TOWSON, Md. --- Towson midfielder Pat Britton scored twice in the second half of Wednesday's 10-7 defeat of UMBC.
That's no surprise. Britton has eight points this season, all after the break.
"Maybe I'm a second-half player, I don't know," Britton said.
And maybe the Tigers are a second-half team --- in more ways than one.
Sure, Towson used an early surge in the second half to create some breathing room against the Retrievers (1-7). But the Tigers (3-5) also collected consecutive victories for the first time in more than a year.
And that can only bode well with the guts of CAA play still looming.
The early portion of the season was shaky, no question. Towson coach Tony Seaman needed to find a goalie (Travis Love) and figure out just who would be the source of scoring on his roster.
Christian Pastirik and Will Harrington both have at least 15 goals from the midfield, and a hat trick from Tim Stratton bumped him up to 10 goals on the season.
Britton, meanwhile, provided a significant lift at his usual appointed time, especially after he sat out Saturday's defeat of Delaware with a concussion.
Britton's return coincided with the absence of freshman defenseman Ben Strauss, who suffered a knee injury Monday in practice but did not sustain any ligament damage. Seaman couldn't provide a serious timetable on his return, but it would seem the Tigers will get him back eventually.
By then, perhaps Towson will have extended a potential second-half push even more. An imposing trip to Massachusetts looms, but the Tigers get Drexel and Penn State at home after that. It was clear weeks ago Towson's path to the NCAA tournament required strong play in the conference (or, more specifically, the conference tournament).
Now, at least, Towson can feel decent about itself after winning three of five, with one of the losses a one-goal setback at Loyola.
"It's huge," goalie Travis Love said. "We got out first back-to-back wins, and now we can roll with it."
As for those back-to-back wins, Towson last won two (or three) in a row last March 21-28 against Robert Morris, Bucknell and Drexel.
So what's it like to be on a winning streak with most of CAA play still to come?
"Glory, hallelujah," Seaman said.
Emphasis, of course, on the second half of that.
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