Some players have certain roles, and junior Mitchell Rosensweig understands his duties as the faceoff specialist for the Towson men's lacrosse team.
That's why it was a little surprising - even to Rosensweig - that he broke a tie with 18 seconds left to lift the No. 15 Tigers to a 10-9 victory over visiting Denver before an announced 1,016 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson yesterday.
"I'm probably one of the last persons we want shooting the ball when the game's on the line," Rosensweig (Pikesville) said of his first goal of the season and third of his career. "But I'm glad I could score."
Rosenweig's goal came just 11 seconds after the No. 20 Pioneers (1-3), who lost to UMBC, 9-6, on Saturday, had tied the score on a goal from freshman midfielder Jamie Lincoln.
On the faceoff, Rosensweig outdueled Denver junior midfielder Brad Richardson and picked up the loose ball. Rosensweig, who won 11 of 13 faceoffs, raced in and bounced a shot past junior goalkeeper Austin Konkel (11 saves) into the top right corner of the net.
Pioneers coach Jamie Munro, whose team has dropped back-to-back road contests for the third time in the past four seasons, said the team was late in getting a long-pole defenseman to slide over to cover Rosensweig.
"What we were trying to do was get our pole on the faceoff guy and hold on their attackmen," Munro said. "We didn't quite get there. ... It's a tough way to go down."
Tigers coach Tony Seaman said the staff had implored the players to use the turf against Konkel.
"We had been talking all week that high bouncers beat that kid, and he [Rosensweig] got one," Seaman said.
Rosenweig's goal helped Towson (1-1) avoid opening the season with back-to-back losses. As in their 13-8 setback to Loyola on Feb. 23, the Tigers fell behind 3-0 to Denver.
Trailing 4-3 at halftime, Towson went on a 4-0 burst over a span of 8:28 to assume a 7-4 advantage with 5:04 left in the third quarter.
"I think it was a case of where when one thing went right, it kind of snowballed," said junior midfielder Randall Cooper (Friends), who scored all three of his goals during the Tigers' run.
But the Pioneers scored five of the last seven goals, and it appeared the contest would go to overtime until Rosensweig rescued Towson.edward.lee@baltsun.com
Denver 2 2 1 4 - 9
Towson 0 3 4 3 - 10
Goals: D-Paulson 3, Lincoln 2, Murray 1, Smith 1, Dickenson 1, Koll 1. T-Engelke 3, Cooper 3, Vetter 1, Boyle 1, Rosensweig 1, Andre 1. Assists: D-Dickenson 2, Jackson 1, Murray 1, Richardson 1, Widerstedt 1. T-Engelke 3, Stratton 2, Cooper 1, Hagelin 1, Vetter 1. Saves: D-Konkel 11. T-Sadtler 6, Antol 4.