Second-seeded Towson defeated top-seeded Hofstra, 18-15, in the highest scoring Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Women's Lacrosse Championship in league history Sunday at James M. Shuart Stadium on the campus of Hofstra University. Tournament Most Outstanding Performer Shannon Witzel led all scorers with seven goals and one assist as she carried the Tigers to their first CAA Championship, thus earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Towson, ranked #14 in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll, improved to 13-5 with its sixth straight win against conference foes and avenged an earlier loss to Hofstra, 10-6 on April 1. Hofstra, ranked #12 by the IWLCA, fell to 14-4 on the year and will hope to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Pride allowed its most goals since losing to Georgetown in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
Witzel, a sophomore midfielder, the league's leader in goals scored in the regular season (53), tallied 15 points (13 goals, two assists) in the tournament. Junior attack Becky Trumbo added five goals and two assists for the Tigers, which set a new record for goals scored in a CAA championship game. Senior midfielder Amy Middleton had two goals, senior attack Erin Cayea added a goal and an assist and junior midfielder Kerin Boghosian, senior midfielder Martha Dwyer and senior midfielder Caitlin Marshall each had a goal to complete the scoring for Towson.
Hofstra was led by junior midfielder Becky Thorn, senior defender Bridget Eder and junior midfielder Heather Albro, who each scored four points for the Pride in the loss. Albro had a team-high four goals while Thorn added three and Eder totaled one goal and three assists. Senior midfielder Tara Buecker notched three goals in the losing effort. Junior attack Catherine Guerriere, senior attack Jill Wienecke, senior midfielder Caitlin Connolly and senior midfielder Mary Romano each had one goal for the Pride.
Hofstra senior goalkeeper Lisa Papa had seven saves in the loss while Towson freshman goalkeeper Mandy Corry, the CAA's Rookie of the Year, had 13 saves in the win.
Towson went into the half with a 10-6 lead and opened the second half on a 4-0 run, sparked by three goals from Witzel and one from Trumbo, as the Tigers took a 14-6 advantage with 23:17 left in the game. Hofstra countered with four straight goals to bring the score to 14-10 with 11:27 to go. The Tigers then went on a three-goal run with Witzel scoring two as Towson took a commanding 17-10 lead with 6:07 remaining. Hofstra scored the game's last four goals but the Pride ran out of time and Towson won its first conference title since claiming back-to-back East Coast Conference championships in 1990 and 1991.
The field for the NCAA Championship will be announced on College Sports Television's (CSTV) Scoreboard Show between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sunday, May 8. The brackets will also be posted on ncaasports.com following the selection show.
2005 CAA Women's Lacrosse All-Tournament Team
Casey McCrudden, Delaware
Patrice Hughes, Delaware
Laura King, George Mason
Sarah Bryant, George Mason
Bridget Eder, Hofstra
Caitlin Connolly, Hofstra
Tara Buecker, Hofstra
Mandy Corry, Towson
Martha Dwyer, Towson
Becky Trumbo, Towson
Shannon Witzel, Towson
Most Outstanding Performer, Shannon Witzel, Towson
