A Loyola men's lacrosse team that had trouble finding the net a week ago encountered no such difficulties yesterday.
The No. 16 Greyhounds found shooting lanes, hit open teammates and unleashed a quick-scoring offense in a 13-8 upset of No. 13 Towson at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson yesterday.
Unlike last weekend's 7-6 loss to Notre Dame, during which Loyola misfired on 28 of 34 shots, the Greyhounds converted 40.6 percent of their 32 shots in ending a three-game losing streak to their Charles Street rivals.
"We just got our looks, and we canned them," said senior attackman Shane Koppens, who recorded five points (two goals, three assists). "We're always going to play fast, and we're always going to get those shots. It's about us canning them."
An announced 1,650 watched a tight game turn minutes after the Tigers (0-1) took a 5-4 lead on freshman attackman Tim Stratton's goal with 4:30 left in the second quarter.
Loyola (1-1) scored six unanswered goals over 8:19, spanning the second and third quarters. The Greyhounds recorded their first three goals in 29 seconds.
Koppens had two assists during the burst, and sophomore attackman Cooper MacDonnell - despite not being able to practice until Wednesday because of a separated right shoulder - scored his third and fourth goals of the game to cap the run with 9:58 left in the period.
"We knew this was going to be a game of runs," said Loyola coach Charley Toomey, who called a timeout after Stratton's goal to settle his team. "We came out and I felt like we had a lot of energy, but Towson's a good team. They're very well coached, and we knew that they were going to make a run at us. We just needed to catch our breath."
Senior midfielder and SUNY Geneseo transfer Tim McDermott sparked Loyola's burst when he won four consecutive faceoffs after Stratton's goal, and the Greyhounds converted on each possession.
McDermott, who won 15 of 24 faceoffs, took advantage of an unsettled Tigers faceoff situation - Rutgers transfer and junior Ted Melanson will miss the season for medical reasons and junior Mitchell Rosensweig was a backup last season.
Towson junior midfielder Bill McCutcheon, a Johns Hopkins transfer, had his first career hat trick and added two assists. Senior attackman Jonathan Engelke and Stratton each added two goals, but coach Tony Seaman was frustrated with the midfield's lack of production.
"The whole thing boils down to this: Our attack today scored seven goals on 17 shots, and our midfield was 1-for-15," he said. "That tells you everything. ... You're not going to win games that way."
edward.lee@baltsun.com
Loyola 4 4 2 3 - 13
Towson 3 2 2 1 - 8
Goals: L-MacDonnell 4, Koppens 2, Langan 2, Basler, Finnerty, Landry, Ricci, Richards; T-McCutcheon 3, Engelke 2, Stratton 2, Boyle. Assists: L-Koppens 3, Langan; T-Latonick 2, McCutcheon 2. Saves: L-Hagelin 10; T-Sadtler 3, Antol 5. A: 1,650.