Hillary Fratzke?s three fives ? five goals, five ground balls and five draw controls ? trumped anything James Madison could muster at Unitas Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The junior midfielder?s standout performance powered the 16th-ranked Tigers to a dominating, 12-7, win over the Dukes on Senior Day. The win was important for Towson (10-4, 4-1 Colonial Athletic Association), as it enabled it to keep pace with 12th-ranked George Mason (10-2, 3-1) atop the league standings.
The Tigers and Patriots are the only teams in league play with just one loss, but George Mason beat the Tigers, 13-10, on Friday, rallying from an early four-goal deficit. Eighteenth-ranked William & Mary (6-8, 2-2), Delaware (9-4, 3-2) and Hofstra (6-7, 3-2) each have two conference losses.
Towson, however, showed no signs of slowing against James Madison (5-8, 1-3), taking a 6-0 lead into intermission. The Tigers yielded just nine shots in the first half and forced 15 turnovers.
“Our defense played great, but on the flip side, our offense really controlled the ball,” Towson coach Missy Doherty told reporters. “We were controlling the ball and taking the wind out of their sails.”
If there was any wind left, sophomore midfielder Nikki Marcinik and junior midfielder Britt Woodfield made sure it died in a hurry. The duo pushed the Tigers? lead to 8-3 a little less than nine minutes into the second half after the Dukes cut the deficit to three.
The Tigers also received a standout performance from senior goalie Mandy Corry, who had been replaced in the second half of recent games by sophomore Casey Lean. Corry played the entire 60 minutes and finished with seven saves.
“Our seniors are so much fun to be around and are definitely going to be missed very much,” sophomore midfielder Steph Taylor, who had a goal and two assists, told reporters. “We are all one unit, which I think is very important and it makes us more of a team.”
