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Nick DeMaio Celebrates vs Johns Hopkins
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Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse | | John Stark

Men’s Lacrosse Fall in Tight Battle with No. 16 Hopkins

TOWSON, Md. – Despite trailing by five at halftime, the Towson University men's lacrosse team battled back against No. 16/No. 19 Johns Hopkins, but ultimately fell 18-12 in the Tigers' season opener Friday night.

Towson (0-1) pulled back within two goals of the Blue Jays (2-0) on Nick DeMaio's third goal of the game, which came with just 2.4 seconds left in the third quarter. Junior Andrew Milani had a career-best five points (3g, 2a) for the Tigers with his first career hat trick at home. Towson's shooting was efficient, scoring on 12 of its 19 shots on goal.

Johns Hopkins (2-0) was led by a seven-point night from Joey Epstein, who scored six goals with one assist. Garrett Degnon added six points with four goals and two assists while Jacob Angelus finished with two goals and three helpers. Hopkins split time in goal with Josh Kirson getting the win, starting the first half and making four saves.

How it Happened
  • Both teams traded goals in the first half of the opening quarter; Hopkins struck first on a Degnon goal just over a minute in before Milani answered back 90 seconds later to tie the game.
  • After another 90 seconds lapsed, Epstein scored his first, answered a minute later by DeMaio on a short-handed transition goal with defenseman Koby Smith getting the assist.
  • Hopkins regained the lead on Degnon's second at 8:12 before DeMaio again tied the game at 6:54 on an assist from James Avanzato.
  • The Blue Jays scored the first back-to-back goals of the game from Brendan Grimes and Angelus to take a 5-3 lead. Towson responded with a late strike from graduate student Kyle Berkeley, who scored his first career goal with 42 seconds left in the opening period.
  • Hopkins controlled the pace in the second quarter, scoring six unanswered goals, including five straight from Epstein. Grimes accounted for the sixth goal before the Tigers broke a long drought with 3:21 to play on Berkeley's second tally of the night.
  • Connor DeSimone scored the final Blue Jay goal of the half with 1:48 to go, but Towson got one back on Milani's second of the game with 1:02 to play. Towson trailed 12-6 entering the break.
  • A Hopkins penalty at the end of the half gave the Tigers the ball to start the third and Towson wasted no time scoring. Milani had the ball behind before finding Chop Gallagher on the doorstep just four seconds into the half to secure the latter's first career goal on the man-up.
  • Degnon scored back-to-back goals at 14:09 and 12:00, the second one on the power play to redouble the lead to 14-7.
  • Towson finished the third on a flourish, scoring five straight to pull back within two. Milani got the run going at 10:23 before Towson got three straight goals from the midfield. Berkeley took advantage of size and speed out of the box, scoring back-to-back goals right through the heart of Hopkins' defense. 
  • Towson scored twice in the final minute of the stanza as Ryan Swain got his first of the year with 42 seconds left, followed by a swim dodge from Nick DeMaio to the inside to score with 2.4 seconds left in the period.
  • The visitors controlled the pace over the final 15 minutes, taking each shot clock down into single digits when they could. Angelus scored with 12:48 to play, before Grimes (7:52), Jack Keogh (2:08) and Scott Smith scored with seven seconds left for the 18-12 difference.
Behind the Numbers
  • The first half was the difference in the game as Hopkins out-scored the Tigers 12-6 in the first 30 minutes before the two teams traded six goals apiece in the second half. Towson out-scored the Blue Jays 6-2 in the second quarter.
  • Milani led the Tigers with five points on three goals and two assists, his first career five-point day, alongside his first home hat trick. Berkeley had a career day as well, scoring four times for his first four career goals. Fellow transfer DeMaio added his first career hat trick as well, setting a new career high. Avanzato added a pair of helpers for the cause as well.
  • Gallagher scored his first career goal after missing most of the 2021 season with an upper body injury. Swain extended his point streak to a team-best seven games with 13 points in that span (10g, 3a). Avanzato has a point in each of Towson's last four games, including 10 assists in that stretch.
  • Shane Brennan made 13 saves in the loss. He played 59 minutes and 10 seconds and was spelled by freshman Luke Downs late in the game as Towson pulled the goalie to apply defensive pressure.
  • Matt Constantinides went 8-for-22 at the faceoff, grabbing three ground balls in his first career action. Shane Santora was 3-for-8 at the X while rookie longstick midfielder Sam Morin grabbed five ground balls in his debut.
  • Hopkins was led by a game-high seven points from Epstein (6g, 1a) while Degnon carded four goals and two assists. Epstein scored on six of his nine shots on goal and took a game-high 16 in the match. The Blue Jays split time in goal between Kirson and Gib Versfeld. The former made four saves while the latter stopped three.
  • Towson scored on 12 of its 17 shots on goal, taking 36 total attempts in the game. Hopkins managed 49 total shots with 31 on goal.
  • The Tigers scored once on three man-up chances. The Blue Jays managed two goals on five chances.
  • Announced attendance at the Friday opener was 3,309, the ninth-largest crowd in the Tigers' CAA Era (2002).
Up Next for Towson
  • It's a quick turnaround for the Tigers as Towson prepares to host Mount St. Mary's Tuesday afternoon.
  • Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium as the two sides meet for a 12th-straight season.
  • Tuesday's game will be broadcast on FloLive. Fans will need a subscription for the game.
  • Tickets are still available for the in-state clash by visiting TowsonTigers.com or clicking here.
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