D-I Round 1: Texas at California

BERKELEY, Calif. – It’s been nearly 15 years since an underdog Texas team traveled to an iconic Pac-12 venue and took down a West Coast power.

The last one was led by Vince Young when the Longhorns tamed the USC dynasty in the Rose Bowl in '06.

This time it will be Rowan Hart who will lead the charge against a dominant Cal-Berkeley juggernaut in Memorial Stadium.

D-I Round 1: Texas at Cal | https://t.co/P6bYXx1JBi #virtualmcla20

— MCLA Tournament '21 (@MCLA_Tournament) March 21, 2020

It will be a sort of homecoming for Hart, who grew up a scant 60 miles from Berkeley – just a four-hour drive – in Davis, Calif. The junior had a two-year stay at Holy Cross before joining the Longhorns.

He’s part of a powerful offense that includes juniors Nick McCall and Max Manning along with senior Andrew Brown.

“What an opportunity,” said Texas coach Seth Bokmeyer*. “Cal has become what we expect to be. You have to beat the best to be the best.”

The Longhorns face a team dripping with talent combined with a hefty-sized chip on their shoulder after seeing their perfect season in 2019 ruined in the national championship game.

Senior goalie Nick Beattie backbones a salty defense that includes a durable close defender in Finnian Meagher.

But it’s the offense that gets the big ink.

US Lacrosse Preseason Player of the Year Jake Pistotnik has lived up to all the hype in his senior campaign while Brendan Cook has the look of another national candidate as a junior.

Throw in senior Jake Lombardo as another option and you’ve got a stacked offense.

But upsets do happen.

[*- The coach didn’t really say this. This is all made up. It’s fake]