Football overcomes early deficit, improves to 6-0
Rob Ambrose leads his team out.
The sun-drenched crowd at Unitas Stadium had barely settled in their seats Saturday when the Tigers found themselves trailing New Hampshire 20-3. But the Tigers scored 41 unanswered points to take a commanding 44-20 lead, eventually winning 44-28. Towson improved its overall record to 6-0 and 2-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), and have now won 10 consecutive games.
Junior running back Terrance West led the Tiger offense with 238 yards and three touchdowns, freshman standout Darius Victor ran for 57 yards, and senior quarterback Peter Athens passed for a career-high 343 yards as the Tigers shattered the school record for total offense with 731 total yards.
“We would like to avoid those kind of starts but true greatness comes from working to be successful,” said head coach Rob Ambrose. “We just stayed true to ourselves and overcame the adversity.”
Towson will face its toughest test of the season when Villanova visits Unitas Stadium Saturday for a 7 p.m. CAA clash. The Wildcats were the preseason favorite to capture the CAA crown and will bring a record of 3-2 (2-0 in the CAA) to Towson for Saturday’s Homecoming contest.
Women’s soccer rallies
Second-half goals from senior Emily Banes and sophomore Hollie Garber fueled a 2-1, come-from-behind women’s soccer win over the College of Charleston in South Carolina Sunday. The Cougars scored first, but the resilient Tigers (2-2 in CAA games) scored a pair of goals late in the game for the win, Towson’s seventh of the season.
The Tigers travel first to face William & Mary Thursday at 7 p.m., then to James Madison on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Swimming and diving capture relays
Women’s swimming and diving opened the season with a resounding victory Friday at the Potomac Relays at American University, setting six meet records en route to the win. The Tigers scored 122 points to top George Mason (86 points) and George Washington (64). On the men’s side of the pool, the Tigers scored 114 points, defeating George Mason (94) and George Washington (60), among others.
The Tiger teams host Hood College and Howard University at Burdick Pool on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m.
Women’s tennis opens with triumph
Women’s tennis won its first dual match of the season Wednesday, earning a 7-0 victory over Mount St. Mary’s at the Towson Center Tennis Courts. Seniors Nani Lizana and Nisha Shah, and junior Cailey Easdale, led the way with wins in singles action. The Tigers won two of the three doubles matches to earn the doubles point.
The Tigers will compete in a tournament at Navy this weekend.
Field hockey drops a pair
Field hockey lost two tough CAA matches over the weekend, falling 2-1 to James Madison (JMU) on Friday and 5-1 to William & Mary on Sunday. Against JMU the Tigers took an early 1-0 lead with a Kate Williams goal in the first half. The visiting Dukes tied the game, then won it with a goal in the extra session. Junior goaltender Brittany Varacallo made seven saves. On Sunday the Tigers once again scored the opening goal, as sophomore Kelsey Jones converted a penalty corner shot. But that proved to be Towson’s only tally as W&M scored five unanswered goals to win.
Towson continues CAA play this Friday at Delaware beginning at 7 p.m.
Cross country competes in heat
Despite intense heat at Lehigh University, junior Elizabeth Tauber placed third with a time of 21:25 in the Paul Short Invitational Women’s Brown 6K Meet on Saturday. The extreme conditions forced the meet to cancel some scheduled events, but the Tigers ran in a strong field of 45 teams and took 11th place with 433 points.
The team returns to action on Friday, Oct. 18, at the Penn State National Meet.
Volleyball squad drops two
Volleyball lost a pair of home matches over the weekend, falling first to Hofstra and then Northeastern 24 hours later.
Hofstra rallied from a 2-1 deficit for a 3-2 victory in SECU Arena Friday. Freshman Stephanie Massanet posted a career-high 13 kills while hitting .480 to lead the Tigers, while junior Saitaua Iosia had a team-high 14 kills and 11 digs for her sixth “double-double” of the year. On Saturday, Iosia led the Tigers with 10 kills as the team held its annual alumnae night. The Tigers got five kills and three blocks from Massanet, Giovanazzi dished out a team-high 12 assists and Sekerak posted 11 digs, but Northeastern claimed the 3-0 victory.
The Tigers head to James Madison Friday for a 7 p.m. match.
