Balanced scoring propels Tigers
The Towson men’s lacrosse team did not have leading scorer Jon Mazza for the second consecutive game. So the Tigers went to a multipronged approach to putting the ball in the net.
Nine different players scored goals to spark Towson to a 17-9 rout of Colonial Athletic Association rival Drexel before an announced 512 at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Friday night.
After the offense scored just three times in a 9-3 loss at Hofstra last Saturday, the 17-goal output was welcomed by the Tigers, who snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 4-6 overall and 1-1 in the CAA.
“It took us a while to get separation,” Towson coach Shawn Nadelen said. “But I thought our offense stayed consistent and was able to cash in on a lot of opportunities. Sharing the ball was something we obviously wanted to get back to, and we did a good job of that. … It was good to see our guys really rally around themselves.”
For the second consecutive game, the team played without Mazza and starting defenseman Sid Ewell, both of whom are serving indefinite suspensions for an unspecified violation of team rules.
Mazza leads Towson in goals with 16 and points with 24. Ewell, a transfer from CCBC-Essex, has 10 ground balls and six caused turnovers.
Redshirt junior attackman Johnny Giuffreda, a transfer from Loyola Maryland who paced the offense with five goals, said the players on offense took it upon themselves to fill the void created by Mazza’s absence.
“We’ve been preaching it after everything that went down last week, and guys really stepped up and performed to what they were supposed to do,” Giuffreda said.
Sovero also had an assist, and freshman attackman Phil Wies (Loyola Blakefield) TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS Autos added one goal and three assists.
The Tigers’ production was their highest since an 18-5 thrashing of Hobart on May 11, 2016. The nine different scorers marked the second-highest total by the program this season, trailing only the 10 players who scored in a 15-13 win against Mount St. Mary’s on Feb. 17.
The team’s nine assists on Friday were a team high since 10 helpers in that same game against the Statesmen in 2016. Junior attackman Brendan Sunday, who scored three goals, said offensive coordinator Anthony Gilardi emphasized passing the ball around to find gaps in the Dragons defense.
“We were just trying to share the ball offensively,” Sunday said. “Our motto is one-sixth. Everybody does their part, and I think everyone did that tonight. We did a really good job of moving the ball, which is exactly what Coach wanted us to do in the game plan.”
The Tigers opened the game with three straight goals. Wies faked a curl around the left post and instead went around the right post to score with 12:07 left in the first quarter.
Junior midfielder Grant Maloof scored while moving left to right with 11:05 remaining. Then Wies found Giuffreda in the slot for a goal with 8:29 left.
But the Dragons (4-6, 0-2) roared back with three goals of their own, all of which came from the stick of junior attackman Marshal King.