RICHMOND, Va. – The Towson University men's lacrosse team engaged in a grind it out defensive contest with Richmond, with the Spiders pulling away late 10-7 on Friday night.
 
Towson (1-2) pulled to within one in the third quarter off goals from Joaquin Villagomez and Jonathan Bender, but Richmond (2-1) scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter to hold the lead and get the win.
 
Richmond came into the game having received votes in the USILA Coaches Poll and Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
 
Key Stats:

• Shots were near even in the game, with Richmond having an edge 35-31.  Faceoffs were also close as the Spiders got 11 to Towson's nine.
• Luke Downs got the start in goal for Towson, saving 12 and allowing 10 in the defeat.  Colby Barsz forced three turnovers and had two ground balls on close defense.
• On offense, Joaquin Villagomez had two goals to lead Towson while Jonathan Bender got a goal and an assist.
• Matt Constantinides took all faceoffs for Towson, going 9-for-20 with seven ground balls.
• For Richmond, Aidan O'Neil and Luke Grayum each had two goals and two assists.  The win in the cage went to Zach Vigue, who had nine saved and seven goals allowed.

How It Happened:

• Richmond got the opening faceoff off a faceoff violation and scored on a second chance possession by Max Merklinger off a ground ball, adding another after a Luke Downs save off a pass to the middle for a goal by Aidan O'Neil.
• Towson got a faceoff win next to the bench, and following an exchange of possessions, Austin Stewart circled the cage and scored close range.  Next play after a Downs save, Chop Gallagher got around a defender and scored between the keeper's feet to tie the game at 2-2 with 8:29 left in the first.
• Play went back and forth with several turnovers on both sides.  Towson picked up a chance towards the end of the quarter as Jonathan Bender threw across the arc to Joaquin Villagomez for the score on the doorstep.  Towson led 3-2 after one.
•  Towson survived a seemingly-long possession from Richmond, including a couple of lost balls, to clear after three minutes.  Ryan Swain raced right to left for a long range shot and score to make it 4-2 Tigers.  Richmond got a goal back a little over a minute later to pull within one.
• Towson drew a penalty off a push but could not score.  The other way, a second goal by Merklinger equalized the game with 6:38 left in the half.  Down and Co. held off a barrage of Richmond shots on an extended possession but could not score off a minute penalty the other way.  Richmond added a late goal to lead 5-4 at the break.
• After Richmond's ride forced a pair of turnovers, Dalton Young scored on a catch and shoot next to the goal circle.  The Spiders added another two minutes later off a shot from Jeff Nugent to lead 7-4, leading Towson to call timeout with 9:26 left in the third.
• Matt Constantinides won a faceoff as Towson's offense looked to slow down the pace.  With 4:25 left, Villagomez emerged from behind the cage to score, then two minutes later, a similar move from Bender for his second goal made it 7-6, the eventual end of third quarter score.
• The action was high-paced in the fourth quarter opening, with each side getting big saves, including Downs on the doorstep in the first minute.  After physical play on both sides, Richmond got back up by two on a low to high shot by Luke Grayum, then added another by Will Tazewell towards the end of a shot clock to end up 9-6 with 6:56 left in the fourth.
• Stewart nearly got his second goal off a faceoff win, but a Zach Vigue save stopped the chance.  Richmond scored its 10^th goal the other way.  Towson countered with a Kyle Berkeley goal off a feed from Nick DeMaio to pull Towson within three, but the Tigers could not get closer and fell 10-7.

Inside the Numbers:

• Luke Downs earned his first start of his collegiate career in goal.
• Kyle Berkeley has at least one point in his last 11 games while Chop Gallagher had an eight-game point scoring streak.

Next Game:

• Towson will get ready for a battle against Baltimore rival Loyola on Wednesday, March 1 at 6 p.m. at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.  Going into this weekend, Loyola stands No. 5 in the USILA Coaches Poll and No. 6 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
• Get your tickets today.