Tigers men unable to finish comeback push
Towson keeps it close, but Denver faceoff specialist Baptiste dominates
Towson rallied for seven fourth-quarter goals Saturday, but the deficit proved too much as No. 7 Denver edged the No. 16 and host Tigers, 12-11, before an announced 2,654.
The game appeared to be a lot closer than it really was because Towson (4-3) scored five goals in the last seven minutes, but the Tigers couldn’t overcome Pioneers faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste, who won 20 of 26.
Baptiste’s play can demoralize a team, and he got outstanding support from his wings Saturday. It’s nearly impossible to make a serious run on Denver, and lacrosse is a game of spurts.
“I have no idea of what it’s like and never want to know,” Pioneers coach Bill Tierney said of facing a dominant faceoff player like Baptiste. “He is a monster, isn’t he?”
He is a disruptive force. Baptiste makes the game almost the equivalent of the make-it, take-it rule in playground basketball. At one point, Denver won 11 straight faceoffs, which allowed it to build a 9-4 lead by the end of the third quarter.
Freshman attackman Ethan Walker led the Pioneers (6-2) with four goals, and sophomore midfielder Colton Jackson had three. Just as important was Baptiste’s effect on Towson’s offense.
“It’s tough to build a rhythm,” said attackman Ryan Drenner (Westminster), who had three goals and three assists to lead the Tigers. “It’s hard to find rhythm, especially because their offense holds the ball each time for about three minutes.”
Towson also created its own problem. The Tigers were lethargic for nearly three quarters.
They were stymied by Denver goalie Alex Ready early in the game, as he had six of his 10 saves in the first half.
Towson’s offense got in sync late in the game when Drenner scored with 1:52 remaining to pull the Tigers to 12-9, then assisted on a goal by midfielder Brian Bolewicki with 40 seconds left.
Attackman Tyler Konen scored with 22 seconds to go, but the Pioneers won the final faceoff to seal the victory.
“We played with more urgency,” Drenner said of the last comeback attempt. “[Ready] did make some good saves, but early we were just throwing shots at his feet, making him look really good.”
Said Towson coach Shawn Nadelen: “We have to take that fourth quarter and turn it into four quarters. When the whistle blows on game day, you’ve got to be able to go. When you don’t play well for a half, it’s tough to earn a victory.”
Despite the poor play, Towson was still able to stay within three or four goals of Denver for most of the game. But Baptiste, a junior from Denville, N.J., kept getting the ball back for one of the nation’s top offenses.
The Tigers had pulled to 7-4 on attackman Joe Seider’s goal with 1:22 left in the third quarter, but Baptiste won two more faceoffs in the remaining time.
One of those led to a goal by Walker with one minute left, and the other resulted in a goal by Denver senior attackman Connor Cannizzaro 57 seconds later.
Denver gave Towson a different look, having Cannizzaro start the offense at times at the top of the restraining box instead of operating from the wing or behind the goal.
Denver led 4-1 at the half as the Pioneers scored the only two goals of the second quarter in the first three minutes of the period.
Jackson beat Towson’s Jack Adams down the left alley for the game’s first goal with 10:23 left in the first quarter. Walker made it 2-0 on an extra-man goal with eight minutes remaining in the first, but the Tigers managed to be behind just 2-1 at the end of the quarter on a goal by Drenner with five minutes left in the quarter.
Towson outshot Denver 5-4 in the first half, but Ready was strong in the quarter, collecting four saves. Denver Towson Goals: D—Walker 4, Jackson 3, Cannizzaro 2, Logan, McCaffrey, Pace ; T—Drenner 3, Bolewicki 2, Goodrich 2, Konen, Laundry, Lynch, Seider. Assists: D—Donahue, Mayle, Marano, Phillips, Walker; T—Drenner 3, Konen 3, Bolewicki, Goodrich. Saves: D—Ready 10; T—Miller 6, Hoy 2.