Maryland Downs Towson in Return to Byrd
from press release
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John Haus had a pair of goals to help Maryland knock off Towson 12-8. © John Strohsacker/LaxPhotos.com |
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The second midfield unit of
John Haus, Michael Shakespeare and Drew Snider combined to score
six of the sixth-ranked University of Maryland men's lacrosse
team's 12 goals in the Terps' 12-8 win over Towson Saturday at
Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.
The game marked Maryland's return to Capital One Field at Byrd
Stadium after construction to Tyser Tower forced the Terps top play
their 2009 home games at nearby Ludwig Field. Maryland's last game
at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium was a victory over Denver in
the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
The game was close through the first quarter with Maryland (4-0)
holding a one-goal lead after the first 15:00. Haus, a freshman out
of Lutherville, Md., got the Terps, who never trailed in the game,
on the board first with a quick runner that beat Towson goalie Rob
Wheeler into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Junior Warren Hansen gave the Terrapins a two-goal cushion when he
one-timed a pass from junior Travis Reed at the 9:20 mark. Hansen
slipped through the defense and found an open spot on the right
side of the crease and Reed sent a crisp pass across the crease for
the easy score.
Towson (0-3) got on the board with 6:23 left in the first when
Will Harrington scored his first of three goals on the day,
converting on an extra-man opportunity. Maryland responded with its
own extra-man goal three minutes later. On a restart Reed flipped a
quick pass to sophomore Joe Cummings, who made a good cut to the
crease and he finished with a low shot past Wheeler.
It looked like Maryland would have a two-goal lead going into the
second quarter, but the Tigers got a goal from Stephen Norris with
13 seconds left on the clock to make the score 3-2.
Maryland started the second quarter just like it started the
first. Only this time it was junior All-American Ryan Young getting
the Terps going with an unassisted goal at the 11:56 mark. Towson's
Christian Pastirik scored a minute later to cut the lead back to
one at 4-3, but that was as close as the Tigers would get on the
day. Maryland closed out the second quarter with a 4-0 run spanning
the final 9:58 of the quarter to take an 8-3 lead into
halftime.
Shakespeare, a sophomore from Walpole, Mass., scored his first on
the day to get the run going. A Towson defender knocked the ball
away from Cummings, but Shakespeare was there to pick-off the loose
ball. He then ripped a 15-yard shot inside the right post for a 5-3
Maryland lead.
The Terps' second midfield completed their first circuit of goals
with Snider, a redshirt sophomore from Seattle, Wash., hitting a
runner from the right alley for the 6-2 advantage.
Maryland's extra-man unit, which entered the weekend ranked No. 2
in the country with a .667 conversion percentage, scored its second
of the day in a near repeat of its first goal. Once again it was
Cummings picking up the goal, but this time the feed came from the
top of the box on a quick dump down from junior Grant Catalino.
The run came to a close at the 2:12 mark with a terrific
transition goal by redshirt junior Brian Farrell. The play started
deep in the Maryland defensive end when junior goalie Brian Phipps
picked-off a cross-crease pass by Towson's Tim Stratton. He then
saw Farrell breaking out down the middle of the field and hit him
in stride with a perfect outlet pass. Farrell, a long pole who came
into the game with 15 career goals, had a clear run down the field
and the Tiger defense did not cut off his charge toward the goal,
so he took a 10-yard shot and beat Wheeler low to make it an 8-3
Maryland lead heading into the halftime break.
After the intermission Towson made a change in goal and Travis
Love made five saves in the first four minutes of the third quarter
to give the Tigers some momentum. Towson then drew first blood at
the 8:08 mark on a goal by Matt Hughes, snapping a 17:36 scoreless
stretch.
Maryland responded with Snider's second goal of the day on a
runner from the right alley that pushed the Terps' lead back to
five at 9-4 at the 5:30 mark.
Towson then went on its own run, scoring three straight on two by
Harrington and one by Stratton to make it a three-goal game with
13:57 left in the fourth.
But the second line responded for the Terps with unassisted goals
by Shakespeare and Haus, respectively, to give Maryland a four-goal
cushion at 11-7. Reed took a shot that hit the crossbar and the
ball ended up on being swatted to the ground in front of the
crease. That's where Shakespeare fought through a crownd and swiped
the ball of the ground into the Tiger goal. Haus' second goal of
the day was a bit more orthodox as he dodged down the left alley
and ripped a left-handed shot inside the far pipe.
Pastirik scored his second of the day to cut the Terrapin lead to
11-8 with 5:28 to go. The Tigers tried to double the ball when
Maryland had possession in the Tigers' defensive zone, but Cummings
was able to split the double-team and slip a pass to Young, who
scored an empty-netter with 1:37 left to finish the scoring.
Maryland's man-down unit was terrific on the day. A steady rain
and deteriorating field conditions led to some sloppy penalties for
the Terps and Towson entered the game converting on 62.5% of its
extra-man chances. But the Terps man-down unit allowed just one
Tiger EMO goal in eight opportunities.
The Terrapin defense was led by senior long pole Dan Halayko, who
had four groundballs and three caused turnovers, and Farrell, who
had three caused turnovers and two groundballs. Senior Bryn Holmes
led the Terps with five groundballs.
