TOWSON, Md. – Led by a pair of assists from senior defender Phil Greatwich, the Tigers (5-0-0) extended their season-opening win streak to five straight games with a 3-1 non-conference victory over Longwood University (0-5-0) at the Towson Center Soccer Complex on Wednesday afternoon.

The Tigers, who are ranked fourth in the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com South Atlantic Region poll, are off to their best start since the 1995 season when they opened the year with eight consecutive wins.

Sophomore forward Zach Hoffer gave the Tigers a quick 1-0 lead in the 12th minute with his second goal of the season. He took a short pass from Greatwich and blasted a 30-yard shot from the near side that went through the hands of junior goalkeeper Joel Helmick.

With 27:50 remaining in regulation, the Tigers upped the lead to 2-0 when freshman forward Kay Banjo scored his third goal in the last four games by gathering a loose ball near midfield and scoring on a breakaway.

Less than two minutes later, junior forward Liam Maloney scored to give Towson a 3-0 advantage. After a quick throw-in from Greatwich, senior midfielder Marco Mangione passed to Maloney, who scored on a shot from just outside the penalty area.

With 4:33 left, the Lancers narrowed the margin to 3-1 when sophomore defender Michael Tegler scored the first goal of his college career off an assist from freshman Chandler Tulin inside the goal area.

Making his second straight start, freshman goalkeeper Angelo Viteritti made a season-high five saves. Helmick recorded three saves for the Lancers, who were outshot by an 18-12 margin.

The Tigers, who are in the middle of a five-game homestand, will host Loyola University Maryland on Sunday afternoon at the Towson Center Soccer Complex at 1 p.m. Meanwhile, the Lancers will finish their three-game road trip on Saturday evening when they play at North Florida.
 
College Men's Soccer: Towson University 3, Longwood University 1
Longwood (0-5-0)  0-1 / 1
Towson (5-0-0)  1-2 / 3

Goals: LONG – Michael Tegler 1 (85:27); TOW – Zach Hoffer 1 (12:04), Kay Banjo 1 (62:10), Liam Maloney 1 (63:40). Assists: LONG – Chandler Tulin 1; TOW – Phil Greatwich 2, Marco Mangione 1. Saves: LONG – Joel Helmick 3 (90:00, 3 goals allowed); TOW – Angelo Viteritti 5 (90:00, 1 goals allowed). Shots: LONG – 12; TOW – 18. Corner Kicks: LONG – 1; TOW – 2. Attendance: 188.

TIGER TIDBITS: The Tigers have scored first in each of their five games this season … Towson has won all four meetings against Longwood in the all-time series … The Lancers have lost six straight games, dating back to last season … Longwood's last victory came on November 13, 2009 in a 3-2 verdict over Houston Baptist in the Atlantic Soccer Tournament … The Tigers took a season-high 18 shots in the win over Longwood … The Tigers have allowed just two goals in the first half, but have not allowed a first-half goal since September 8 against UMBC … Towson is outscoring its opponents by an 8-2 margin in the opening 45 minutes this season … Banjo has either scored a goal or recorded an assist in each of the Tigers' last four games … Mangione has scored or recorded an assist in all five games this season … Greatwich now has eight career assists … He had tallied four assists in his first three seasons … The Tigers and the Greyhounds will be meeting on Sunday for the 58th time in a long-standing series which Loyola leads by a 38-15-4 margin.