PHILADELPHIA, Pa. ? Led by three goals from senior midfielder Justin Schneider, Towson University (6-9) built a 6-4 lead over the University of Pennsylvania in the first three quarters. However, the Quakers (4-8) used a six-goal run over the last 15 minutes to earn their second win in the last three games, a 10-6 non-conference victory over the Tigers at Franklin Field on Sunday afternoon.
The loss spoiled the Tigers' regular season finale and the first career “hat trick” for Schneider, who has five goals and two assists in the last two games.
After the teams traded goals in the first 12 minutes of the opening quarter, the Tigers took a 2-1 lead when sophomore attackman Tim Stratton converted a feed from senior midfielder Randall Cooper for his 11th goal of the season.
Sophomore attackman Morgan Griff tied the game at 2-2 when he scored his second goal of the game, an unassisted marker with 6:03 left in the first half. However, the Tigers responded with back-to-back goals from Schneider and sophomore attackman Elliott Domanic for a 4-2 advantage at the intermission. For Domanic, it was the first goal of his college career.
The Quakers tied the game at 4-4 by scoring the first two goals of the second half. With 11:16 remaining in the third quarter, freshman attackman John Conneely scored off a feed from sophomore attackman Corey Winkoff to narrow the deficit to 4-3. Senior midfielder Casey O'Rourke followed with his eighth goal of the year with 8:30 left, tying the game for the third time.
Sophomore midfielder Peter Mezzanotte gave the Tigers a 5-4 advantage when he scored a transition goal off an assist from Stratton with 7:18 remaining in the third quarter. With 4:48 left in the stanza, Schneider tallied his third goal of the game off a feed from senior attackman Bill McCutcheon, upping the Tigers' edge to 6-4.
But, with one second left in the third quarter, Griff scored his third goal of the game to narrow the margin to 6-5 and ignite the Quakers' six-goal run.
Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, senior attacker Craig Andrzejewski tied the game at 6-6 off a Winkoff assist before junior attacker Rob McMullen scored to give the Quakers their first lead of the game with 8:29 left.
Senior midfielder Drew Collins scored to extend the Penn advantage to 8-6 with 6:55 remaining before Andrzejewski added a pair of goals to secure the victory for the Quakers.
Andrzejewski and Griff each scored three goals to lead the Quakers while Winkoff contributed three assists. Collins scored a goal and added an assist as the Penn seniors accounted for five goals and an assist in the victory.
Schneider led the Tigers in the loss with a career-high three goals while Stratton posted a goal with an assist. Junior goalkeeper Rob Wheeler made nine saves for the Tigers, who were outshot by a 31-30 margin.
The Tigers will begin the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament on Wednesday night when they host third-seeded Drexel at Johnny Unitas® Stadium at 7:30 p.m. It will be the second meeting between the two teams this season after Towson edged Drexel by a 7-4 margin on March 28.
Goals: TOW ? Justin Schneider 3, Tim Stratton 1, Peter Mezzanotte 1, Elliott Domanic 1; PENN ? Craig Andrzejewski 3, Morgan Griff 3, Drew Collins 1, John Conneely 1, Casey O'Rourke 1, Rob McMullen 1. Assists: TOW ? Randall Cooper 1, Matt Lamon 1, Bill McCutcheon 1, Tim Stratton 1; PENN ? Corey Winkoff 3, Drew Collins 1. Saves: TOW ? Rob Wheeler 9 (60:00, 10 goals allowed); PENN ? Greg Murray 4 (34:12, 4 goals allowed), Joe Hegener 4 (25:48, 4 goals allowed). Shots: TOW ? 30; PENN ? 31. Extra-Man Opportunities: TOW ? 0 for 2; PENN ? 2 for 5. Attendance: 325.
