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By MAT SCHLISSEL
TowsonTigers.com
The Tiger men's lacrosse team (2-2) has had 10 days to prepare for the Navy Midshipmen
(2-3) who face the Tigers at Unitas Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. face-off on Tuesday night.
The Mids, who lead the series 6-4, have dominated the series in Annapolis, winning all five games, but are 1-4 on the road.
Last year in Annapolis, Towson had a 11-8 lead with 3:04 left in
the third quarter before the Mids scored six unanswered goals to win the
game, 14-11. Towson was led by Matt Hughes, who had three goals while
Andrew Hodgson (below) added two assists.
Like Towson, Navy is going through a similar transition with a new
head coach in Rick Sowell. The former Stony Brook head coach replaced
long-time head coach Richie Meade, coming off a 4-9 season. He did
inherit some talent, especially on attack.
This season, Navy opened up with a 14-7 win over VMI at home. But,
they followed that with a loss at Jacksonville (whom Towson beat,
12-10), 13-7. That loss began a three-game losing streak, which included a hard-fought 9-8 home loss to North Carolina
and a 14-9 home loss to Patriot League foe Bucknell.
On Saturday, March 10, Navy did win its next conference game, downing Lafayette, 12-7 from Easton, Pa.
In the first five games, Navy has a 29.4% shooting perecnetage and
has averaged 34 shots per game. The Mids have struggled some on man-up
opportunites, converting on just 4-of-20 (20%), while allowing opponents
to score on 8-of-23 opportunities (34.8%).
Nobody outworks Navy, so it's not surprising that
the Mids out-groundball their opponents by 171 to 129. But what makes that
more surprising is that the Mids have won just 55 of their 119 face-offs
(46.2%). They have had few issues clearing the ball (90.1%), while
the Tigers have certainly struggled in that category (75%).
On attack, sophomore Tucker Hall (6-0, 170) is off to a fantastic
start. The 2011 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, leads the Mids with
27 points, including 15 goals and 12 assists. He has converted on 15 of
his 27 shots (40%). Against Lafayette, Hall
tallied five assists and three goals.
Sophomore Sam Jones (5-8, 176), a Severna Park native, is second on
the team with nine goals and seven assists. Senior co-captain Taylor
Reynolds (5-8, 172) adds experience with five goals and four assists.
At midfield, Navy's first unit is versatile though not quite as
explosive offensively. Junior Bryce Dabbs (5-10, 178) and sophomore Pat
Durkin (6-0, 183) lead the midfield in scoring. Dabbs has recorded six
goals and two assists, while Durkin has added
six goals. Senior Nikk Davis (5-11, 178), a local product from Dulaney
H.S., has scored two goals and also runs with the first-team midfield.
On face-offs, senior midfielder Logan West (5-10, 194) was coming
off a pretty good season, winning 52% of his draws last year. He had a
career game against the Tigers last year, winning 19 of 29 face-offs.
But this season, West has had some issues, winning
54 of 117 face-offs (46.2%), while scooping up a team-high 34 ground
balls. West has taken all but two face-offs all year.
On defense, sophomore LSM Pat Kiernan (5-11, 183) has three goals this year, including two on Saturday against Lafayette.
At close defense, senior Matt Vernam (6-2, 224) is the most
experienced defender, a four-year starter. Vernam has
scooped up 15 ground balls and has caused three turnovers this season.
Junior Austin Miller (6-0, 174) adds speed and stick skills
wtih 18 ground balls and six caused turnovers. Junior Jay Christopher
(6-0, 193) has started four games and has six caused turnovers and seven
ground balls.
In goal, senior R.J. Wickham (5-10, 185) is back in the cage after a
pretty successful career. Two seasons ago, he was named Patriot League's
Goalie of the Year but last season, he struggled, with a 49.1% save
percentage. This season, he has allowed 10 goals
per game, with a 48.3% save percentage.
The Navy/Towson game will be broadcast live on 1570 am WNST and I'll be blogging at TowsonTigers.com.
