No. 18 Towson Holds Off 15th-Ranked Tribe in CAA Action

Sophomore Kara Parker Leads W&M with Two Points

04/15/05 6:20PM

Towson, MD - Eighteenth-ranked Towson raced out to an 8-0 first-half lead and used four goals from junior Becky Trumbo and 10 saves from freshman goalkeeper Mandy Corry to hold off 15th-ranked William and Mary, 12-4, in a Colonial Athletic Association women’s lacrosse game Friday afternoon at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

With the victory, the Tigers improved to 4-2 in the CAA and 10-3 overall, while keeping the College winless on the road in six attempts this season. W&M falls to 3-2 in league play and 6-7 overall.

The Tribe had a couple golden opportunities early to crack the scoreboard, but Corry posted three saves in the first five minutes to keep the W&M attack silent. Towson senior Martha Dwyer started the Tigers’ run after nearly 10 scoreless opening minutes when she broke through with 20:48 left in the first. While the Tribe struggled offensively at one end, Towson had no problems at the other, as the Tigers ripped off five more goals, including two from sophomore Shannon Witzel and two from Trumbo, to take a 6-0 lead with 11:48 remaining before intermission. The lead grew to 7-0 on another Witzel tally at the 11:14 mark, and junior Erin Rinella gave the Tigers an 8-0 advantage with 6:23 to go before the break.

Sophomore midfielder Jamie Fitzgerald (Jenkintown, PA) ended the Towson run with the Tribe’s lone goal of the first half, when she found the net on as assist from sophomore midfielder Emily Vitrano (Cockeysville, MD) with 2:29 left on the clock.

Unfortunately for the Tribe, the second half started out much like the first with Corry keeping the College off the scoreboard. After controlling the opening draw of the second period, W&M was hoping for a much better start, but Corry stoned junior midfielder Morgan Lang (Westfield, NJ) on a close shot from just past the right side of the crease keeping the score at 8-1.

It didn’t get any better from there as Towson senior Amy Middleton tacked on a pair of free-position goals, the latter coming at the 23:17 mark, which extended the Tiger lead to 10-1. At that point, junior goalkeeper Debby Petracca (Manhasset, NY) came on for the Tribe and did an admirable job, recording four second-half saves, while the Tribe offense finally was able to solve Corry and gain some much needed momentum.

Facing a seemingly insurmountable nine-goal deficit, the Tribe broke through with 21:11 remaining when sophomore attacker Kara Parker (Phoenix, MD) took a feed at the eight-meter mark from senior preseason All-American Morgan Watkins (Fort Washington, PA), took three steps and whipped a shot past Corry to make it 10-2. Less than a minute later, junior All-American candidate Colleen Dalon (Moorestown, NJ) netted an unassisted goal to pull the Tribe within 10-3 with 20:35 remaining.

Now trailing by seven, the College continued to show signs of a possible second-half comeback when junior attacker La Nolan (Ruxton, MD) forced a turnover near midfield and picked up the ground ball, sending the Tribe back into its offensive zone. After working the set, Parker feathered a nifty pass over the Towson defense to a wide-open Nolan at the top of the circle, and Nolan fired a shot into the back of the net to cut the deficit to 10-4 with 15:46 to play. That was as close as W&M would get, however, as Corry picked up two more saves, before Trumbo scored her third goal with 11:33 remaining and set the final margin with her fourth with 2:29 left on the clock.

Lang paced the Tribe with six ground balls, while Dalon and Fitzgerald each picked up three. Petracca added a pair of ground balls in 23 minutes, and senior Becca Hall (Ft. Belvoir, VA), freshman defender Ashley Bolton (Narbeth, PA), sophomore midfielder Lizzy Bayly (Bowie, MD) and sophomore midfielder Kristen Wong (Richmond, VA) all registered a caused turnover.

W&M will look to bounce back on Sunday, as it travels to Delaware for another CAA contest at 12 noon.

Box Score