TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's lacrosse team overcame the faceoff deficit to have the lead in the third quarter but fell late to No. 17/14 Saint Joseph's 16-13 in the home opener on Saturday afternoon.
 
Towson (1-1) led 10-9 in the third quarter off a 4-0 run that started in the first half, but Saint Joseph's (2-0) countered with five of the next six goals.  Towson pulled two within one at 14-13 with seven minutes to play but could not score the rest of the contest.
 
Key Stats:

• The total shots were close by both teams, with Saint Joseph's having a slight edge 41-37.  The Hawks won 20 of 32 faceoffs, leading to a 35-27 advantage on ground balls.
• Nick DeMaio earned a four-goal game, adding an assist for five points.  From the second midfield unit, Austin Stewart scored two goals and two assists while Kyle Berkeley also had a pair of goals and pair of assists.
• In goal, Evan Long got the loss with 10 saves and 16 ground balls, adding two ground balls.  Matt Constantinides finished with seven ground balls off 12-of-32 faceoffs, adding an assist.
• For Saint Joseph's, Tucker Brown tallied up three goals, an assist and three ground balls.  The Hawks used two goalkeepers: Robbie Seeley had nine goals allowed and two saves in the first half while Scott Macmillan had the win on four goals allowed and five saves in the second half.  Zach Cole won 20 faceoffs on 32 attempts, scoring two goals and scooping 15 ground balls. 

How It Happened:

• Saint Joe's used an early won faceoff and two Towson turnovers to score two quick goals and lead 2-0.  Towson countered with two goals in a span of 35 seconds: an Austin Stewart rip to the top shelf then Jamison Gaskins swimming off a defender for the score.  Minutes later, Nick DeMaio shot a rocket into the corner to make it 3-2 Towson midway through the opening quarter.
• The visitors again took advantage of won faceoffs to get two quick goals and retake the lead.  Towson tied it up off a straight away shot and score from Jonathan Bender.  Saint Joe's finished with the final three goals of the first, led by two scores from Mac McLaughlin, to lead 7-4 after one.
• The Hawks added another to open the second to complete its 4-0 run.  Evan Long made a save towards the end of the shot clock to Towson possession, where DeMaio got the catch and shoot from Ryan Swain to score.  Minutes later, Berkeley got the pass from Stewart for a straight-away shot and score, bringing the score to 8-6 Saint Joe's with 9:49 left in the second.
• At 9-6 Saint Joe's, Towson regrouped with a timeout with five minutes left in the half.  DeMaio added another goal off a hard shot to the lower corner.  Long made a save and Swain forced a turnover as Towson headed to offense.  Swain got the pass from Chop Gallagher from behind the cage, then seconds later, Matt Constantinides got the pass, dropped off to Joaquin Villagomez for the score on the doorstep.  Towson tied the game 9-9, the eventual halftime score.
• Towson peppered the goal early in the third, having two shots saved.  Josh Webber forced a turnover on the ride, then Gallagher got a third chance off a ground ball and scored to give Towson the lead 10-9 with 12:51 left in the third.
• After a couple of back-and-forth possessions, Saint Joe's retook the lead with three consecutive scores.  Towson stopped the bleeding with Stewart's second goal with five minutes to go in the quarter, a line drive between the keeper's feet for the goal.  Despite Long holding off a long SJU possession, a Hawk goal with 51 seconds remaining in the quarter pushed the visitors up 13-11.
• Into the fourth, St. Joe's added another goal as the Hawks held a three-goal lead through the midway point of the quarter.  Towson fired off two goals in 17 seconds, DeMaio netting his fourth goal on a low shot then Berkeley scoring his second off a pass from a won faceoff from Reece Potter.  Towson trailed 14-13 with seven minutes to play.
• St. Joe's won the faceoff and, despite a save by Long on the first attempt, scored with 5:46 to play.  A penalty aided the Hawks to add a man-up goal.  Towson got it's own man-up chance late but could not score towards the end as the Hawks won 16-13.

Inside the Numbers:

• Nick DeMaio and Kyle Berkeley have earned at least four points in each of Towson's first two games.  Berkeley has 10 points through two games while DeMaio has nine.
• With two goals and four points, Austin Stewart matched career-highs in both categories.

Next Game:

• Towson heads south to Virginia on Friday, Feb. 24 for a game vs. Richmond at 4 p.m.

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