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Tigers still searching for signature win
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Towson lacrosse coach Tony Seaman wants his team to shake off the chill and get on the scoreboard early when they face Virginia today.
TOWSON (Map, News) - Towson University lacrosse coach Tony Seaman isn’t looking for his team to do anything radically different against second-ranked Virginia this afternoon at 3:30 at Unitas Stadium. But he acknowledged getting on the scoreboard early would be a huge step towards the Tigers’ biggest win in several seasons.
“We haven’t started very well, that’s for sure,” Seaman said. “We were down 4-1 to Loyola, down 4-1 to Maryland. We battled back by halftime and it was very close, but it would be nice not to have to do that.”
If the Tigers (1-2) have to rally from an early multi-goal deficit against the Cavaliers (7-0), the game might be over before Towson can respond. Virginia averages 15.7 goals per game and has scored 111 times this season, including 28 in the first quarter.
Junior attacker Danny Glading has 15 goals and 18 assists for a team-high 33 points and classmate Garrett Billings has a team-leading 17 goals to go with 14 assists.
But the Cavaliers’ biggest strength may be their defense.
Virginia is allowing just 7.6 goals per game behind a superb unit led by sophomore defenseman Ken Clausen (26 ground balls). Freshman goalie Adam Ghitelman has a .510 save percentage, and allows just 8.9 goals per game.
“We have to finish the ball when we get opportunities and the exact same thing was true in the Maryland game,” Seaman said. “We had just as quality and good opportunities as they did but we didn’t finish the ball.”
During a 12-7 loss to Maryland in College Park last week, the Tigers trailed by just two entering the final period, but were dominated in the fourth quarter, getting outshot 9-3 and failing to score. Towson was 0-for-2 on extra man opportunities and managed just 31 shots for the game.
If the Tigers are to defeat Virginia for the first time in eight games dating to 1991, they will need a strong performance from their attack.
Towson, which averages just 8.3 goals per game, is led by senior attacker Jonathan Engelke (6 G, 4A), who had a goal and two assists against the Terrapins. But the team needs more from junior midfielders Randall Cooper (4 G, 1 A) and Bill McCutcheon (3 G, 2 A).
“We like to play on the inside and look for Timmy [Stratton] and Jon.” McCutcheon said. “We need to control the tempo of the game if we want to get the win.”
dcarey@baltimoreexaminer.com
