Women’s Soccer: Tigers Shut Out Twice

By: Desmond Boyle, Staff Writer

The Tigers were shut out in both of their games this weekend, battling to a 0-0 draw with the College of Charleston on Friday before losing to the University of North Carolina Wilmington 8-0 on Sunday.

The Cougars played well in the first half, forcing Towson’s junior shot stopper Taylor Sebolao to make five saves in the opening 45 minutes. Both teams only managed two corners each in the half, as neither offense created many chances. Most of the game’s shots were from distance as the two defenses were suffocating and constantly applying pressure on the ball.

The game featured more end-to-end play in the second half as both teams mustered more shots, with Charleston shooting a dozen times compared to Towson’s seven attempts. Sebolao again stood tall, stopping all five of the Cougar’s shots that were on target. Even with the increase in shooting, neither team could break the deadlock, forcing the game into overtime.

Freshman winger McKenzie McCaull offered the only shot on target in the second overtime but her long range effort was denied a minute before the final whistle concluded the game. The scoreless draw with the Cougars was Towson’s fourth consecutive double overtime game.

Towson then turned their attention to UNC Wilmington on Sunday and was blitzed from the opening kickoff. The Tigers fended off pressure from the Seahawks successfully before a goal spree in which UNCW scored four goals in ten minutes, from 22 minutes in until 32 minutes. Before halftime came UNCW senior forward completed her hat trick and extended the Seahawks lead to 5-0 by converting a penalty kick.

Midfielder Morgan Leyble then opened up the second half by scoring two goals within five minutes of the half starting. Both goals came from set pieces as she scored her first goal of the game by tapping in a cross from a corner kick before launching a free kick into the net from 35 yards out. Sophomore Meg Salvadore then completed the tough day for the Tigers by scoring her first goal of the year.

“We ran into a buzz saw,” Head Coach Grey Paynter said. “Anything that could go wrong went wrong. We didn’t play well in the first half.”

Towson returns home to wrap up conference play this weekend first against William & Mary Friday at 2 p.m. before concluding the regular season Sunday at 1 p.m. against Elon.