Streak snapped
No. 18 laxers best No. 6 Towson State

By DAVID COMER
Collegian Sports Writer

The men's lacrosse team's 15-10 win on Saturday at No. 6 Towson State did more than snap the Lions' eight-game losing streak against the Tigers.

The win put the No. 18 Lions in position to make the 12-team NCAA tournament.

"That's an elite group," Penn State Coach Glenn Thiel said.

Theil was pleased because the same teams traditionally make the trip to the NCAA tournament each year. Of the 12 teams, one comes from the West and the remaining 11 are eastern teams. Now Penn State has a legitimate shot at joining the dynamite dozen.

With the win, the Lions improve to 4-1 overall and boast victories over higher-ranked opponents Notre Dame and Towson State. The Lions' only loss came to No. 2 Virginia.

After the first period on Saturday, the Lions looked as if they would lose their second game of the season.

By the end of the opening quarter, the Lions had fallen behind 5-2. Thiel then inserted junior Jason Johnson in goal to replace starter Andy King.

"We just weren't getting any saves," Thiel said. "After the switch, our defense tightened up. (Johnson) made some big saves."

While Johnson and the defense were holding Towson State's offense at bay, senior midfielder Mike Busza and senior attackman Erik Merkel were providing the offensive punch.

"We were down," Merkel said, "and I just said to myself that I had to take the ball to the cage."

He finished with four goals, only to be outdone by Busza, who ended the day with five goals and two assists.

Thiel said Busza was "all over the place" and played an excellent game.

The midfielder has come up big in pressure situations all season, and Saturday was no different. Busza scored with seven minutes, 52 seconds left to play to give the Lions their first lead of the game at 11-10.

Penn State scored four more unanswered goals to finish the game.

"I think we were the better conditioned team," Thiel said. "We were outrunning them late in the game."

The Lions remaining regular-season schedule appears favorable, with an April 15 home contest against Hobart expected to be the toughest.

Note:

-- Saturday marked Thiel's 199th victory in his 28 years as a collegiate coach. His win total ranks him seventh among active Division I coaches.