Davis Butts sells out for this shot that Towson turned back

Saturday in Baltimore, Charles St. neighbors Loyola and Towson got together for an early season match up. Fans were reminded that it was still winter in Baltimore with temperatures hovering around the low 40s and the wind whipping up a storm. Despite that, a decent crowd turned out to brave the cold and support their respective teams.

Loyola vs. Towson is a great local rivalry and there was a lot of anticipation and excitement leading up to it in the 24 Seven Lax offices. There were a number of questions to be answered in this young season that we hoped this contest could shed some light on. Was Towson as good as they looked in the first half against a strong Hopkins Team? Was Loyola as bad as they looked early in the Delaware game? Were either of the programs poised to make a statement and take that next step as a program?

Unfortunately for Towson, their offense mirrored the weather, cold. Loyola dominated virtually every facet of the game right from the opening whistle. Towson just looked flat.

Eric Lusby and Loyola found holes in the Tiger defense

The first quarter was rather pedestrian with the Greyhounds jumping out to an early 2-1 lead on 2 for 15 shooting. Towson managed just 5 shots in the period. Unfortunately for Towson, this trend would continue and was pretty much the story of the game. Loyola picked right up where the left off and peppered Towson keeper Andrew Wascavage with 13 more shots in the second quarter. This time however, the Greyhounds were finding the back of the net. Mike Sawyer opened the quarter with back to back goals and Sean O’Sullivan closed out the half with his own pair of goals with Loyola scoring two other times in the period.

Mike Sawyer notched 4 goals with Sean O'Sullivan to pace the Hounds

By halftime, what looked on paper to be a good game coming into the contest quickly was turning into a rout. Thomas DeNapoli posted the only goal for Towson in the 2nd frame but even more disconcerting than the 8-3 score was the shot disparity. Loyola was out-shooting Towson 28-8.

During a lull in the 3rd quarter action, I took to the Twitter tubes and posted the following…

Towson great Glenn Smith was never shy about pulling the trigger

Perhaps more impressive than Loyola’s barrage on Towson’s goal was their stingy defense. Loyola’s close defense, long poles, and short stick D middies put the clamps on Towson. In the first half, Towson would manage only 1 even strength goal. Towson’s attack struggled to find a way to the goal and Towson’s middies dodged and re-dodged without any success. Loyola had Towson’s number.

The Hounds close D hounded Towson's attack all afternoon

Loyola's Middie D was superb

The second half was more of the same as Loyola continued to dominate possessions, despite splitting face-offs with Towson, and seemed to be quicker to ground balls. This translated into the Greyhounds notching the first three goals of the third quarter and that was all she wrote. Towson and Loyola would trade goals twice more before Loyola subbed for keeper Michael Bonitatibus. Towson would go on to score two meaningless goals on the Hounds back-up before the long afternoon came to an end.

Hodgson and Towson found that the Hounds D were more bite than bark

Towson’s coach Shawn Nadelen had the following comments after the game.

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