Wildcats fall in fourth OT

Juli Walsh

The Wildcats fell to Towson, 10-9, Saturday night at Villanova Stadium. The Tigers’ Jonathan Engelke scored the game winner with 47 seconds left in the fourth sudden death overtime.

The teams battled through three scoreless overtime periods. Both offenses struggled against solid opposing defenses.

Towson’s Bobby Griebe scored with 32 seconds left in regulation. This tied the game 9-9. Throughout regulation the scoreboard displayed a tie game five different times.

In the second half, the Tigers scored three unanswered goals to take the lead 7-4. Then the Wildcats answered back with three consecutive goals of their own.

The final quarter of regulation was back-to-back play. The Tigers took the lead early in the quarter. The Wildcats answered back with 9:11 remaining in regulation to tie the match. Then the Cats scored with 3:35 left to put them ahead. The Wildcats had possession of the ball in the final crucial minute of the fourth quarter. However, they lost it control of it and turned it over. This turnover made it possible for Griebe to find the back of the net with just 32 seconds to go.

Seven different players scored Villanova’s nine goals. The ‘Cats were led by senior Chris Kramer and freshman Chris MacDonald, who each had two goals apiece. Villanova’s offense displayed teamwork throughout the entire game. Junior Matt Starker had two assists. Kramer and MacDonald also each offered an assist at the attacking end.

The Wildcats defense put forth a valiant effort from the beginning of the game all the way through the fourth overtime.

“Currently our defense is ranked third in the nation in goals allowed [and] much of our success can be attributed to our goalie, Joe Canuso,” senior defender Joe Urbana said. “He is the top goalie in the country. It gives our team great confidence knowing he is behind us.”

Canuso played in the net for the entire game (75:13) and recorded 13 saves.

Towson increased its winning streak against Villanova to 13 games. This is the closest Villanova has ever come to breaking its streak.

The Wildcats will return to action tomorrow night against Delaware at 7 p.m.

The winner of this game will most likely achieve the number one ranking in th CAA conference.