By MILTON KENT
TowsonTigers.com

Summer is right around the corner, but that means little to men's lacrosse goalie Andrew Wascavage of the Tigers.

Wascavage isn't planning for much of a rest now that the Tigers' season is over. There might be a day or so here, just to give his legs a bit of a break. But you get the sense that Wascavage, who just completed his junior season, would just as soon suit up right now, even on the heels of a taxing spring.

“I play every day in season or out,” said Wascavage. (right) “I try to have a toss every day. It comes down to enjoying the sport and not really going out there because you have to.”

Though the Tigers didn't qualify for the NCAA postseason, this offseason will almost certainly be more pleasant than last for Wascavage, a native of Drayden, Md., and the rest of the Towson roster.

That's because the Tigers, in their first season under new head coach Shawn Nadelen, established themselves as a team on the rise.

For instance, after losing six one-goal games in 2011, a dismal 3-10 2011 season, Towson won all three of its one-goal decisions this year, including a double-overtime road victory over Hofstra.

To Wascavage's way of thinking, the success in one-goal games provided signs of maturation and resilience.  

“We came from behind. We pulled those (one-goal games) out,” said Wascavage. “We fought as a team. We were all there and determined to make it through to the end.”

That growth was evidenced in the two meetings with top-ranked and unbeaten Massachusetts. The Minutemen thoroughly dominated the first game in early April, but the Tigers played well in last Wednesday's rematch, especially in the third quarter.

“We went in there with a solid game plan,” said Wascavage, who turned back 11 UMass shots. “We weren't able to execute as efficiently as we should have. But we were definitely prepared for them. What we did was much better than last time, if that's any consolation, I suppose.”

Indeed, improvement is a consolation and Wascavage showed that in his first full season as a starter. His save percentage (.564) and saves per game (10.6) ranked fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Wascavage attributed his improved play to the new system that Nadelen installed and to his own improved health, as he was able to play a full season after enduring three knee surgeries.

“That (returning from surgery) kind of put me into a more focused area of my game,” said Wascavage. “I knew I had to come back and I had a possibility of starting the first game of the season. So I just tried as hard as I could to push my game and (raise) it to the next level.”

Wascavage believes that if talented freshmen like midfielders  Justin Mabus and Jojo Ostrander, both named to the CAA All-Rookie team, can continue to advance, combined with the return of sophomores Thomas DeNapoli and John Fennessy, (right) Towson's rise will continue, especially with another year under Nadelen's system.

“Everybody will be more engrained into the system and they know what to expect and they'll know how to produce in it,” said Wascavage.

Indeed, summer can't come and go fast enough for Andrew Wascavage.