Towson University Athletics

After winning three straight East Coast Conference (ECC) championships, the 1989, 1990 and 1991 Towson men's soccer teams were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.
 

The 1989 team
In eight years of ECC competition, the Tigers had made one appearance in the ECC championship game: 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 and the top seed in the conference tournament with a 5-1-1 ECC record. A 3-0 win over Rider in the semifinals earned Towson a date 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 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. 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.
 

The 1990 team
In 1990, the Tigers won the ECC regular season championship and edged Rider in the tournament semifinals, 2-1. Going into the championship game agianst Drexel for the second year in a row, the Tigers also had to contend with an experiment conducted by the ECC. Prior to the start of the tournament, the league 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.

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. Drexel's Mike Pellegrini, who scored the first goal of the game for the Dragons, took the penalty kick against his younger brother and Tiger goalie Rich. Mike missed the penalty kick and Towson played on with just 10 men. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, and the Pellegrini brothers were named as co-MVPs. Towson finished the season with a 12-6-1 record.
 

The 1991 team
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 perennial power Maryland. However, the Tigers struggled in conference play and posted a 3-1-2 record.

Although Layfield tied the school record by scoring 18 goals, the Tigers finished second in the ECC with a 3-1-2 record. In the semifinals, 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.

After the Tigers fell behind Rider midway through the first half, McCue made a huge play with 7:15 left. He dispossessed a Rider defender and fired an 18-yard shot into the 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 header by Brian Bichy to hold on to their lead. Although Rider owned a 16-9 advantage in shots, Towson earned the 2-1 win. The Tigers posted a 14-4-3 record, setting a school record for victories in a season.

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. 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 though 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.