TOWSON, Md. — Tuesday night was a rough start to the season for the Towson Tigers, losing to Johns Hopkins 11-10.
The 3rd period was rough for the Tigers, falling behind 8-4, but they fought and clawed their way back into it, shrinking the deficit to 1 throughout the second half.
Unfortunately for them, their 21 turnovers played a key role and were a point of emphasis after the game.
"Our stick work was not good. There's no sugarcoating that," says Shawn Nadelen, Towson University Men's lacrosse head coach.
"They had a good idea what we're gonna do. They did a good job protecting with slides and rotating," he says.
On the bright side, the Tigers saw five goals from Ronan Fitzpatrick. The redshirt freshman says
He's been waiting patiently for this moment.
"During the summer, I'm gonna come back an animal and be the fastest and strongest on the team. That was my goal," aced Fitzpatrick.
On the flip side, it's win number two for the Blue Jays, but head coach Peter Milliman says they still have some kinks to iron out.
"Not a clean game, but it's early February, so not a huge surprise there. I'm proud of the effort, the intensity, and execution but we've got some work to do," says Milliman.
There are quite a few new faces for Johns Hopkins. Ingratiating those guys into the lineup has been challenging, but Milliman says the leadership from vets and the team's camaraderie have been good to see.
"We played 26 guys; 13 of them it was their first game ever for the Blue Jays and nine of them that was their first college game. I think we have some incredible players that will be some incredible leaders and and I think that's what showed through in that last possession. Guys just make some big plays," says Milliman.
The Blue Jays improve to 2-0 on the season. Up next for them is a matchup against Georgetown at home this Saturday.
Towson starts 0-1 and lost back-to-back games against Johns Hopkins dating back to last year.
But they look to get into the win column in a game at Syracuse on Monday.
