TOWSON, Md. – Former
men's soccer standout Todd Hicks, '97 and former All-American defensive end Andrew
Hollingsworth, '01 of the football program join record-setting shortstop Lisa
Pollock, '01 of the softball team and standout goalkeeper Tina Steck, '01 of
the women's soccer program as this year's inductees into the Towson University
Athletics Hall of Fame.
The four standouts will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on
Friday, Sept. 21 at the annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner.
In addition, the 1989, 1990 and 1991 Tiger men's soccer
teams, which won three consecutive East Coast Conference championships, will be
honored as Teams of Distinction.
This year's dinner will be held on campus in the Ball Room
of the West Village Commons. The cocktail hour will start at 6:00 p.m.,
followed by dinner at 7:00 p.m. For ticket information, call (410) 704-3284.
Anyone wishing to register on-line should click here for the 2012 Hall of Fame on the home page.
TODD HICKS, '97 (Men's Soccer): A four-year starter for the Tigers, Todd
Hicks finished his career as one of the leading scorers in Tiger soccer history
with 20 goals and 28 assists. A native of Bowie, Md., he owned the school
record for career assists when he graduated.
One of the Tiger co-captains as a senior, he led the Tigers
to one of the best seasons in school history as Towson finished the season as a
nationally-ranked team for the first time ever. In 1995, the Tigers opened the
season with eight consecutive victories, moving into the Top 25 for the first
time ever. Included among those victories was a thrilling 2-1 victory over
Maryland when the Terps were ranked third in the nation.
Competing in the North Atlantic Conference (which later
became Ame
rica East), the Tigers made the conference playoffs as the number
four seed with a 6-3 league record. In the semi-finals, Towson shocked
top-seeded Drexel, 4-1. A loss to Boston University in the championship game
left the Tigers with a 14-4 record as they barely missed earning an at-large
berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Hicks was named first team all-conference and also made the
all-tournament team at the league tournament. He led the team with seven
assists and finished the season as the third-leading scorer on the team. He was
also named as the team's Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row.
A first team All-Big South Conference selection as a junior,
Hicks also earned All-Region honors in 1994. He was the Tigers' top scorer with
five goals and six assists. In his sophomore season, he scored four goals and
broke the school record with 10 assists. In a win over Delaware, he also set
the school record with four assists in one game. As a freshman, he led the
Tigers with seven goals and five assists.
After graduating from Towson, Hicks played professional
soccer for five years. He played for the Baltimore Blast from 1996-to-2001. He
also played outdoor soccer for the Baltimore Bays and the Delaware Wizards.
The president of the Todd Hicks Pro Soccer Academy, he is a
Health teacher at Manchester Valley High School in Carroll County, Md. In 2011,
he led the fourth-year program to state championship.
He resides in Hanover, Pa. with his wife and two children.
ANDREW HOLLINGSWORTH, '01 (Football): One of the top defensive linemen ever to play
for the Tigers, Andrew Hollingsworth earned consensus All-America first team
honors as a senior in the 2000 season.
Named as the Patriot League Player of the Year as a senior,
he was named as a first team All-Patriot League selection as a junior and
senior. He was also honored as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year
in 2000.
A native of
Annandale, Va. and a graduate of Annandale High School, he finished his career
as the Patriot League's all-time leader with 43 quarterback sacks. As a senior,
he led NCAA Division FCS with 18 sacks, establishing a Patriot League record
and a Towson University mark.
In 2000, he
averaged 1.89 sacks per game to lead the nation and set a NCAA FCS (formerly
I-AA) record that still stands.
A very good
student who earned GTE District 2 All-Academic honors, he had 64 tackles and a
team-leading ten sacks in his sophomore season. He was named as the Patriot
League's Defensive Player of the Week after making nine tackles with four sacks
in a win over Drake.
As a junior
in 1999, he made 48 tackles and had ten sacks, fourth in the Patriot League. A first team All-Patriot League honoree, he
led the Tigers to a 7-4 overall record and a third place finish in the league.
He was also named third team All-American.
Prior to his
senior year, Hollingsworth was named as a pre-season All-American first team
selection by The Sports Network and he was also honored as the Patriot League
Pre-Season Defensive Player of the Year.
In 2000, the
6-2, 230-pound Hollingsworth had a dominant year. Despite missing the final two
games of the season with a severely sprained ankle, he made 42 tackles and led
the nation with 18 sacks. He had four sacks against Morgan State and three
against Lehigh and Monmouth. He also recorded a safety in a win over
Lafayette. By averaging 1.89 sacks per
game, he led NCAA FCS in sacks per game.
Hollingsworth
was selected as the Patriot League Player of the Year as well as the Patriot
League Defensive Player of the Year. He
was also a consensus first team All-American selection.
He finished
his career with 179 tackles and 43 sacks, which is still the Towson career
record.
Last year,
he was selected to the Patriot League's 25th anniversary all-star team. He
resides in Ridge, N.Y. with his wife, Karen, and their two children. His wife,
Karen, is a Towson graduate and a former soccer player for the Tigers.
LISA POLLOCK, '01 (Softball): A four-year starter at shortstop for the
Tiger softball team, Lisa Pollock was named to the America East all-conference
team every season.
A second team all-conference honoree as a freshman,
sophomore and junior, she was named to the America East all-league first team as
a senior.
An outstanding defensive player, the Greenlawn, N.Y. native
led the Tigers to three consecutive appearances in the America East Tournament.
She earned all-tournament honors at the CAA championship each year.
An outstanding student, she finished her career with a .311
batting average. She played in 218 games, second on Towson's career list.
Pollock also finished her career as the Tigers' all-time leader with 227 base
hits, 115 runs scored, 729 at bats and 56 walks. She also had 18 doubles and 68
runs batted in. The Tigers' leadoff hitter for straight years, she also stole
27 bases.
As a freshman in 1998, Pollock led Towson with a .353
batting average. The fifth-leading hitter in America East, she also earned
second team all-region. Honored as the America East Rookie of the Week in
April, she compiled an impressive .974 fielding percentage. With 55 hits, she
was fifth in the league. She also tied for the team lead with 27 runs scored.
Pollock was named as Towson's Female Rookie of the Year at the annual Sports
Awards Banquet.
In 1999, Pollock led the Tigers to a 33-21 record and a
berth in the championship round of the America East Tournament. The Tigers'
second-leading hitter with a .318 average, she also led the team with 54 hits.
In the league tournament, she batted .429 and earned all-tournament honors as
Towson upset Hofstra in the first round. Named to the District 2 All-Academic
team, she also had an impressive .963 fielding percentage.
As a junior, she was named to the District 2 All-Academic
team for the second year in a row. She started all 61 games at shortstop while
leading the Tigers to a 31-30 record and a second straight appearance in the
America East Tournament. She batted .243 and scored 23 runs while compiling a
.962 fielding percentage.
In her senior season, she helped the Tigers set a school
record with 35 wins as Towson came up just short of winning the America East
championship. The Tigers lost to Hofstra in 11 innings in the championship
game, finishing the season with a 35-26-1 record.
Pollock earned first team all-league honors as she batted
.345, third in the league. She led America East with 68 hits and 36 runs
scored. She also had 27 runs batted in. She was also named to the America East
all-tournament team for the third time.
She graduated cum laude with her degree in Accounting.
TINA STECK, '01 (Soccer):
A four-year starter at goalkeeper for the Tiger women's soccer team from
1997 to 2000, Tina Steck was a two-time all-conference selection who owns
nearly every goalkeeping record at her alma mater.
During her career, she started all 76 games and allowed only
88 goals for a career Goals Against Average (GAA) of 1.16. In her career, she
played 6,851 minutes and ranked among the NCAA Division I career leaders for
minutes played.
A native of Forest Hill, Md. who graduated from Mercy High
School, she was a two-year co-captain for the Tigers. As a freshman, she
started all 20 games and led the Tigers to a 14-6-1 record and berth in the
America East Tournament. She ranked second in the league with a 1.05 GAA. Named
to the all-tournament team at the America East Championship, she set a school
record with 12 shutouts, including a shutout win over Boston University in the
tournament semi-finals.
She was named as the America East Rookie of the Week twice
in 1997.
In 1998, she started all 20 games and posted six shutouts.
While allowing 23 goals in 1,744 minutes of action, she had a 1.1
9 GAA.
As a junior, Steck ranked third in America East by allowing
1.35 goals per game. She posted five shutouts and made 120 saves and was named
honorable mention all-conference.
In her senior year, she earned first team America East
all-league notice. She recorded five shutouts while helping the Tigers post a
10-8-1 record. She had a 1.07 GAA and made 94 saves.
Named as the Tigers' Most Valuable Player twice, she was
honored as Towson University's Senior Female Athlete of the Year in 2001. A
two-time all-region selection, she also excelled while playing for local teams.
After graduating cum laude with a B.S. degree in Physical
Education in 2001, she started a coaching career. After serving as an assistant
coach at Towson for one year, she spent two years as an assistant coach at
Fairfield University. She earned her Master's degree in Educational Leadership
from Delaware and served as an assistant coach for the Blue Hens for two years.
In 2005, she returned to Towson as an assistant coach. In
2006, she served as Towson's interim head coach and led the Tigers to a 5-2-1
record while Coach Leslie Wray was on maternity leave.
She has been a member of the faculty at Bryn Mawr School since
2007 where she teaches eighth grade and serves as middle school advisor.
As the coach of the Bryn Mawr soccer team, she coached the
team to conference tournament championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The winner
of the Garro Cup for Coaching at Bryn Mawr, she has compiled an impressive
career record of 59-28-3.
In 2008, she started her own training programs for
goalkeepers called the Goalkeepers Academy of Baltimore.
TEAMS OF DISTINCTION: 1989, 1990 and 1991 East Coast
Conference Championship Men's Soccer Teams: When the Tigers opened their 1989
season, they were starting their eighth year of competition in the East Coast
Conference. In their first seven seasons, the Tigers made one appearance in the
ECC championship game. In 1984, Towson lost to Lafayette in the ECC title game.
However, the 1989 Tigers and Coach Frank Olszewski won their
first ECC regular season championship with a 5-1-1 ECC record. With the regular
season title, Towson earned the top seed for the conference tournament. In the
semi-finals, the Tigers advanced with a 3-0 victory over Rider. That earned the
Tigers the right to host Drexel in the ECC championship game.
After Drexel took a 1-0 lead, Towson came back and tied the
game in the second half on a goal by Ricky Bush. With 5:24 remaining, Joe
Layfield took a pass from Barry Stitz and scored the go-ahead goal, putting
Towson ahead, 2-1. The Tiger defense,
led by senior goalkeeper Brian Hinterberger and defender Lance Johnson, held on
as the Tigers closed out a 12-6-1 record with their first ECC title. Layfield,
who scored three goals with an assist in the two tournament games, was named as
the ECC Tournament Most Valuable Player. Junior Derrick Marcano was the Tigers'
top scorer with 10 goals and two assists while Ed McCue, who scored nine goals
with four assists, earned All-ECC honors.
Olszewski was honored as the ECC Coach of the Year.
In 1990, the Tigers won the ECC regular season championship
and edged Rider in the semi-finals, 2-1. In an experimental move, the ECC
decided not to use penalty kicks to determine a winner. So, if the championship
game was tied after two overtime periods, the teams were declared as
co-champions.
Facing Drexel in the championship game for the second year
in a row, the Tigers fell behind in the first ten minutes. However, Layfield
came up with a clutch goal with 9:42 left and the teams went to overtime tied
at 1-1. However, Towson was put at a distinct disadvantage when Johnson was
called for a hand ball in the penalty area in the second overtime.
As a result, he received a red-card and was ejected from the
game. If Drexel didn't convert the penalty kick, Towson would play the
remainder of the game one-man down. Mike Pellegrini, who scored the first goal
of the game for the Dragons, took the penalty kick for Drexel while Rich
Pellegrini, his younger brother, was the Tigers' goalkeeper. Mike Pellegrini
missed the penalty kick and the game went on.
Although the game ended in a 1-1 tie, it felt more like a victory for
Towson. The Pellegrini brothers were named as co-MVP's. Towson finished the
season with a 12-6-1 record.
In 1990, the Tigers dominated the ECC team as Johnson,
Layfield, McCue, Pellegrini and Stitz were honored.
The 1991 Tigers opened their season by winning six of their
first eight games. Included in the early season win total was a 3-2 victory
over Maryland. However, the Tigers struggled in conference play and posted a
3-1-2 record as they played to ties with Rider and Buffalo.
So, the Tigers took a different route to their third
straight ECC championship game appearance. The top four seeds qualified for the
tournament and the tournament was scheduled to be played at the top seed.
Although Layfield tied the school record by scoring 18 goals, the Tigers
finished second in the ECC with a 3-1-2 record. UMBC, a newcomer to the ECC,
won the regular season title and the right to host the conference tournament.
In the semi-finals, Towson blanked Buffalo, 5-0, as McCue
and Layfield each scored a pair of goals. Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Rider stunned
top-seeded UMBC in overtime. For the third year in a row, the Tigers were
playing in the ECC championship game. But, it was played on a neutral field this
team.
After the Tigers fell behind early midway through the first
half, McCue made a huge play with 7:15 left in the half. He took the ball away
from a Rider defender and fired an 18-yard shot into the Rider goal, tying the
game at 1-1. Early in the second half, Layfield scored off a pass from Thomas
Dean to put Towson ahead, 2-1.
The Tiger defense,
led by Mark Sullivan, Johnson and Pellegrini, was tested often in the second
half and Towson needed a save on a head ball by senior Brian Bichy to hold on to
their lead. Although Rider owned a 16-9 advantage in shots, Towson held on for
the 2-1 win.
With the victory, Towson became the first team in ECC
history to win three straight championships. McCue was the tournament's MVP as
he scored three goals in two games.
Layfield, McCue, Pellegrini and Sullivan earned All-ECC
notice.
In 1991, the Tigers posted a 14-4-3 record, setting a school
record for victories in a season.
Unfortunately, there was not even an opportunity for Towson
to win a fourth straight championship. The league folded in the summer of 1992
and Towson joined the Big South Conference.
Layfield and McCue, two of the Tigers' four seniors,
finished their outstanding careers as two of the scorers in school history. A
three-year starter, Layfield scored 29 goals with 20 assists while McCue had 38
goals and 17 assists.
Six players were members of all three ECC championship
teams. Bush, Johnson, Layfield, McCue, Pellegrini and Sullivan played for all
three teams although Pellegrini was a red-shirt in 1989.
Stitz played for the Tigers in 1989 and 1990 and was a
member of the coaching staff in 1991. The Tigers' starting goalkeeper in 1989,
Hinterberger was an assistant coach in 1990 and 1991.
Teams of Distinction Honored
by the Athletic Hall of Fame
1933-34
Men's Basketball team 1986
1968
Women's Gymnastics team (AIAW National Champions) 1992
1974
Men's Lacrosse team (NCAA College Division National Champions) 1998
1981-83
Men's Swimming and Diving team (29-meet winning streak) 1999
1954-56
Men's Soccer teams 2000
1976-77
and 1977-78 Men's Basketball teams (Nationally-ranked in NCAA Division II) 2001
1938
Men's Soccer team 2002
1969
Women's Basketball team (Played in Women's National Invitational Tournament) 2003
1974
Football team (Lone undefeated team in school history) 2004
1983-1984-1986
Football teams (Lambert Award winners) 2006
1958
Men's Lacrosse team (1st team in program history)
2007
1990
Gymnastics team (Finished 9th in the nation) . 2008
1976
Football team (NCAA Division III runners-up) 2009
1980
Women's Lacrosse team (USWLA Division II runners-up) 2010
1989-90
and 1990-91 Men's Basketball teams (NCAA Tournament teams) 2011
1989, 1990, and 1991 Men's Soccer teams (East Coast
Conference champions) 2012
The Towson University
Athletic Hall of Fame was conceived in 1963 and developed by Dr. Donald “Doc” Minnegan and alumnus George Henderson to provide recognition
for outstanding alumni athletes who excelled in sports while at Towson and are
successful in their life. It was also their purpose to cite those members of
the athletic and sports staff at Towson who had materially and significantly
contributed to the total development of successful alumni athletes. In 1974,
the Athletic Hall of Fame was incorporated into the Alumni Association Awards
program.
To be
nominated, an individual must be a Towson alumna/us or an athletics staff
member for at least 10 years. For selection, an alumna/us must have made a
significant contribution to the college community through excellence in
athletics, achieved marked success in life after leaving Towson, and be an
active supporting member of the community. An athletics staff member must have
clearly demonstrated athletic proficiency, and a high personal regard and
respect for alumni and students.
