 7-5. TCU answered right back to keep it 7-6. The rest of the fourth quarter turned into a dogfight for ground balls and up and down the field lacrosse action.

Texas Tech would score four more goals as TCU was on able to get one into the back of the net for a final score of 11 -7.