In a classic give-and-take game, Tim Stratton’s hat trick proved to be the deciding factor in the Towson men’s lacrosse team’s second straight win as it beat UMBC, 10-7, on Wednesday evening.
Stratton, a junior attacker for the Tigers (3-5), proved to be the team’s best player of the game with a season-high three goals off of five shots on net. Stratton also had an assist on the evening against UMBC.
The Retrievers (1-7) made some threatening runs against the Tigers’ defense. UMBC’s offense went 2-for-4 on the power play, along with dual two-goal efforts by attackmen Kyle Wimer and Shane Ryznar.
It also saw more saves out of their goaltender Adam Cohen than Towson goalie, Travis Love.
The Tigers, who had a three-game losing streak to deal with not too long ago, won their last two games and are showing significant improvement on the playing field. They led the Retrievers in shots, shots on goal, face offs won and turnovers, while also going 2-for-3 on the power play.
Manhattan falls to Hofstra
No. 10 Hofstra routed Manhattan, 18-2, on Tuesday afternoon.
The Pride (6-3) dominated the playing field on every aspect. The leading scorer on the day, junior attackman Jamie Lincoln, tallied four goals and two assists against a bewildered Jasper defense. Freshman Aaron Jones also highlighted the scoreboard with his first career hat trick and an assist.
In total, 11 different players scored at least one goal for Hofstra as it outshot Manhattan, 33-27, won faceoffs, 17-6, and was 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Jaspers were 0-for-2.
The Pride, who just days before, lost by a mere two goals to Drexel, quickly established themselves as the dominant team on the field, both offensively and defensively. After the end of the second quarter, Hofstra had scored 12 goals off 21 shots without letting up a goal to an anemic Manhattan offense.
The Pride earned 16 consecutive unanswered goals before Jasper freshman Tyler Jarvis put one past the Hofstra goalie Andrew Gvozden, who left after three periods with 10 saves and allowed one goal.
Dragon’s rookie surging
Drexel freshman Robert Church earned the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week after his offensive drive in Saturday’s game against Hofstra.
Church, a British Colombian native and freshman attackman for the Dragons, earned seven goals in a 13-11 win over the Pride. For Church, this is only one example of how he’s helped Drexel be competitive in the CAA.
In a season where it won three times against teams in the top 10 for the first time in the school’s history, Church has a team-high 24 goals in 10 games thus far. Church also has three assists, 37 shots on goal and a team-leading .822 shots on goal percentage amongst players who have played at least 10 games.
His ability to adjust comes from his experience in the British Columbia Junior A Lacrosse League where he led the league with 107 points. He was his high school’s MVP, played on the provincial championship team, a First Team All-Star, and was the league’s Most Valuable Player.
David Martin can be reached at [email protected].
