Tale of Two Halves; Towson’s Season End in First Round of NCAA Tournament

Tale of Two Halves; Towson’s Season End in First Round of NCAA Tournament

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Hunter Peters

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (May 12, 2024) – Fourth-seeded Syracuse used a 9-0 run in the third quarter to avoid an upset bid from CAA Champion Towson, defeating the Tigers, 20-15, in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday night at the JMA Wireless Dome on the campus of Syracuse University.
 
The Orange improves to 12-5 this season, advancing to face fifth-seeded Denver in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, May 19. The setback snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Tigers, ending the year 13-4 – their best season since 2016.
 
Joey Spallina led Syracuse with a game-high eight points on four goals and four assists. Owen Hiltz added six points, scoring four goals with two assists. 
 
Towson got multi-goal efforts from five players, including hat tricks from Bode Mauer (3g, 1a), Mikey Weisshaar, Alex Roussel and Josh Webber but it wasn’t enough. Roussel paced the Tigers with a career-best seven points, recording four goals and three assists.
 
Trailing 9-8 at halftime, Syracuse was unconscious in the third quarter, outscoring Towson 9-1 to lift the Orange to victory. Syracuse outshot Towson 18-6 in the quarter, including 12 shots on goal, and the Orange had nine different goal scorers.
 
Towson came out firing on all cylinders, scoring six goals on seven shots in the first quarter en route to a one-goal lead after one. Chop Gallagher and Weisshaar each netted two goals in the frame. Weisshaar scored consecutive goals – his second with 10 seconds remaining in the opening stanza – to give the Tigers a 6-5 advantage after 15 minutes.
 
There was just one goal in the first 9:30 of the second quarter, but Towson outpaced the Orange 3-2 over the final 5:30, taking a 9-8 lead at the break. Four Tigers scored multiple goals in the first half, including Webber, who gave TU the halftime lead with 13 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Roussel had four points on two goals and two assists in the opening 30 minutes.
 
Syracuse was impressive at the X, winning 23 face-offs compared to 15 for Towson. The Orange outshot the Tigers 46-34, including 26-16 in the second half. Syracuse registered 29 shots on goal, while Towson was on target 25 times.  
 
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