As the No. 1 seed in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, Towson (6-7 overall and 4-1 in the conference) gets to remain in the friendly confines of Johnny Unitas Stadium for the semifinal and final rounds. The first step takes place Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. when No. 17 Massachusetts (8-5, 2-3) pays a visit.
1. One key to a Massachusetts win: The Minutemen were 6-2, but then they lost sophomore attackman Art Kell for the remainder of the season because of a broken foot. At the time of his injury, Kell had ranked 12th among Division I scorers in points per game (4.1). The void has been filled by freshman attackman Will Manny (26 goals and 18 assists), sophomore midfielder Anthony Biscardi (21, 14) and senior midfielder Bobby Hayes (19, 13), and the offense ranks ninth in the country with an 11.9 average. But Massachusetts has been handcuffed in three of its last four games, failing to reach 10 goals in those contests -- all of which ended as losses. The Minutemen will have to find their rhythm against the Tigers.
2. One key to a Towson win: The Tigers overcame a 1-5 start with five consecutive wins, but capped the regular season with back-to-back losses to No. 20 Johns Hopkins and No. 18 Hofstra. One common element in the last two setbacks was Towson's habit of falling behind early. The team trailed the Blue Jays, 8-0, at halftime and the Pride, 5-3, at intermission. In fact, the Tigers are 1-6 this season when trailing at halftime. Still, coach Tony Seaman didn't sound too concerned about the team's cold starts. "I'm not one of those guys who believes in fast starts," he said. "Everybody has runs, and you want yours to be one more than their run."
3. One key match-up: Massachusetts's strength has been a defense led by preseason All American Diogo Godoi, but redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Tim McCormack ranks in the upper half of the nation in both goals-against average (9.86) and save percentage (.525). The 6-foot, 230-pound McCormack takes up a lot of space in the net, but Towson seemed to solve him when the offense scored 10 goals in a one-goal victory on April 10. The Tigers will have to figure him out again, according to Seaman. "He's a big kid, he's strong, he's right-handed," Seaman said. "He's from Long Beach/Long Island. We recruited him as well. He's a talented kid, and he keeps them in ballgames. A good goalie with a good defense in front limits your chances to score."