10-07-2024 6:44am

TU SPORTS ARE

Towson field hockey, women's soccer, tennis, football and volleyball were all successful over the weekend.

Towson Football Knocks off #12/10 William & Mary

Hosting No. 12/10 William & Mary in its first CAA home game of the season, the Towson University football team exploded for 21 points in the third quarter en route to a 34-27 victory over the Tribe on Saturday night.

With the score tied at 13-13 at halftime, Towson (2-3, 1-1 CAA) took a 20-13 lead vs. W&M (4-2, 1-1 CAA) with a long drive that led to a 16-yard touchdown pass from Sean Brown to John Dunmore. Moments later, Branson Peters recovered a fumble off a CJ McClendon sack fumble and raced 70 yards for a touchdown that made it 27-13. Four plays after recovering another fumble at the Tribe 30-yard line, Tyrell Greene Jr. scored on a four-yard run to give Towson a 34-13 lead. W&M scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, but Towson held for the home victory.

With the win, Towson earns its third-ever victory against a top-15 opponent under head coach Pete Shinnick.

Key Stats:

Towson earned a 200+ yard rushing game, finishing with 203 to W&M's 168. W&M had the edge in total offensive yards with 412 to Towson's 388, but the Tigers forced three turnovers, plus one on downs, to W&M's one.
Tyrell Greene Jr. averaged 8.9 yards a carry, going for 133 yards and a touchdown, never having a negative yardage play.
In his second career start at Towson, Sean Brown threw 17-for-24 for 185 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. He found Zay Perkins for five catches and 68 yards and John Dunmore three times for 52 yards and two touchdowns.
Keegan Vaughan hit both field goal attempts, including a career-long 49-yarder, and was 4-for-4 on extra point attempts.
On defense, CJ McClendon had six tackles and a key strip sack that led to a Branson Peters 70-yard fumble recovery touchdown. Will Middleton finished with eight tackles, a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss while Kam Snell had five tackles and a pick.
For W&M, Darius Wilson has 12-for-25 in the air with 209 yards while Bronson Yoder rushed 17 times for 84 yards and a touchdown. Quinn Osborne led the Tribe with seven tackles, including 0.5 for loss.

How it Happened

Towson's defense forced a three-and-out on W&M's opening drive and was sparked by a 24-yard catch to John Dunmore. Keegan Vaughan knocked down the 49-yard field goal to give Towson a 3-0 lead 3:26 into the game.
Next drive, W&M attempted a deep pass, with Kam Snell intercepting the ball on the Towson 18. Sean Brown led an air attack down the field, with a 19-yard catch to Da'Kendall James and Dunmore adding a 19-yard rush. Towson converted two third downs to set up first down on the W&M 12, where Brown found Dunmore in the corner of the end zone for a 10-0 Towson lead with 4:23 left in the first.
Towson's defensive pressure kept up on W&M's next drive, forcing a punt. Into the second, Towson punted on a three-and-out, where W&M got into the red zone on a 30-yard rush by Branson Yoder. W&M got to the four, where Towson held. W&M kicked a 21-yard field goal to pull within seven.
Starting from its own 12, Towson rode a couple of W&M penalties and a 19-yard pass to Zay Perkins to charge downfield. Devin Matthews rushed 11 yards to get inside the 10, where Towson would convert a field goal and lead 13-3 with 2:29 to go in the first.
W&M utilized its timeouts and came down the field with short passes and scrambles. Yoder finished the drive with a four-yard rushing touchdown. A Towson interception set up W&M on one more drive, where a 24-yard field goal tied the game at 13 at the break.
Starting the second half on its own nine, Towson drove down field. At the W&M 43, a dart to Perkins for 27 yards was followed by a 16-yard catch and score by Dunmore to push Towson back ahead 20-13 just under four minutes into the half.
W&M had a long drive of its own with a multi-rushing attack. On first and 10 at the Towson 11, CJ McClendon caught Damian Wilson deep in the backfield for a strip sack, where Branson Peters picked up the ball and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown and a 27-13 lead with 5:43 left in the third.
The defense was not done as two plays into W&M's next drive, Emiril Gant forced a fumble, recovered by Dion Crews-Harris on the W&M 30. Tyrell Greene Jr. Ran for 11, 12 and three yards in succession for a touchdown to build Towson's lead to 34-13 with 3:19 to go in the third.
Driving into the fourth, W&M converted a pair of fourth downs, the second a Hollis Mathis end-around pass to Wilson in the end zone for a six-yard touchdown score to make it 34-20 Towson three minutes into the fourth.
After a Towson three-and-out, W&M launched a 55-yard pass to Mathis to get to the Towson 37. Facing fourth and four, Xavier Terry stopped the receiver one yard short of the first down market to force a turnover on downs.
Next W&M drive, a 48-yard catch and several Towson penalties ended in a Malachi Imoh one-yard touchdown run to bring the Tribe within one score. Greene had 30 yards on three rushes to run out the clock and give Towson a 34-27 victory.

Inside the Numbers

Towson has won three games against top-15 opponents in the Shinnick era, including 54-51 in overtime at No. 14/17 New Hampshire on Sept. 30, 2023 and 34-24 at No. 13 William & Mary on Oct. 21, 2023.
Towson has won six of its last 10 meetings vs. William & Mary.
Keegan Vaughan surpassed the 200-career points mark tonight, now standing with 201 career points at Towson. His mark includes 38 career field goals and 87 career extra points.
Branson Peters earns Towson's first fumble return for a touchdown since Tylen Wallace did vs. Rhode Island on Nov. 18, 2023.
John Dunmore is the first Towson receiver to catch two touchdown passes in a game since Zay Perkins did at New Hampshire on Sept. 30, 2023.
Tyrell Greene Jr. earns his first career 100-yard rushing game at Towson and the first for a Tiger since Devin Matthews did at William & Mary on Oct. 21, 2023.

Next Game

Towson plays its final non-conference game of the regular season next week, taking on Norfolk State on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m.

Towson Volleyball Victorious Over N.C. A&T in Straight Sets

The Towson University volleyball team face North Carolina A&T in the second of two matches on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers took down the Aggies in three sets to continue their three-game winning streak in league play.

Ylenia De Mango recorded a season-high nine blocks in the match. Victoria Barret led all players with 15 kills.

Records:

Towson – 14-2, 5-1 CAA
North Carolina A&T – 8-6, 3-3 CAA

Key Stats

Towson outhit North Carolina A&T .261 to .098 in the match.
The Tigers held the Aggies to a -.111 hitting percentage in the third set. The Tigers hit at a .429 clip in the deciding set.

How it Happened

The match started with short rallies from both sides to get to 5-5.
North Carolina A&T scored four of the next five points to take a 9-6 lead in the opening set.
Towson retook the lead at 11-10 after scoring five of six.
A four-point TU run a point later pushed the score to 15-12.
A&T tied the set at 17-17. Towson then scored four of five points for a 21-18 lead.
Three-straight Aggie points tied the set at 21 all.
Towson scored two straight before the same from A&T to get to 23-23.
The Tigers had their first set point at 24-23 but lost two straight, sending set point the other way.
Towson responded with two straight points for set point at 26-25.
After a side out tied the game, a Zyare Abdul-Rahim kill and A&T error delivered the opening set to the Tigers.
The Aggies opened set two on an 8-3 run to take an early lead.
Towson pulled within one with four straight points, with two kills from Victoria Barrett and one from Zyare Abdul-Rahim. Kaitlyn Moran added a service ace in the run.
With a 12-11 lead, N.C. A&T scored four straight to extend their advantage to five.
At 21-15, Towson went on a four-point run to make it 21-19.
A point later, another four-point run gave Towson a 23-22 lead in the set.
An A&T attacking error and a Barrett kill capped the set at 25-23 for the Tigers.
The Aggies opened set three with a 3-2 lead before three straight points from the Tigers to take a 5-3 lead.
At 7-6, two errors, an Ava Nakai kill and a Sydney Stewart service ace pushed Towson's lead to 11-6.
The Aggies followed with three straight to pull within two.
Four of five points from the Tigers made it a 15-10 score.
Following a side out, another four-point run gave Towson a 19-11 lead in the set.
The Tigers closed the set on a four-point run with two kills from Erin Brothers and one from Barrett, giving them the 25-13 win in the set.
The Tigers won the match three sets to none.

Inside the Numbers

Ylenia De Mango led the field with nine blocks, bringing her season total to a league-leading 76. That tally is a new season high for the senior.
Victoria Barrett finished one dig short of a double-double. She now has seven-straight matches with 15-plus kills and 11 total on the season.

Up Next
Towson will go on the road to face the College of Charleston next Friday and Saturday at TD Arena.