Towson Downs Navy for First Victory of 2010
from press release
TOWSON, Md. – Graduate student Christian
Pastirik (St. Mary’s H.S./Annapolis, Md.) scored his third
goal of the game with six seconds remaining in regulation as Towson
University (1-3) earned its first win of the season, a 10-9
non-conference victory over Navy (3-4) at Johnny Unitas®
Stadium on Tuesday evening.
After the Midshipmen rallied from a 9-5 deficit to tie the game,
Pastirik took a pass from freshman attackman Matt Hughes (Central
Bucks East H.S./Doylestown, Pa.) and scored on a low shot from 15
yards out past sophomore goalkeeper RJ Wickham (Penn Yan
Academy/Penn Yan, N.Y.) for the game-winning goal.
“I didn’t want to go to overtime, so we were lucky to
get that goal with six seconds left,” Pastirik said.
“It’s always tough to play against Navy. They are a
good team and to get a win against them is huge for us.”
After the teams traded goals to open the game, the Tigers took a
3-1 lead with 5:06 remaining in the period with back-to-back goals
from Pastirik and junior attackman Tim Stratton (Manheim Township
H.S./Lititz, Pa.).
But, Navy responded to tie the game at 3-3 late in the first
quarter. With 2:45 remaining, senior midfielder Patrick Moran
(Severn School/Annapolis, Md.) scored off a feed from senior
attackman Brendan Connors (Kellenberg Memorial H.S./Bellmore, N.Y.)
to cut the deficit to 3-2. Connors tied the game with 52 seconds
remaining in the frame with an unassisted goal past junior
goalkeeper Travis Love (Winters Mill H.S./Westminster, Md.).
Led by two goals from Stratton, the Tigers answered with a
three-goal run to start the second quarter, giving Towson a 6-3
advantage. With 4:07 left in the first half, Connors tallied his
second goal of the game to close the margin to 6-4 before Navy
senior defenseman Jake Brosnan (St. Mary’s H.S./Chester, Md.)
scored the first goal of his college career with 17 seconds left in
the half.
For the second straight quarter, the Tigers scored three
consecutive goals to begin the period. After junior midfielder Pat
Britton (Seneca Valley H.S./Germantown, Md.) scored an unassisted
goal to give Towson a 7-5 advantage, junior midfielder Scott Ruhl
(Dublin Jerome H.S./Powell, Ohio) followed by scoring his first
goal of the season off a feed from senior midfielder Brock Armour
(Western Reserve Acad./Victoria, B.C., Canada).
With 7:13 remaining in the third quarter, Britton tallied his
second goal of the game to give Towson a 9-5 advantage.
Connors ignited a four-goal Navy run with 2:16 left in the third
period, scoring his third goal of the game before sophomore
attackman Ryan O’Leary (St. Anthony’s H.S./East Meadow,
N.Y.) cut the Midshipmen deficit to 9-7 with 20 seconds left.
Trailing by two goals to start the fourth quarter, senior
midfielder Joe Lennon (Loyola Blakefield H.S./Westminster, Md.)
scored with 10:39 remaining to trim the deficit to 9-8. Then,
Connors tied the game at 9-9 with 4:11 left by scoring off a feed
from senior attackman Andy Warner (Corning East H.S./Corning East,
N.Y.).
Pastirik and Stratton each scored three goals to lead the Tigers
while Britton added a pair of markers. Making the first start of
his college career, Love tallied a career-high 14 saves, including
five in the first quarter.
“It’s a win for us,” Towson Coach Tony Seaman
said. “The big thing for us was to play for 60 minutes
tonight. We had played for 48-50 minutes in the first three games
and tonight, I thought we finished things up and got a well-needed
win.
“You have to give Navy credit,” Coach Seaman added.
“They hung in there and took advantage of some breaks. Travis
played very well tonight and made some tough saves for us
tonight.”
Connors scored a career-high four goals for the Midshipmen in a
losing effort while O’Leary contributed two goals with an
assist. Wickham posted 12 saves for Navy, which was outshot by a
38-32 margin.
“I am proud of our guys for coming back tonight,” Navy
Coach Richie Meade said. “I thought we dug ourselves a little
bit of a hole. I thought both teams played pretty well and it was a
hard-fought game.”
