Towson heading to semis after upsetting No. 2 Syracuse

NEWARK, Del. — Towson jumped out to an early lead and held off a late charge by Syracuse for a 10-7 win in the NCAA quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon.

With the win, the Tigers advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the third time as a Division I program. Towson will face Ohio State next weekend in the national semifinals.

SHIPPING UP TO BOSTON!! Towson beats Syracuse 10-7 in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Tigers to face Ohio State in the NCAA Semifinals. pic.twitter.com/psFtT8eHkP

— TU Men's Lacrosse (@Towson_MLAX) May 21, 2017

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Towson jumped out to an early lead, scoring all six of the first-quarter goals.
• Jon Mazza put the Tigers up early with an unassisted tally at 12:23.
• The Tigers then scored four straight goals in which Ryan Drenner picked up the assist. That run, which gave the Tigers a 5-0 lead with 2:20 to go in the quarter, saw Joe Seider score twice.
• Seider wasn't done yet, though, as he scored his third of the quarter with just 13 seconds left in the stanza.
• Syracuse scored the first two goals of the second quarter, which made it a 6-2 game with 4:53 to go until the half.
• The Tigers came firing back as Mike Lynch scored his second of the day and Seider struck for his fourth of the game. That gave Towson an 8-2 lead at the half.
• The third quarter was dominated by the defense as each team managed to strike for just one goal.
• Nate Solomon scored for the Orange while Matt Wylly tallied his second of the day for the Tigers.
• Syracuse applied the pressure in the fourth quarter, scoring four of the five goals in the period.
• The Tigers and Orange traded goals early in the stanza. Tyler Konen's goal gave Towson a 10-4 advantage with 13:02 to play.
• Solomon scored three straight for Syracuse to close out the period, but it wasn't enough as Matt Hoymade three fourth-quarter saves to secure the win for the Tigers.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Towson was playing in the NCAA quarterfinals for the second straight year and earned its first quarterfinal victory since the 2001 campaign.
• The win was just the third all-time for the Tigers against the Orange and Towson's first since the 1973 season.
• Towson posted its 12th win of the season, tying the 2015 team for the second-most wins in a season under head coach Shawn Nadelen.
• Hoy posted a career-high 12 saves to earn his seventh win of the year in goal. Evan Molloy made 12 saves in the loss for Syracuse.
• Both teams won 10 faceoffs in the game.
• Seider matched his career high with four goals in the contest while Wylly also matched his career-high after finding the back of the net twice.
• Drenner's four helpers in the game matched his career-best.

The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, May 27 when they face Ohio State in the NCAA semfinals. That game will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.