Sports | 5/6/07

Media Credit: Patrick Smith [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Patrick Smith [Click to enlarge]

With an opportunity to clinch an automatic berth in next week's NCAA tournament, the Tigers stumbled in the second half of Saturday's CAA Championship against the Delaware Blue Hens.

For the second consecutive season at Johnny Unitas Stadium, Delaware bounced Towson from the conference playoffs, this time by a count of 10-7. The victory gave Delaware their first-ever CAA tournament championship.

Towson led 6-4 at halftime, but did not score again until senior attack Timmy Andre tallied his third goal of the season with 48 seconds to play in the game.

"They got a couple good goals on us but we never stopped the bleeding quick enough," Towson face-off specialist Matt Eckerl said. "We got some shots off, we hit a couple pipes, we had a couple passes we missed and their defense picked up a couple 50-50 groundballs that could have gone either way. We came out flat in the third quarter and that's what made us lose the game."

The third quarter has been a turning point for the Tigers in the last two weeks. Against Johns Hopkins in the season finale, the Tigers' offense was silent after halftime, allowing the Blue Jays to claim the lead and hold on for the victory. Wednesday against Hofstra in the conference semifinals, the Tigers posted five third-quarter goals in support of their 11-5 win. Saturday, though, Towson took just six shots and did not score as the Blue Hen's rallied.

"I think the third quarter was the difference in the game. They scored four and we had none," Towson head coach Tony Seaman said. "Possessions are really important and their face-off guy was excellent. He keeps getting the ball back and it keeps you from getting any kind of momentum and keeps their momentum going."

CAA Player of the Year Alex Smith pulled 14-21 face-offs in the title game. He was later recognized as the tournament's most outstanding player.

Along with Smith's prowess on face-offs, the Blue Hens minimized turnovers in the second half, a crux that hindered the Tigers throughout the first half. While Smith won 10-12 face-offs in the first half to give Delaware a significant time of possession advantage, the Blue Hens' routinely turned the ball over, whether it was sloppy ball handling or inaccurate passes, resulting in 13 first-half turnovers.

In the second half, they made a greater effort to maintain possession and create better looks on goal. By taking 41 shots, the Blue Hens took advantage of what Seaman would view as an adequate performance by his goalkeeper.

"I thought it was a pretty average game for [Matt] Antol," he said. "There were a few goals on shots he usually saves. There were a couple others he usually doesn't but he stopped them."

Conversely, Blue Hen netminder Tommy Scherr, the emotional spark for Delaware, made 17 saves. He credits his success to a strong performance by his defensive unit that forced Towson to take difficult shots.

"Everybody played unbelievably in the second half," Scherr said. "I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a couple short-stick defensive middies that we have. It's such a luxury having them out there and it's really hard to beat them. You have to go really hard to get by them, and even when you do you aren't by them clean. They are still getting a good push or a good lift on you, so when they go to take that shot, it's a lot easier of a shot than I would usually be facing."

Note: Sophomore midfielder Justin Schneider was carted off the field late in the fourth quarter after being hit in the back of the neck by a shot taken by freshman Cryder DiPietro. Schneider was released from the hospital after suffering what Seaman described as "a severe contusion to the back of the neck." According to Seaman, the doctors told Schneider he would be "tender and sore." Seaman was unable to comment on whether or not Schneider will be available for the NCAA tournament.

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