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Towson Nips Tribe in Women’s Lax Action
Game Decided on Last Second Goal
04/16/04 8:00PM
WILLIAMSBURG, VA - In a contest that featured 15 ties or lead changes, the 17th-ranked Towson Tigers pulled out a thrilling, last-second, 12-11, win over the hosting and 16th-ranked Tribe from William and Mary on Friday evening at Busch Field Turf.
The win propels Towson into sole possession of second place in the competitive Colonial Athletics Association with a league record of 4-1 (10-3 overall), while the College drops to 3-2 in league and 7-6 overall.
The loss also snaps the College’s three-game winning streak, the team’s longest since starting the 2001 season with three straight wins.
In a game that was as evenly played as the score would indicate, the final result was not decided until Towson freshman Shannon Witzel scored the second of her two goals in the last two minutes of play to put the Tigers up 12-11 with 37 seconds re-maining. Both of Witzel’s decisive tallies came off helpers from sophomore attacker Becky Trumbo. Trumbo ended the contest with a game-high three assists (and one goal), while Witzel was the leading scorer on the afternoon with three goals.
Despite the loss, the College managed to out shoot Towson, 37-25. William and Mary’s scoring was very balanced, as sen-ior returning first-team all-conference performer Lauren Work (Henrietta, NY), junior Morgan Watkins (Fort Washington, PA), sophomore Colleen Dalon (Moorestown, NJ) and freshman Emily Vitrano (Cockeysville, MD) each scored a pair of goals on the afternoon. Once again, Kristen Wong was superb in the midfield, as she was the game’s leader in both caused turnovers (four) and ground balls. The Tribe was also dominant off the draw, as it held a 16-9 advantage on the game, led by the standout efforts of senior midfielder Nicole Lewis who fought her way to a game-high six draws.
The game’s tone was quickly established off the opening draw, as the two teams battled end-to-end from the first whistle. While the pace of play was sometimes lolled, as one team or the other tried to use possession to run clock, the intensity remained at a high level until the final horn sounded. A solo run by Vitrano staked the College to a 1-0 lead just over four minutes into the contest, but Towson came up with the equalizer less than 40 seconds later to tie the contest. The two sides traded goals back-and-forth over the next 24 minutes, with neither team ever gaining more than a one-goal advantage. When Watkins scored the second of her two first half goals at 21:24, it staked the Tribe a 4-3 lead. Towson squared the score once again after Trumbo threaded a perfect feed to Amy Middleton, which the senior deposited in the back of the net. As would be the case in the game’s final sec-onds, Towson rallied with a pair of scores in the waning moments of the half to jump out to what would be it’s largest lead of the afternoon. Witzel used an assist from Middleton to score with just 13 second remaining and sent the two teams to the half with the Tigers holding a 6-4 lead.
William and Mary came out of the break and found its stride. After Dalon moved the team to within a point with a goal at 33:44, the Tribe proceeded to outscore Towson 5-2 over the next 15 minutes, using five goals from five different players. Wong ended the blitz with one of the most exciting scores of the Tribe’s season, as mercurial midfielder received the ball off a clear deep in the Tribe’s defensive end and blazed the length of the field, challenged down the center of the crease and finished, top-shelf. Her highlight quality score gave a 10-8 lead with just over 10 minutes to play. The team’s traded goals over the next five minutes, with Work answering a Towson score and restoring the Tribe’s two-goal bulge, 11-9, with just 4:40 remaining. Despite some quality ball control by the College, Towson’s defensive tenacity was able to force turnovers late in the game that proved costly to the Tribe. Middleton moved the Tigers within a goal by scoring at the 56:17 mark. From here, it fell to the late playmaking heroics of Trumbo and Witzel to complete the comeback win.
William and Mary will return to action this Sunday, when it will host conference foe Delaware in a contest scheduled to start at noon.
Box Score
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