
Towson holds on to give Elon their first loss of the season
By: Waindim Tufoin, Staff Writer
Towson welcomed the undefeated Elon Phoenix to Tiger Field and put on one of their best performances of the season.
The Tigers had 59% of the possession in the first half. They controlled the pace, forcing four corners and getting six shots in the half. Their work would be rewarded when forward Courtney Butlion would come off the bench and immediately cross a ball into the box that would find the foot of midfielder Sophie Thibeault and hit the back of the net for the first goal of the game.
“I was pleased with the focus and energy today,” said head coach Katherine Vettori. “I thought we possessed the ball well.”
Defensively, the Tigers would shut down any counter attacks that Elon tried to put together, consistently blocking passes and blocking shots. One counterattack did get past the Tigers backline. Elon’s forward Kelly Degnan would be one-on-one with goalkeeper Riley Melendez, who would save the shot. The Tigers would allow no goals in the first half.
The beginning of the second half would look a lot like the first, Tigers controlling possession and pace. At the 48th minute, midfielder Emma Levin had a good chance on a shot from just outside the box that barely went wide. Minutes later, midfielder Danielle Campbell would direct the ball into the middle of the box, where Sophie Thibeault was waiting, she would put the top right corner for her second goal of the game.
“I thought she had a fantastic performance,” said Vettori, when asked about Thibeault’s play.
Elon would start to press after the second goal. In the 72nd minute, midfielder Ava Hellner would score to make it 2-1.
In their last home game against Northeastern, the Tigers would allow the Huskies to score to tie the game at 2-2 with under four minutes to go. Vettori said after that game that they must “have the maturity to close out a game.” Today, the Tigers would shut the door and hold on to win the game 2-1.
“I think we learned from Northeastern how to close out a game today,” said Vettori.
This was Towson’s first win at home this season, pushing their record to 3-4-6. This was also Elon’s first loss of the season. Their record is now 8-1-1.
It’s Senior day on Sunday, Oct. 5th, as the Tigers will honor ten seniors before they take on the Campbell Camels (4-5-3) at 1 p.m. at Tiger Field.