THE TOWERLIGHT - Baltimore Student Media

The Towerlight February 18, 2008
14
MEN’S LACROSSE
After disappointing
loss, TU roars back
Goaltending in question as
Tigers aim for postseason
Pete Lorenz
Sports Editor
Heading into its 50th season of
college lacrosse, the Towson Tigers
look to improve upon two consecutive
winning seasons that ended in
losses in the CAA and NCAA tournaments.
Towson, led by seniors Brian
Vetter and Jonathan Engelke, was
picked to finish second in the CAA
this season, trailing only Drexel.
“Number one is to go back and
win the CAA, so we can have the
tournament here,” head coach Tony
Seaman said. “The second goal
would be to win that tournament
so we can be in the NCAA [tournament]
automatically. Our third goal
is always to get into the NCAA and
see how far we can get.”
The Tigers must play on after
losing their assist leader and secondhighest
goal scorer in Bobby Griebe
to graduation. An honorable mention
all-American, Griebe led the team in
total points in 2007 with 24 goals
and 23 assists, and Seaman said his
contributions would be missed.
“It’s always tough when you lose
your seniors. Every single year you
lose good players,” Seaman said. “I
think [Vetter and Engelke] can certainly
handle their loads.”
In addition to Griebe, the Tigers
also lost senior midfielder Nick
Williams to graduation and sharpshooting
midfielder Cryder DiPietro
who transferred to North Carolina
after the season ended.
But now, Vetter and Engelke
lead the team into a perilous CAA
schedule and a brutal non-confer-
Kiel McLaughlin
News Editor
Most of the time his lips are
sealed and his eyes are down.
Quiet and slightly built, Towson
freshman Tim Stratton doesn’t
look like the prototypical lacrosse
player that Charm City has become
accustomed to as the sport has
increased in popularity during the
last decade.
He doesn’t have the linebacker
build of Johns Hopkins’ Stephen
ence schedule that includes trips
to Maryland and Johns Hopkins as
well as home games against Virginia
and Pennsylvania.
“The CAA is one of the top two
every year,” Seaman said. “Our
strength of schedule is also overwhelming.
We got to the final four in
2001. Delaware got there last year.”
Vetter tallied 15 goals and 10
assists last season as Engelke led the
Tigers with 25 goals. The seniors will
be joined by freshman Tim Stratton
to lead the offense. Junior Randall
Cooper, who played attack last season,
has been moved back to the
midfield where he started his career
at Towson. A year ago, Cooper scored
19 goals and tallied 12 assists.
Senior Blake Best joined the
Tigers in the fall after transferring
in from Lehigh where he guided
the Mountain Hawks offense for
two years. Best blew out his knee
last season and missed the majority
of the schedule. According to
Seaman, Best had recovered and
played well during the fall schedule
but re-injured his knee and underwent
surgery over the winter. He is
out indefinitely, but the Tigers hope
he returns by April.
Vetter tallied 15 goals and 10
assists last season, and Engelke,
whose 25 goals led the team in 2007,
will work on offense with Cooper,
who scored 19 goals and 12 assists.
The goaltending situation, however,
is more clouded. Seniors Matt
Antol and Billy Sadtler will continue
to battle for the starting spot
between the pipes.
“Right now, it’s dead spanking
Peyser or the all-American pedigree
of former Tiger scorer Bobby Griebe.
He didn’t even pick up a stick until
seventh grade before playing high
school ball for Manheim Township
High School, the only high school
in the district.
Stratton may not arrive at Towson
with Baltimore’s preferred pastime
flowing through his veins, but he
does bring a record no other player
in the area can claim.
In four years of varsity lacrosse,
Stratton scored 587 points, breaking
the national record previously
held be Duke’s Mike Quinzani and
the legendary Casey Powell prior to
Quinzani.
To Stratton, the record
doesn’t mean much.
“There weren’t too many good
teams I had to play against in my
2008 Spring Sports Preview
File photo/Patrick Smith/The Towerlight
Senior goaltender Matt Antol, left, and fellow senior keeper Billy Sadtler are battling it out for the
starting position between the pipes. The race is currently dead even.
even,” Seaman said. “Tomorrow [a
scrimmage game] against Princeton
will be a big determining factor.
Right now Matt Antol, the starter
from last year, and Billy Sadtler are
dead even.”
area. Lacrosse just isn’t very popular
there,” he said modestly. “It
really isn’t a very big deal.”
Stratton’s first taste of major
college lacrosse came during fall
ball when Towson played top-level
programs such as Penn and North
Carolina; experiences he and his
coaches both felt were valuable to
his progression. As a final dress
rehearsal for the season opener
against the Loyola Greyhounds Feb.
23, Stratton started on a shorthanded
roster against Lehigh, as
he and junior Billy McCutcheon led
Towson to a victory in the scrimmage.
With his emergence during
the off season, head coach Tony
Seaman and his staff has had the
opportunity to move players back
to more natural positions, such as
Drexel, who was picked to finish
first in the CAA by the league’s
coaches’ poll, returns its top two
goal-scorers, including senior
Andrew Chapman, who tallied 42
goals in 2007. The top-three in
junior Randall Cooper, who played
near the net for most of last season,
back to the midfield.
Aside from his point totals, his
coaches have been most impressed
by what he does aside from score
goals.
“You think about a scorer and
you think of the glory position of
the guy celebrating after scoring the
goal,” offensive coordinator Andrew
Combs said. “Timmy does a great
job of getting ground balls. He does
the dirty work. He’ll ride someone
and play defense and he is tremendous
at picking up the loose balls.
He’ll dodge and go to the goal when
he needs to but he does so much
more than that.”
His primary goal is simply fitting
into the Tigers’ attack with
an opening in the starting line
assists recorded also return for the
Dragons, who look to top its 2007
results in which the team shared the
regular season CAA title and beat
then-No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers early in
the season.
Softspoken freshman could spark Tigers in 2008
After breaking
high school record
for points, Stratton
joins Tiger squad
up that recently became available.
Senior transfer Blake Best, who
battled knee problems throughout
his career at Lehigh, underwent
surgery during the winter following
a strong fall schedule, leaving a
spot alongside Tigers’ top returning
scorer Jonathan Engelke vacant.
According to Seaman, Stratton
will likely fill the void until Best
is fully healed, though, the head
coach was quick to recognize if
the freshman is successful, he will
remain set atop the depth chart.
“People get hurt and others have
to step up and take their place,”
Seaman said. “I’m sure people
weren’t sure about Tom Brady when
he had to step in, and then there
was that guy Lou Gehrig. Sometimes
you never know what you have until
they get on the field.”