Spring Break
Towson ousts M. lax in CAA semifinals
Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: Sports
Perhaps the men's lacrosse team was still reminiscing about its must-win victory over rival Delaware to reach the Colonial Athletic Association tournament because it seemed as though the Dragons weren't present against Towson in the conference semifinals.
The Tigers dominated Drexel from the start, scoring the game's first nine goals and the Dragons' 2009 season came to an anti-climatic end with a 10-2 loss April 30 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md.
Second-seeded Towson (7-9), which advanced to its fifth CAA championship game, will host Villanova May 2 for the right to see which team claims the conference's lone automatic bid for a berth in the NCAA tournament. The fourth-seeded Wildcats stunned top-ranked Hofstra, the No. 9 team in the nation, 9-7, in the other semifinal contest to reach the finals.
Had third-seeded Drexel upset the Tigers, the Dragons would've hosted Villanova by virtue of having a higher seed.
But instead, Drexel (7-8) will be left wondering what could've been.
The Dragons, winners of three straight coming in, were riding a high and seemed to be peaking at the most fortuitous of times - especially after a clutch performance against the Blue Hens in a game they had to have.
However, it was Towson that came to play from the outset, leaving Drexel in an uphill battle against a mountain that was just too high to climb.
The Tigers began pelting Dragons' freshman goalie Mark Manos with a plethora of shots before Bill McCutcheon's shot found the back of the net at the 3:32 mark of the first quarter to put Towson up 1-0. The Tigers got another 34 seconds later from Tim Stratton to make it 2-0 at the end of one.
Towson got two more goals in the second to take a 4-0 lead into halftime. But the story wasn't just the efficiency on the offensive end.
The Tigers also stymied Drexel on defense, holding the Dragons scoreless, while stifling its dynamic scoring tandem of Colin Ambler and Kyle Bergman. Towson goalie Rob Wheeler had seven saves in the second quarter as he kept his shutout intact while making several phenomenal stops.
The Tigers dominated Drexel from the start, scoring the game's first nine goals and the Dragons' 2009 season came to an anti-climatic end with a 10-2 loss April 30 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md.
Second-seeded Towson (7-9), which advanced to its fifth CAA championship game, will host Villanova May 2 for the right to see which team claims the conference's lone automatic bid for a berth in the NCAA tournament. The fourth-seeded Wildcats stunned top-ranked Hofstra, the No. 9 team in the nation, 9-7, in the other semifinal contest to reach the finals.
Had third-seeded Drexel upset the Tigers, the Dragons would've hosted Villanova by virtue of having a higher seed.
But instead, Drexel (7-8) will be left wondering what could've been.
The Dragons, winners of three straight coming in, were riding a high and seemed to be peaking at the most fortuitous of times - especially after a clutch performance against the Blue Hens in a game they had to have.
However, it was Towson that came to play from the outset, leaving Drexel in an uphill battle against a mountain that was just too high to climb.
The Tigers began pelting Dragons' freshman goalie Mark Manos with a plethora of shots before Bill McCutcheon's shot found the back of the net at the 3:32 mark of the first quarter to put Towson up 1-0. The Tigers got another 34 seconds later from Tim Stratton to make it 2-0 at the end of one.
Towson got two more goals in the second to take a 4-0 lead into halftime. But the story wasn't just the efficiency on the offensive end.
The Tigers also stymied Drexel on defense, holding the Dragons scoreless, while stifling its dynamic scoring tandem of Colin Ambler and Kyle Bergman. Towson goalie Rob Wheeler had seven saves in the second quarter as he kept his shutout intact while making several phenomenal stops.
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