COLLEGE PARK -- The rain and wind that pelted the Towson men's lacrosse team wasn't nearly as damaging to the Tigers as Maryland was.
The No. 5 Terps scored the only three goals of the fourth quarter to pull away from No. 15 Towson, 12-7, before an announced 1,671 at Ludwig Field here yesterday.
Leading 9-7 in the final period, Maryland got goals from freshman attackman Grant Catalino, sophomore defenseman Brian Farrell (Boys' Latin) and junior midfielder Dan Groot in a span of 1:26 to secure its seventh consecutive win against the Tigers and 25th of 30 all-time meetings.
"Coach [Dave] Cottle said that fourth quarter was the best we've played all season," said Farrell, who finished with two goals. "We were really focused. We knew we were getting our shots. We just had to can them."
The Terps' run in that period was fueled by a 4-for-4 showing by their faceoff unit, a 9-3 advantage in shots and a 15-6 dominance in ground balls.
For the game, Maryland (4-1) collected 53 ground balls to Towson's 31, including winning the battle, 28-10, in the second half.
"I thought in the fourth quarter, we played with great energy," Cottle said, noting that the Terps won 16 of 23 faceoffs. "I thought that was big. We were able to keep the pressure on them. ... I thought our wings played better, and I thought we picked the ball up on the defensive end."
Groot scored a game-high three goals for Maryland. Junior midfielder Jeff Reynolds (Calvert Hall), Farrell and Catalino contributed two goals each, and freshman attackman Ryan Young had four assists.
Terps junior goalkeeper Jason Carter, who made his third start of the season, made six saves, and sophomore Brian Phipps (Severn) - who played in the second half - had seven stops.
Senior attackman Jonathan Engelke led the Tigers (1-2) with a goal and two assists, and senior attackman Blake Best (Severna Park) - a Lehigh transfer who missed the Tigers' first two games because of a knee injury - added a goal and an assist.
Much of the game was played in sloppy conditions worsened by downpours that turned Ludwig Field into a mud pit near the cages.
Nursing a 5-4 lead at halftime, Maryland scored four of the first five goals of the third quarter against Tigers goalie Matt Antol, who played the second half and made four saves. But Towson goals from senior midfielder Brian Vetter (Annapolis) and junior midfielder Kyle Smedley (St. Paul's) in a span of 15 seconds trimmed the Tigers' deficit to two entering the fourth quarter.
"We were in there all the way until that happened," Towson coach Tony Seaman said. "From nine minutes to six minutes [of the last period], they held the ball, and they scored three in a row. That killed us."
edward.lee@baltsun.com
Towson 2 2 3 0 - 7
Maryland 3 2 4 3 - 12
Goals: T-Engelke 1, Best 1, Boyle 1, Hanzsche1, Vetter 1, Smedley 1, Cooper 1. M-Groot 3, Catalino 2, Reynolds 2, Farrell 2, Sieverts 1, Reed 1, Dalton 1. Assists: T-Engelke 2, Best 1, Stratton 1. M-Young 4, Burns 1, Hart 1, Sieverts 1. Saves: T-Sadtler 9, Antol 4. M-Carter 6, Phipps 7.