Andre Makes Most of Opportunity For Towson

No. 15 Tigers storm past Hofstra, 11-5, in CAA Tournament semifinals

May 3, 2007

By Kiel McLaughlin

Special to CSTV.com

TOWSON, Md. - Last weekend it was the third quarter that bit No. 15 Towson against fifth-ranked Johns Hopkins in its 9-7 loss. The Tigers' sticks fell silent after leaving the locker room with a 5-4 lead, allowing the Blue Jays to claim the advantage; one it did not relinquish.

Wednesday night, Towson left the confines of Minnegan Field House at Johnny Unitas Stadium determined to not falter where they had before.

Down, 2-1, against the Hofstra Pride in the CAA Tournament semifinals, the Tigers entered rarely-seen senior attack Timmy Andre into the lineup. Andre had only found himself between the lines in few occasions this season, and this time, he made the most of it.

After receiving a pass near the edge of the box, Andre drove toward the crease. Capping a 20-yard dash with a Pride defender on his back, the opportunistic senior dove and scored high past Hofstra goalkeeper Danny Orlando.

The goal knotted the score at three apiece and ignited a five-goal Towson run that would result in an 11-5 victory.

Towson's leading-scorer, senior attack Bobby Griebe followed Andre's unexpected effort with three goals separated by sophomore Randall Cooper's first goal of the game. Griebe finished the contest with four goals while Cooper earned himself a hat trick.

The offensive explosion continued as the Tigers netted 10 goals in the second half, including tallies by Nick Williams, Kyle Batton and Kyle Smedley. Smedley's score was the defensive midfielder's first of his career.

Before the Towson offense clicked for the first time in four quarters, the Tigers struggled to produce quality shots on goal against a game plan that had troubled them before. Towson scored five goals in the first half of Saturday's match against Johns Hopkins before the Blue Jays' locked down midfielder Brian Vetter and Griebe. Tight man-to-man defense along with a patient offensive scheme resulted just two second-half goals.

Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney, who worked under JHU head coach Dave Pietramala before leaving for Hempstead, N.Y., employed similar tactics during the first half Wednesday.

As a result of Towson face-off specialist Matt Eckerl's success as well as the Tigers' ability to solve the Pride's defense, Hofstra was forced to match the up tempo style where they struggled.

With the victory, Towson coach Tony Seaman is confident in his team's chances at reaching the NCAA tournament, no matter the result of Saturday's CAA Tournament championship game against the Delaware Blue Hens.

"I think we clinched an NCAA bid tonight. I'd be shocked. I'd be the most disappointed human being just like last year if we don't make it," Seaman said. "I went over all the numbers and I can't see how they don't take us, especially now that we've beaten everybody in our conference. Nonetheless, we want to win Saturday night. We've won three out of the four years and we want the trophy back here at Towson."

No. 17 Delaware bounced the Tigers from the CAA Tournament this time last year in the semifinals before moving onto take the conference crown and the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament field of 16.

While vengeance is on the mind of Towson players' who before last year didn't know what it was like to make an early exit, they keep this season in mind and follow the philosophy of building one game at a time.

"If we can score 10 goals in a half then this is the perfect time to do it. We need to do it again Saturday and then hopefully keep it going into the [NCAA] tournament," Griebe said.

Towson and Delaware play Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Johnny Unitas Stadium for the an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and the CAA title.