After a year absence, the Towson men?s lacrosse team returned to the NCAA tournament in 2007. And although he?d like to still be alive in the postseason, coach Tony Seaman was upbeat about his team?s campaign after a lopsided 14-6 loss to Cornell Saturday in the first round.
“For us, it was a really successful regular season in the [Colonial Athletic Association],” said Seaman, who pointed out Drexel and Delaware?s big wins on a national stage.
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“It was a roller coaster for us. It was great to be 5-1 in the league and pay back Hofstra [in the CAA semifinal] for our only defeat in the league season.”
Towson played in seven one-goal games, winning five of them and losing two ? an 8-7 game to Maryland and a 9-8 overtime affair to Hofstra. After topping Hofstra in the CAA semifinal, the Tigers lost to Delaware, 10-7, in the conference championship.
“We would have loved to have gotten that one back,” Seaman said of Delaware, which upset Virginia in the NCAA first round over the weekend. “But they?ve proved themselves ? and if they?re peaking, they?re peaking at the right time.”
Looking ahead to next year, Towson should have another solid team.
“We only lose five seniors. Three of them were big contributors and we?ll miss them a lot, but we have a lot of guys returning,” said Seaman, who singled out freshman midfielder Cryder DiPietro as a player to watch in 2008.
“It?s going to be tough replacing Bobby Griebe, but [junior Jonathan] Engelke and [sophomore Randall] Cooper came through. We?re excited about next year.”
Griebe led the team with 23 assists and 47 points, and Engelke led the way with 25 goals, combining with Cooper to record 64 points.
Junior Matt Antol went 9-7 in goal, but he is likely to get a push from classmate Billy Sadtler and freshman Rob Wheeler next season.
Seaman is now 241-129 in 26 seasons.
“It was a really great bunch of guys to work with, and I think both of my assistants did great jobs,” Seaman said. “It was great to get back into the NCAAs.”
