HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Down by one late in the third quarter, the No. 12 Towson men's lacrosse team blanked host Hofstra University in the fourth quarter en route to an 8-7 win over the Pride.
 
An offense paced by the attack unit, two midfielders were clutch down the stretch as redshirt senior Ben McCarty tied the game 7-7 midway through the fourth before junior middie Mike Lynch hammered the game-winning shot with 4:31 left in regulation. Attackman Spencer Parks fed Lynch the game-winning assist.
 
With the Tiger's 12 win of the season, Towson will host next week's Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men's Lacrosse Tournament at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium. The Tigers (12-2, 4-1 CAA) will take on fourth-seeded Drexel at 4 p.m., followed by the second CAA Semifinal between the third-seeded Pride and No. 2 Fairfield at 7 p.m.
 
How It Happened

• Hofstra (9-5, 3-2 CAA) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as Korey Hendrickson struck at the 11:23 mark of the first quarter. Extending his goal streak to 18 games, junior attackman Joe Seider deadlocked the game for the Tigers at 1-1 on a man-up goal. Parks had the assist at 6:18 of the first.
• In a low-scoring first half, both teams scored once in the second period, with the Pride's Josh Byrne notching one at 10:26, followed by a Parks tally at 5:42 with freshman Jon Mazza on the dish. The contest was tied 2-2 through the first 30 minutes, the fourth time this season the Tigers have been tied at halftime.
• Junior attackman and Towson's points leader Ryan Drenner logged the 100^th point of his career to open the second half, burying an attempt on the crease just over two minutes into the fresh half.
• The game's third tie came just 11 seconds later as Byrne got his second strike of the day on a Hendrickson assist.
• Seider did not allow the tie to last long, drilling his 100^th career point at the 11:56 mark of the third on his 27^th goal of the season, putting the Tigers ahead, 4-3.
• Hofstra's Brian von Bargen tied the game for a fourth time at 9:46, equaling the combined total goals from the first half in the first 5:14 of the third quarter.
• Seider completed his fifth hat trick this season at the 8:26 mark of the third and giving the Tigers their first lead of the game. Mazza scored his second assist of the contest, setting a new career high in helpers.
• McCarty boosted the Towson lead to two, 6-4, as the clock struck 7:55 in the third period. The Pride roared back on three straight goals from Zachary Franco, von Bargen and Dylan Alderman. Brendan Kavanagh had the assist on Franco's tally.
• Down 7-6 as the fourth quarter began, McCarty scored the game's sixth-tying goal on a nifty split dodge to the middle of the Pride defense with 7:32 to go in regulation.
• Coming off of a five-goal game last weekend against Fairfield, Lynch hammered home the game-winning goal. It was Lynch's first game-winner since the Tiger's 7-5 win over then No. 5 Johns Hopkins last season's opener on Feb. 10, 2015.

 
Behind the Numbers

• The Tigers secured 12 wins for a second straight season after going 12-6 during the 2015 campaign. It marks the first time in program history the Tigers have won a dozen or more games in back-to-back campaigns.
• Redshirt senior Tyler White made nine saves in his first career win over Hofstra. His counterpart, Jack Concannon made 13 saves in his 60 minutes of work.
• The Tigers went one-for-three on the extra-man, with Seider getting the tally. The least-penalized team in the CAA, Towson successfully killed off its only penalty of the game. The Tigers were whistled for offsides with 9:52 to play in regulation.
• Towson and Hofstra headed into the game as the all-time winningest teams in CAA games, deadlocked at 54-28. With the win, Towson has 55 CAA wins and moves into first place.
• Head coach Shawn Nadelen and the Tigers topped the Pride for the first time since the 2013 season and grabbed the program's first victory at Shuart Stadium since a 10-9 double overtime thriller on March 31, 2012.
• One of the country's top clearing teams, Towson failed to gain the zone just twice, successfully clearing 14 times. Towson's ride held Hofstra in check as the Pride cleared it just 15 times on 19 attempts.
• The Pride won the faceoff battle as Kris Clarke won 12 of the 19 attempts. Towson's Alec Burckley went the distance and won seven draws. For a second-straight game, the Tigers won groundballs, snapping up 24 against the Pride's 20.
• Leading the country in fewest turnovers per game, the Tigers held true with just 10 miscues. The Pride turned the ball of 14 times, seven of which were forced by Towson defenders.

 
Up Next For Towson

• The Tigers will host Drexel on Thursday afternoon at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium with a 4 p.m. opening faceoff.
• It will be the first CAA Tournament game on Towson's homefield since the 2010 season.
• Hofstra, the Tournament's No. 3 seed, will square off with second-seeded Fairfield at 7 p.m. from Unitas ® Stadium.
• The CAA Championship game will begin at 1 p.m. and will be televised nationally on the American Sports Network.

 
- TowsonTigers.com –