While working on a feature to advance Saturday's intra-state tilt between Towson and No. 6 Maryland at Byrd Stadium in College Park at 11 a.m., I had a chance to talk Tigers junior attackman Tim Stratton about the team's 0-2 start.
Both losses to No. 17 Bucknell and No. 13 Stony Brook entailed three quarters of solid play by Towson marred by one poor period. The Bison scored six goals in the fourth quarter to climb out of a two-goal deficit and win, 13-9. Against the Seawolves last Saturday, the second quarter was the backbreaker as Stony Brook scored six times to take a 9-4 advantage into halftime.
"The thing is, those games should have been wins for us," said Stratton, who has recorded five points on two goals and three assists thus far. "That first game, we pretty much had beaten Bucknell through the first three quarters and then in the fourth quarter, we just got worked. Against Stony Brook, it was the second quarter that killed us. Our problem is we just can't put together a full game, and we all know that. We know that we can be a pretty good team this year. Everyone's keeping their heads up, but we also know that we've got to get focused and put together a full game in order to win."
Asked if he's frustrated, Stratton said, "It's been very frustrating, and I'm sure everyone is frustrated. Instead of being 0-2, we could be looking at being 2-0 if we could put a full game together. It's not a matter of not putting enough effort out there. It's about staying focused for a full game, sticking to the game plan, clearing the ball, possessing the ball. We've got to be all over the field."
So now the Tigers are in the unenviable position of trying to knock off an undefeated Terps squad (3-0) that is flying high after beating ranked opponents in No. 8 Duke and No. 9 Georgetown.
Stratton didn't dispute the notion that the team might take a nothing-to-lose approach.
"I wouldn't say we're panicking at all," he said. "They're a great team this year, and they've got a lot of big names. But we're dying for a win, and this is a chance for us as a team to make a statement. After starting 0-2, this is a perfect setup for us to make a name for ourselves and turn things around."