MEDIA ADVISORY
TOWSON, Md. – A gutsy play by a freshman at one end and a low-to-high snipe from a redshirt freshman lifted the No. 10/No. 9 Towson men’s lacrosse team to a 10-9 overtime win at Ohio Stadium against the Buckeyes.
Freshman do-it-all midfielder Zach Goodrich picked up a groundball with just over two minutes left in overtime. Goodrich drew a push with possession penalty, helping the Tigers clear the ball with no time running off the clock.
The Tigers, who bounced back from a loss on Saturday at No. 11 Ohio State, did not score on the 30-second extra-man chance, but redshirt freshman Ian Kirby notched his second career even-strength goal with 34 seconds on the clock to give Towson the victory.
How It Happened
· The Tigers (6-1) exploded on offense while the defense played strong on the other end. Towson jumped out to an 6-0 lead behind five different goal scorers. Mike Lynch got things going, followed by Joe Seider, Ben McCarty and Spencer Parks to end the first quarter 4-0 Towson.
· Parks got his second of the game nearly five minutes into the fresh period, followed by a Ryan Drenner chance. Ohio State (5-3) avoided the first-half shutout with a tally from Ryan Hunter with 39 seconds to go.
· The Buckeyes struck 32 seconds into the second half on an extra-man chance that carried over from the first half on a Tyler Mayes penalty.
· Not yet crucial, the Tigers ripped off three straight goals from three sources as Lynch and Seider got their second goals. Redshirt freshman Dylan Kinnear, who transferred to Towson from Ohio State in the offseason, picked up a looseball and scored after Buckeye keeper Tom Carey made a save on a Jon Mazza shot.
· Ohio State rallied and ripped off seven-straight goals to tie the game with 3:48 left. Eric Fannell scored a natural hat trick, followed by two Carter Brown tallies. JT Blubaugh scored on the man-up, while Austin Shanks ended the run to tie the game.
· Neither team got a shot off in the remainder of regulation. Ohio State won the faceoff in overtime thanks to Jake Withers, who went 16-of-22 at the X.
· Blubaugh got off a shot with 2:49 left in the overtime period, but was knocked down. Towson finished the game with six blocked Buckeye shots. Fannell threw an errant pass that set up the Goodrich drawn penalty.
Behind the Numbers
· Ohio State ripped off 35 shots, while Towson managed 31. The Buckeyes out-shot 23-16 in the second half.
· Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List candidate Tyler White made eight saves in goal as the Tigers held their sixth opponent this year to single digits. White’s counterpart, Carey, stopped a dozen Towson attempts.
· The Buckeyes went two-for-three on the extra man, while Towson failed to convert on its only attempt.
· The Tuesday night win was Towson’s first at Ohio Stadium since moving to the Division I level in 1980. The Tigers are 1-1 all-time in Columbus in that stretch.
· Towson opened its program history by dropping its first 15 games that were 10-9, but have since improved to 10-5 since that time, including tonight’s victory.
· The Tigers improved to 6-1 on the season, the team’s best start under head coach Shawn Nadelen.
Up Next For Towson
· After playing back-to-back road games for the only time in 2016, the Tigers return to Johnny Unitas ® Stadium for a three-game home stand.
· The home series begins on Saturday when the Tigers welcome Furman to town. Opening faceoff is set for noon and will be followed by a women’s lacrosse game against Penn.
Lance Crafton, Lacrosse is Awesome will be at the game Saturday March 19, 2016 when the Tigers take on Furman University. Stay tuned for our recap.