May 04, 2005|By Gary Lambrecht | Gary Lambrecht,SUN STAFF
The 19th-ranked UMBC Retrievers have taken their share of licks this spring, but it has been worth it. They are sitting atop America East as the top seed in the league tournament, and can seal an automatic bid to their first NCAA tournament since 1999 by winning twice at home this week.
The No. 10 Towson Tigers have never lost in two previous years of Colonial Athletic Association tournament play, and this year probably is not the time to start, particularly in the semifinal round of the four-team affair. A third consecutive CAA tournament title would put Towson in the NCAAs for the third consecutive year, by virtue of an automatic qualifier.
Both teams are looking to take their first step toward the 16-team, NCAA tournament tonight, when UMBC plays host to fourth-seeded Stony Brook, while third-seeded Villanova comes to second-seeded Towson. The winners advance to Saturday's respective conference championship games.
For UMBC, earning the No. 1 seed validated its tough schedule. The Retrievers dropped their first three games and four of their first five, including losses at Johns Hopkins (by three), Duke (by two) and Maryland - all of whom are ranked in the top five.
In addition, due to the installation of a new playing surface at UMBC Stadium, the Retrievers moved three home games to Hopkins, Ohio State and Loyola, winning only the Loyola game.
"We played a very tough schedule early on, our guys got through it, and we're a better club for it," UMBC coach Don Zimmerman said. "They've always had confidence in themselves. But until you win a big game, it's all speculation. Now, we're into the second season. It's do or die. You have to play with the urgency and the smarts it's going to take to get the job done."
The Retrievers (7-7, 5-1) had to be at their scrappiest to get this far. A week after a 10-9 loss at Stony Brook on April 23, UMBC rebounded to take a 9-8 victory at No. 18 Albany on Saturday. That marked the Retrievers' first win over a ranked team in 2005, and it dropped Albany, the preseason league favorite, into the No. 2 seed of the America East tournament.
If UMBC wins tonight, it figures to face a rematch with Albany, this time on its three-week-old home turf.
That sets up a battle of two fine attack units. UMBC has leaned all year on sophomore Drew Westervelt (25 goals, 22 assists) and junior Brendan Mundorf (29, 26) who ranks seventh in the NCAA with an average of 3.93 points a game. Albany is led by senior Luke Daquino (4.31 points a game, sixth in the NCAA) and sophomore Merrick Thomson, who is tied for the NCAA lead with 5.08 points a game.
Towson (9-4) might not need to win the CAA tournament to get into the NCAA tournament, but the Tigers most likely can't afford to stumble against Villanova (7-7) tonight and fail to advance to the CAA final against the winner of tonight's Hofstra-Delaware semifinal.
The Tigers, whose five-game winning streak was ended by No. 1 Johns Hopkins on Saturday - thanks largely to Hopkins sophomore goalie Jesse Schwartzman's career-high 21 saves - have never lost to Villanova in 13 previous tries. But the Wildcats gave Towson a scare in last month's 10-9, four-overtime contest, the longest game ever for Towson.
The Tigers like their chances with their revamped offense. Since coach Tony Seaman moved junior Kyle Fiat from starting attack to the second midfield line with sophomore Nick Williams and shifted junior Steve Mull (team-high 20 assists) from midfield back to attack, Towson has gone 5-1 and averaged 10.5 goals.
"Our offense had been terrific for four or five games in a row, then we had to hold the ball against Hopkins," said Seaman, who watched the Tigers shoot 4-for-31 against Hopkins. "Hopefully, Schwartzman won't be playing for Villanova."
