Boxscore

Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware women’s lacrosse team was outscored 5-1 in the second half as the Blue Hens lost a pivotal Colonial Athletic Association game to rival Towson, 10-6 on Thurs. afternoon at Rullo Stadium.

Delaware (9-7, 5-2), which was playing for the regular season championship and the right to host the four-team CAA Tournament,will now be the No. 2 seed and will play the loser of the Old Dominion vs. William & Mary game being played tonight at 7 p.m. Towson, which was to be a No. 4 seed whatever the result of today’s game, will face the winner of the ODU vs. W&M game. The winner of that ODU vs. W&M game will host the semifinals and finals.

Statistically, the game was very even. The two teams were tied with 24 shots, Delaware won the groundball battle 22-17 and Towson won 11 draw controls to UD’s seven. The Tigers’ defense converted 21 of 25 clear attempts and the Blue Hens converted 14 of 19. Neither team converted any free-position shots.

Senior goalkeeper Jessica Cerveny made six saves and allowed 10 goals in the losing effort. Towson’s Mary Teeters, the reigning CAA Rookie of the Week, allowed six goals and made 13 saves to pick up the win. The Tigers improved to 7-0 on the road this season with this win.

Delaware was led offensively by junior attack Emily Schaknowski (at right), who had two goals on the day. She took a game-high five shots and won two draw controls. Sophomores Ali Libertini, and Corinne Drost each added a goal and an assist as well. Defensively, senior Erin Zimmerman caused three turnovers and scooped up a game-high five groundballs.

The first half featured five ties and four lead changes. Neither team led by more than one goal throughout the half.

First Towson scored nearly five minutes into the action. Meggie McNamara netted an unassisted goal at 25:20 to give Towson an early lead. But Delaware responded with two unassisted goals by sophomore Ali Libertini and senior Alexis Curcio. Curcio’s goal, her 10th of the season, put Delaware in front, 2-1 at 20:44.

Towson would tie the score at two apiece 32 seconds later with a goal by Steph Taylor. Neither team would score for nearly eight minutes, but the Tigers’ McNamara netted her second goal of the game at 12:40 to regain the lead, 3-2.

Delaware sophomore Holly Burman then scored her eighth goal of the season off a feed by Ali Libertini to knot the score at three at the 7:15 mark, and after Towson’s Cassie Krause scored at 4:21, Schaknowski scored 12 seconds later to tie it again, 4-4.

Drost’s unassisted goal at 3:34 gave Delaware its last lead of the day at 5-4, but Towson’s Nikki Marcinik’s goal with 27 seconds left before intermission sent the game to its fifth and final tie.

Neither team scored for over 15 minutes of play until Marcinik struck again for her 45th goal of the season at 14:18. Towson’s Jackie LaMonica and McNamara each added two goals as part of a 6-0 Towson run that bridged the final 27 seconds of the first half and the majority of the second half.

Delaware’s scoring drought, which lasted 31:45, came to an end when Schaknowkski scored her 17th goal of the season, unassisted, at 1:49.