Towson men's lacrosse coach Tony Seaman sounded less than optimistic that the team will be able to rely on fifth-year senior attackman Blake Best this season.

Seaman, who joined Johns Hopkins' Dave Pietramala, Loyola's Charley Toomey and UMBC's Don Zimmerman yesterday for a coaches question-and-answer session at ESPN Zone, said that although Best's latest knee injury is not a reoccurrence of the torn ligament that cost him his senior season at Lehigh, it is bone-related.

"He may not even play this year," Seaman said, adding that Best's earliest return would be in April. "This is his fifth year now. So he would have to go for a sixth year, and that would be a special appeal to the NCAA. I can't see why they wouldn't give it because it's a continuation of the knee [injury] that caused him to sit out last year. I guess sometime in March, we'll talk about that."

Without Best - who recorded 49 goals and 29 assists in 43 career games at Lehigh - the Tigers will likely lean on seniors Kyle Batton and Jonathan Engelke and freshman Tim Stratton to spearhead the attack. Johns Hopkins transfer Bill McCutcheon, a junior, will move from midfield to attack.

Seaman also said senior midfielder Brian Vetter would receive limited time in the No. 13 Tigers' home opener against No. 16 Loyola on Saturday because of strained ligaments connected to his pelvis.

"I'm not sure he's game-ready yet," said Seaman, who wants to be cautious with Vetter. "He may need a little time, but we should have him full-blast by the first of March."

Seaman said he hasn't decided which senior goalie - Matt Antol or Billy Sadtler - to start. "They both have been terrific in our scrimmages so far," Seaman said. "I'll decide Saturday at 1 o'clock."

Not fans of shot clock

All four coaches at yesterday's session reiterated their distaste for a shot clock.

Pietramala said his concern with a shot clock is that teams would resort to throwing the ball away as the clock is winding down to make the necessary substitutions to switch from offense to defense.

"Is that what we want to be representative of our game?" he asked. "Coaches are going to find a way to say, 'If we don't have a quality shot within that time period, we're going to find a way to get our people on the field and give ourselves the best chance to be successful.' ... We don't want to promote lacrosse that is not enjoyable to fans."

Zimmerman added, "The bottom line is that no one wants to see sloppy play, and I'm not in favor of a shot clock, which could lead to sloppy play."

New goalie at Loyola

With Loyola junior goalkeeper Alex Peaty still battling a double ear infection and bronchitis, freshman Jake Hagelin (Boys' Latin) will continue to man the net for the Greyhounds.

But Toomey said the arrangement is not permanent.

"Peaty's going to be back," Toomey said. Peaty started all 13 games last season and recorded a .547 save percentage. "He knows you don't lose your job due to injury. ... In the meantime, we've got a young guy who we think can hold down the fort and who we're all comfortable with."

edward.lee@baltsun.com