Nine-Goal Third Quarter lifts Towson over UMBC

By: D’Mari Dreher-Smith, Sports Editor and Kylie Jones, Deputy Sports Editor

After a one-point road loss to St. Joseph’s, the Towson Tigers returned home to take on a Baltimore foe in the UMBC Retrievers. After a tight first half, the Tigers exploded in the third quarter, scoring nine goals to earn a 14-10 victory over UMBC. 

The Retrievers kicked things off, finding the back of the net in under a minute of playing time to open up scoring. Towson, on the other hand, struggled early, shooting 0-8, including three missed shots from Mikey Weisshaar. 

After nine minutes of play, Towson’s Joaquin Villagomez capitalized on an assist from Alex Vieni to bring the game to a 1-1 draw. UMBC responded with two goals in the next three minutes to reclaim the lead. 

With 90 seconds to go in the first, Tigers’ Ryan Schrier flipped the ball to Weisshaar who scored his first of the night off of a screen. 

Towson tried to capitalize again after causing a turnover and clearing the ball with 20 seconds left, but a shot attempt from Weisshaar was high, leaving the Tigers trailing by 1 entering the second quarter. 

“I just didn’t think we were playing smart,” head coach Shawn Nadelen said. “I thought there were some plays that we didn’t earn our way with.” 

At the end of the first, Towson had 15 shots to UMBC’s seven, but the Retrievers were able to grab four saves while the Tigers had one. 

“UMBC’s got a good defense,” Nadelen said. “They’re not gonna make it easy on you. We gotta work for it.”

The two teams chipped back-and-forth during the second, but neither team broke open with a substantial lead. 

Weisshaar opened up scoring with an unassisted goal, his tenth goal of the season, to tie the game at three a piece. Within a minute, the Retrievers answered with a goal of their own, but Towson’s Owen Scott tied it back up with ten minutes to go in the second. 

A six-minute scoring drought ensued, but UMBC reclaimed the lead with four-and-a-half minutes to go. A minute later, Villagomez broke free from coverage for his second goal of the night, but the Retrievers responded to take back a one-point lead. 

The Tigers’ took two more attempts before the half closed, but both shots were high, giving UMBC a 6-5 advantage at the break. 

“I think we all knew we could’ve performed a lot better in the first half,” Villagomez said. “We kind of just dialed back in the locker room, just talking about doing what we do.” 

The second half saw a dynamic, complete performance for the Tigers. 

The third quarter opened with an immediate penalty, resulting in an extra-man opportunity, UMBC giving the Tigers an opening to turn the tide in their favor. Freshman Will Schoonmaker would complete the play with a shot and score a goal.

The Tigers would continue to draw man-up penalties, Villagomez pushing forward giving them the space to surpass the Retrievers for the first Tiger lead early in the third, 7-6.

Towson’s Kai Lopez would create key offensive space for the Tigers, Weisshaar taking advantage of the momentum would score two goals for the Tigers within a minute, 9-6

“I always want to help out the offense. I’ve always been kind of an offensive minded guy,” said Lopez. “I’ll try to help out my team as best as possible.”

The Tigers would continue to create on offense, they would briefly struggle defensively, turning over the ball. Small mistakes would plague the Tigers, UMBC’s Jake Kucinski taking advantage, scoring a quick goal, 9-7. Despite the brief offense, UMBC could not match the Tigers ability to create opportunities.

Two turnovers from UMBC would hand control to the Tigers, notching two goals. A feed from Villagomez to Alex Roussell and another from Vieni to Roussell would make it 11-7.

While UMBC would score again off a Tiger turnover, The Tigers would go on a 3-0, Villagomez, Roussell and Weisshaar goals would end the quarter, 14-8.

After a busy 3rd quarter, the 4th quarter would quiet down, neither team scoring until UMBC would score back-to-back goals midway through the quarter, 14-10. Towson would block any attempts by UMBC to get back in the game, forcing three turnovers to close the game. 

“I thought we were better in the second half,” said Nadelen. “We were able to identify that and play a cleaner, calculate offense.”

Weisshaar earned his seventh 5+ goal game of his Towson career, Lopez notching a career-high 18 faceoff wins and 15 groundballs. Villagomez would also tie his career-high seven points. 

The Tigers will take a short trip down the road to take on the Loyola Greyhounds, Tuesday, March. 3 at 6 p.m.