The upstart Towson University women's lacrosse team, which two years previous had a 1-6 league record, had a big rematch on its hands, playing at 1-seed Hofstra looking for its first-ever CAA title in 2005.  A physical battle commenced, with Towson looking to hold its strong lead in the second half.
 
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In Comes Missy
Towson brought in a new coach for the 2004 campaign, a Tiger of different stripes.  Missy Holmes, now Missy Doherty, had spent the past three years at Princeton as an assistant coach, helping the Tigers win the 2002 and 2003 national titles.
 
The first year under Coach Doherty showed immediate dividends.  The Tigers earned 14 victories, the highest amount in a season, while finishing 6-1 in its third year in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).  But as the 2-seed, a narrow 14-12 defeat to 3-seed William & Mary ended the season in the CAA Tournament semifinals.
 
Returning the top three scorers from 2004 into 2005, Towson was poised to take the next step, going after the program's first-ever CAA title.  Three players, Becky Trumbo, Martha Dwyer and Caitlin Marshall, all were All-CAA players back for 2005.
 
"We had a lot of players grow into their roles and embrace more of an impact position, whereas maybe the prior year they were more of a role player," said Doherty, the 2004 CAA Coach of the Year.
 
"We had a clip on our shoulder," said midfielder Shannon Witzel. "We knew the talent we had on our team, everybody had a fire lit.  We bought in that '04 year, and we came back knowing we were really talented and we had a chance to win the CAA."
 
"Bringing in Coach Doherty was a huge change and an overhaul of the program," said attack/midfielder Becky Trumbo-Groves. "Everybody got on board, and I think that is why we had so much success, even my sophomore year, it was a complete turnaround of the program."
 
"With Missy, we started to learn a lot more about each other," said midfielder Amy Middleton Uria. "She pointed out each other's strengths and how to work with each other to use each other's strengths."
 
To 2005
With high expectations going into the 2005 season, the Tigers, coming off a big year, were ready to go even bigger this season.
 
Towson got off to a 5-0 start and won its first six non-conference games, including a 16-8 victory over future NCAA Tournament participant Richmond.
 
"Our word was 'Next,'" said Witzel.  "Next play, next goal, you don't worry about what just happened, whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, we used that word 'Next,' and that was something Missy always did, which had us focus on something other than something really good or something really bad."
 
Towson had a lot of weapons.  A powerful one-two punch in Becky Trumbo, one of the best quarterbacks in the game, and Shannon Witzel, a tough, gritty goal-scorer.  A strong senior class, including All-CAA defender Martha Dwyer, captain Caitlin Marshall and strong scorer Amy Middleton, that affected all aspects of the game.  And a freshman, Mandy Corry, with quick hands and a strong sense of the ball in goal.

We had a lot of players grow into their roles and embrace more of an impact position whereas maybe the prior year they were more of a role player," said Doherty.
 
But the Tigers had trouble at the start of league play, falling to Delaware 13-8 and to Hofstra 10-6.  At that point, it was Towson's two lowest offensive outputs of the year, and a tough start to league play after going 6-1 in the CAA the previous season.
 
"It never felt like we were just sailing through the season, every game was 'the game,'" said Middleton.
 
But, anchored by future CAA Rookie of the Year Corry in goal, Towson won its final five league games, allowing an average of 5.4 goals per contest in those matchups.  The team's 5-2 record earned a tie for second place and game against 3-seed George Mason in the CAA Tournament.  Tied 5-5 at the break against the Patriots, Towson used a 6-0 run in the second half, including four Witzel goals, to earn a 12-9 win.  The Tigers were off to the CAA title game to rematch against tournament host Hofstra.
 
"I remember the feeling that we were going to win," said Trumbo-Groves. "We came off that George Mason win, that whole weekend, we felt really good about it.
 
Including Corry being named CAA Rookie of the Year, Towson has several all-conference honorees: Trumbo was placed on the First Team for the second straight season while Witzel, Dwyer, Erin Rinella and Corry all made Second Team.
 
The Pride came ready as the 1-seed with a 6-1 league record and four All-CAA players, including three on the First Team and CAA Defensive Player of the Year Bridget Eder.
 
The Game
The Tigers looked to stay loose during pregame warmups, not trying to expend too much energy.  The Jay-Z song Numb was playing during pregame.  It was exactly one month since the four-goal defeat to the Pride on the road.  And Towson had not beaten the Pride in a road game since 1998.
 
"Playing Hofstra for any game was always a battle, a gritty, hard-working, nose to the ground type of battle," said Doherty. "The regular season game and the championship game was never any different, who could grind it out the best?"
 
"We just felt this was a great opportunity," said Trumbo-Groves. "We were in that underdog seat, and it was going to be nice to dethrone them when it really counted."
 
The sides traded goals early, immediately making this game look like a stark contrast to the defensive battle a month ago.  After 11 minutes had passed, an Erin Cayea free position shot started a big 5-0 run, including three unassisted goals in a row by Trumbo, to send Towson to the lead 8-4.  The Pride got two back, but goals by Witzel and Kerin Boghosian in the final four minutes gave Towson a 10-6 advantage at the break.
 
Early into the second, Trumbo scored on a diving shot, but it cost her as she tore her meniscus.  She would keep playing, but the injury affected her ability to run: she would stay on attack and serve as a decoy and passer.  From there, Witzel came alive with three straight goals, two assisted by Trumbo.
 
"We knew exactly what the goalie was going to do, and that was per our coaches," said Witzel.  "I knew exactly where to shoot the ball to score, and Missy is like 'just get on the line, you are going to score eight meters.'  When Becky went down, I knew that I had to step up, there was no other choice.  My teammates knew they had to step up.  That was in the back of my mind, it doesn't matter who is on the field, we're going to win as a team."
 
"When we went on our big run, when we really took off, we had that huge lead, and I thought, 'We are really going to do this, we've got this,'" said Trumbo-Groves.
 
The other way, the defense came up with big stops in the second half, with Corry turning away eight Hofstra shots on goal.
 
Towson's 14-6 lead was not safe however as Hofstra rolled off four straight goals to get back into the game, down by four.  Again Witzel came through by hitting two free position shots, then Marshall and Dwyer added late goals to keep Towson's lead strong.
 
"There was a point in that game where we were going up to the draw and it was like slow motion," said Witzel. "I looked at Becky, and it was like 'Next play, next play.'"
 
Hofstra put together one final 4-0 run, but the Tigers won the day 18-15.
 
18-15 is, to this day, the highest-scoring CAA women's lacrosse title game in league history.
 
"They were ready to work, and going from, the year before I got there, they were 1-6 in the conference, to two years later, winning the conference, just an amazing feeling for them," said Doherty.
 
Aftermath
The Tigers now got to head to the NCAA Tournament, learning their path at a gathering at the Greene Turtle.  Towson drew Georgetown and gave the Hoyas a battle for the ages.  Trumbo gave it a go and played despite her injury and scored two goals while Witzel had five.  Tied at the half, Georgetown went up with a 3-0 run, then the Tigers scored six of the next eight to lead 14-13.  But Georgetown scored the final two goals as Towson narrowly fell 15-14.
 
"We always knew that we had this talent and that we were a great lacrosse team," said Middleton.  "To get recognized and to perform the way that we did with such a close game against such an awesome team."
 
Towson completed the year with 13 victories and the program's first-ever CAA title.
 
"That senior class was a very special group," said Doherty. "From day one, they bought into what we were trying to build at Towson. They each really embraced their roles, and were just incredibly fun to work with.  Their improvement on the field, and their ability to be fantastic leaders was a huge reason for our championship success."
 
Trumbo and Witzel were selected as All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse by season's end.  Witzel's 71 goals that year still stands as the Towson single season record for goals in a season.  Witzel and Trumbo also had 84 and 83 points respectively as the two currently stand in the Towson Athletics Hall of Fame.  Corry graduated fifth all-time in Towson history in saves.
 
Since the 2005 season began, Towson has won seven CAA titles combined under coach Doherty and current head coach Sonia LaMonica and made nine NCAA Tournaments.  Several All-Americans and All-CAA players later, the Tigers have made their stamp on the women's lacrosse world.