The second game of the St. Louis Fall Face-Off Tournament was between Towson and Denver, making the event the first meeting between four ranked teams in a Midwest location. Okay, so it's Fall ball and doesn't really count, but if you are a Midwesterner and a fan of lax, it's worth the trip. Last year, 4000 fans showed up to get soaked and watched Syracuse control Notre Dame. This tear there was no rain, but lots of sun and crisp 54 degree weather. Even the Rams playing at home and spanking the Oakland Raiders out of the unbeaten ranks in the NFL did not deter the fans, estimated to be 10% more than last year. The organizers of this event, Mike Sennett, JC Dillon and Lee Michelson, have done so to help the growth of lax in Missouri. As of this year, more than 75 Missouri HS players have gone on to major programs at D 1 through 3 schools across the country. Whereas the early match-up between Duke and Notre Dame featured thee local players on the Irish team, the afternoon match-up featured three such players on Denver and one on Towson's roster.

Denver coach Jamie Munro was pleased to come to the Fall Face-Off, "I think at the HS level, the quality of lacrosse in the Midwest has grown greatly in the past few years. Our roster shows we have recruited many players from the Midwest, with 4 from Illinois , 5 from Ohio, 3 from Michigan and 3 from Missouri.." Munro enjoyed the trip, " This event is great for the sport and important for us to come here and play in front of locals kids that aspire to play in quality D1 programs. In addition to his Midwest group, Munro has also developed a Canadian connection with freshman middie Geoff Snider joining fellow sophomore scoring sensation Matt Brown. Snider showed some promise today and the Pioneers will got good goal production from this duo when the season begins.

Its Fall Ball. The first and third quarters of this game were mostly uneventful with the teams trading possessions and practicing set ups and strips. Both teams were good with their longsticks, stifling scoring opportunities. Denver drew the first blood with a solo goal from Illinoisan Eric Swanson punching one in the net on the EMO opportunity for the Pioneers, nailing the goal on the ground near the left pipe. A few minutes later, Tiger attacker Todd Spear used a jump shot to find the net and even it up 1-1, but his shot was initially ruled an improper dive that landed him in the crease and the score was disallowed. Initially. After a two minute conference, the goal was ruled good and the quarter ended in a 1-1 tie.

Swanson put the Pioneers up in the second quarter after a Tiger longstick slipped on a slow clear. Swanson picked the ball up, made a quick change of direction and came along the left side, spun at the goal line left and scored at the opposite post. Towson woke up and tied the game when Hunter Lochte fed Brad Monaco at 8:09, when Monaco shot a laser from 10 yards out. Senior Ryan Obloj then took a feed from Locket next at 7:30 and used an acrobatic shot to score and put Towson up 3-2. Denver's Darren Sasaki-Scanlon was stuffed on a shot at point-blank range, but a turnover to Denver resulted in sophomore Scott Davidson hitting a hard underhand shot at 3:52 to tie it up at 3-3. Towson jumped into the net after a minute of being peppered with Denver shots and a quick score on the clear made it 4-3 Towson. At 0:27, Snider showed his brute strength, taking the ball and bullying over Tiger longsticks Zak Smith and Evan Santini to knot the score at 4-4. Towson had the last word of the half at 0:14 when Obloj fed Junior Ben DeFelice on a give and go.

Towson changed goalies and brought in junior John Hunt to begin the third quarter, which was all Towson. They scored at 9:44, when Alex Fountain fed Kenny Lynch to go up 6-4. At 8:39, Obloj scored for the second time as he crossed in front of the crease, dipped low to draw the goalie down and then flipped the ball in over his shoulder. The remaining 7 minutes saw both teams fight for the ball and use various offensive set-ups, none of which produced any paydirt.

Towson kept the pressure up in the fourth quarter, when Obloj fed Lochte at 13:04 again close. Lochte stepped smartly through the close D to shoot and score. 8-4. At 10:45 junior Tiger Nate McCreary ran to the crease, rolled the ball twice in his pocket and shot, catching the Pioneer goalie asleep to put Towson up 9-4. Towson had played mostly upperclassmen, while Munro was taking in all that his young team could demonstrate. He substituted freely and gave the freshman good time on the field. At 7:16, Denver scored to cut the lead to 9-5. Two minutes later at 5:12, freshman Greg Weigel brought the ball down the right side and scored. 9-6. Denver held the ball int he Towson half for the next three minutes, but could not penetrate its defense. Towson finally recovered the ball at 2:10, but Denver stripped the ball and scored at 1:46 as freshman Adam Goodwin took the ball in from the left. Despite Hunt's calls to his defense of "ball top left", they stood their ground and watched Weigel toss in a simple score. 9-7. At 0:25, sophomore Greer Hanlon fed junior Sean McDonough. Denver tried in vain to strip the ball from Towson after they won the face, but failed. Towson 9, Denver 8. Munro has a young and fast team with the Pioneers. Look for these kids to give Notre Dame a run for its money in the tussle for the GWLL title in 2003 and the right to get to the tournament.

Next year's version of the Fall face-Off will bring even more marquee teams across the river with Notre Dame, Ohio State, UMass and Princeton coming.