TOWSON, Md. ? If you were to look at Saturday's box score between the 19th-ranked Tigers and Loyola College, the theme of "A Tale of Two Halves" immediately comes to mind. After trailing by 8-5 at the intermission, the Greyhounds rallied to spoil the Tigers' home opener with a strong second half and earned a 15-12 victory at Unitas Stadium.

Senior midfielder Elizabeth Weber and sophomore midfielder Abby Rehfuss each scored three goals as the Greyhounds won their second straight game, improving to 3-1 on the season. Meanwhile, the Tigers had their two-game win streak snapped and are now 2-1 on the early season.  

“The second half was really where we felt apart,” Towson Coach Missy Doherty said. “We had some bad clears which led to some of their goals several times in the second half. It's something we need to work on.”

Weber gave the Greyhounds a quick 1-0 lead just 35 seconds into the first half before seniors Hillary Fratzke and Britt Woodfield tallied back-to-back goals to give the Tigers a 2-1 edge.

After Rehfuss tallied consecutive goals just over a minute apart, the Tigers took an 8-4 lead by scoring six of the next seven goals over a 16-minute span. Woodfield scored twice during the spurt to earn the fourth “hat trick” of her career.

With 1:24 left in the first half, senior attacker Meg Taylor scored to narrow the Greyhounds' deficit to 8-5.

The teams exchanged goals in the first three minutes before the Greyhounds scored four straight goals to take their first lead of the game at 10-9 with 17:30 left in regulation. Junior midfielder Emily Gibson led the charge by scoring a goal with an assist.

A pair of goals by senior attacker Meggie McNamara gave the Tigers an 11-10 advantage before Loyola responded with a three-goal run to take back the lead at 13-11 with 9:02 left.

Woodfield scored on a free-position shot with 8:40 left to close the Tigers within one goal at 13-12, but a pair of unassisted goals by the Greyhounds ruined any chances of a Towson comeback.

While Weber and Rehfuss led the Greyhounds with three goals, Gibson added a two-goal, one-assist performance. Freshman goalkeeper Kerry Stoothoff made three saves in the second half as the Loyola defense held the Tigers to just nine shots after the intermission.

Woodfield led the Tigers with a season-high four goals while McNamara tallied three goals for the second game along with two assists. Fratzke scored two goals with two assists in the loss, extending her streak of scoring a goal in 48 straight games. She has also tallied a point in all 54 games of her college career, which is the longest-active streak in NCAA Division I.

Freshman goalkeeper Mary Teeters made nine saves for the Tigers, who were outshot by a 28-27 margin.

The Tigers will finish the quick two-game homestand on Wednesday afternoon when they host Temple University in the first-ever meeting between the two teams at 4 p.m.

College Women's Lacrosse: Loyola College 15, #19 Towson University 12

Loyola (3-1)  5-10 / 15

Towson (2-1)  8-4 / 12

Goals: LOY ? Elizabeth Weber 3, Abby Rehfuss 3, Emily Gibson 2, Mary Heneberry 2, Grace Gavin 1, Colleen O'Keefe 1, Maura Kenny 1, Meg Taylor 1, Cara Filippelli 1; TOW ? Britt Woodfield 4, Meggie McNamara 3, Hillary Fratzke 2, Nikki Marcinik 1, Jacie Kendall 1, Lauren McAfee 1. Assists: LOY ? Grace Gavin 2, Emily Gibson 1, Mary Heneberry 1, Colleen O'Keefe 1, Elizabeth Weber 1; TOW ? Hillary Fratzke 2, Meggie McNamara 2, Jacie Kendall 1, Ali Lathroum 1, Nikki Marcinik 1, Steph Taylor 1. Saves: LOY ? Meg Steffe 7 (30:00, 8 goals allowed); Kerry Stoothoff 3 (30:00, 4 goals allowed); TOW ? Mary Teeters 9 (60:00, 15 goals allowed). Shots: LOY ? 28; TOW ? 27. Free-Position Shots: LOY ? 4 for 9; TOW ? 2 for 4. Attendance: 4,255.