Tigers capture first victory
By: Glenn Kaplan, Contributing Writer
File photo by Stephanie Ranque/ The Towerlight
The Tigers won their first game of the season by defeating non-conference opponent LIU Brooklyn 4-1 on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
With this win, the team already matches their win total from last season. Towson (1-4) did not win a game last season until Sept. 24.
“It feels really good,” Head Coach E.A. Jackson said. “We were walking off the field and Beira pointed out up on the jumbotron and it said Tigers win and I was like I could get used to that, that’s a fun feeling.”
Sophomore midfielder Nathalie Tortolero scored a goal 13:39 into the game for the Tigers assisted by fellow sophomore attacker Beira Ho.
Junior forward Lauren Alburg countered with a goal for LIU Brooklyn (0-6) with 11 minutes remaining in the first half off a feed from junior midfielder Olivia Dennis.
Senior midfielder Katie McNeel scored a goal on a penalty corner 5:22 into the second half and it was assisted by sophomore midfielder Abby Webster.
“It feels great to win, especially on our home field and in the rain it creates this whole new ambience it’s amazing, um it was just a whole team effort and it was incredible,” McNeel said.
Freshman attacker Kasey Bubel scored a goal 5:32 later in the second half thanks to good ball movement and freshman midfielder Kerri Thornton.
“Some of our freshman stepped up as leaders today,” Jackson said. “I think the cool thing about this team is that there’s a culture of everybody gets to contribute in their own way.”
Ho scored a goal with 11:55 remaining in regulation to secure the win for Towson.
The Tigers outshot the Blackbirds 19-10 and recorded eight shots on net while LIU Brooklyn posted six shots on net.
Freshman goalie MacKenzie Peacock made six saves for the Tigers.
“She had a goal scored kinda early on her and she bounced back well really from that,” Jackson said. “She made the saves she needed to save on defensive corners and kept us in the game.”
The Tigers will host Rider on Wednesday night starting at 7 p.m. at Johnny Unitas Stadium. before heading on the road for a matchup against VCU on Sunday afternoon.