No. 10 Towson Heads North to No. 8 'Cuse
from press release
TOWSON, Md. – After earning the highest national
ranking in school history, the 10th-ranked Towson University
women's lacrosse team will travel to the Carrier Dome on Wednesday
afternoon for a 3 p.m. game against the eighth-ranked Orange.
It will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two teams in the
series, which Syracuse has dominated by winning all five previous
games.
Currently 4-0 on the season, the Tigers are ranked 10th in the
IWLCA/Under Armour Division I Coaches Poll and the Nike/Inside
Lacrosse Division I Media Poll. The Tigers have moved from 17th to
10th in the IWLCA Poll during the first four weeks of the
season.
"It's been a goal of ours to compete among the top teams in the
nation and I think the players have done that so far this year,"
Towson Coach Missy Doherty said. "Fortunately, the team has been
rewarded by the coaches with a top 10 ranking.
"I think the players are ready to prove that they deserve the
ranking they have received," Coach Doherty added. "There is always
pressure with every game, especially with our non-conference
schedule, but we have to be ready to step up and play."
The Tigers are coming off a 14-4 victory against George Washington
on Saturday, which extended the Tigers' regular season win streak
to nine straight games, dating back to last season. Junior attacker
Jess Dunn (Fallston H.S./Forest Hill, Md.) scored a career-high
four goals in the victory as the Tigers jumped out to a 10-2
half-time lead en route to their third straight win the
Colonials.
Redshirt senior midfielder Hillary Fratzke (Queen Anne's County
H.S./Centreville, Md.) is the Tigers' leading scorer with 12 goals
and one assist. Named as the CAA Preseason Player of the Year for
the second straight season, Fratzke has tallied a goal in 52
consecutive games after scoring a goal in the Tigers' win over
George Washington on Saturday. It is the fourth-longest streak in
NCAA Division I history.
Fratzke, who has also recorded a point in all 58 games of her
college career, also had a five-goal effort against 11th-ranked
Loyola on March 6 as the Tigers defeated the Greyhounds by a 14-10
margin.
Meanwhile, Dunn has become more of an offensive threat for the
Tigers this year, scoring ten goals along with an assist. She had
scored just seven goals in her first two seasons prior to this
year.
Led by junior attacker Tee Ladouceur (Bethlehem Central
H.S./Slingerlands, N.Y.), eighth-ranked Syracuse is off to a 3-1
start, but has been idle since a 19-7 victory over Vermont on March
8 in Jacksonville, Fla. Ladouceur, who was named to the BIG EAST
Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, scored three goals with a career-high
five assists in the win over the Catamounts and leads the Orange
with 23 points. With a 5.75 point per game average, she ranks third
in the nation.
Senior attacker Christina Dove (Bel Air H.S./Bel Air, Md.) has also
played well in the first four games, scoring a team-high four
goals. She ranks first in the nation with 255 career points and
needs four goals to become the second player in Syracuse history to
score 200 career goals.
Syracuse has averaged 16.25 goals per game, which ranks sixth in
the nation, while converting 49.2 per cent of its shot attempts.
The Orange has also won its three games by an average of 8.0 goals
per game, which is eighth in NCAA Division I.
"Syracuse has a lot of threats on offense and they have some great
shooters," Coach Doherty said. "We need to play good team defense
in order to be successful.
"We also have to do a good job of taking care of the ball," she
added. "We can't give them any easy plays. We just have to avoid
turning the ball over and finish our shots."
Led by a career-high eight points from Dove, the Orange jumped out
to a commanding 12-4 lead in the first half to earn a 19-11 victory
over the Tigers in last year's meeting at Johnny Unitas®
Stadium. Dove scored five of her game-high six goals in the first
half and also contributed two assists. Meanwhile, senior midfielder
Nikki Marcinik (Southern H.S./Deale, Md.) scored four goals with
two assists in a losing effort for the Tigers.
The Tigers will return home on Saturday afternoon to host the
University of Richmond at Unitas Stadium at 12 p.m.
TIGER TIDBITS: Fratzke has scored 10 goals in her
career against the Orange ... However, Syracuse was the last team
to hold her without a goal prior to her current 52-game streak ...
Syracuse Coach Gary Gait was an assistant coach at the University
of Maryland during Coach Doherty's playing career.
Wednesday's game will feature three of the top five active career
scoring leaders in NCAA Division I ... While Dove has tallied 196
goals and 255 points, Syracuse senior Halley Quillinan has scored
170 career goals and 201 points ... Fratzke has 160 career goals
and 216 career points.
The Tigers are 4-6 all-time on St. Patrick's Day and will be
playing against Syracuse on March 17 for the second straight
year.
The Tigers entered the week as one of seven teams in NCAA Division
I with an unbeaten record ... CAA rival James Madison has also
started the year with a perfect record.
The Tigers will be looking for their first-ever win at Syracuse in
four visits ... The Tigers have been held to an average of 6.3
goals per game in the three previous games in Syracuse.
The Tigers have scored the game's first goal in each of their first
four games this year ... They are 10-2 since the start of last year
when scoring first.
