CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Towson University men's lacrosse team had early leads and a 3-0 run into the second half to stay close to the number one team in the country, but fell to No. 1 Virginia 19-12 on a brisk afternoon in Charlottesville.
Towson (1-5) saw
Evan Long make 19 saves, including 10 in the first quarter, to hold off Virginia (6-0) early, getting to within one at 9-8 with 11:19 in the third. UVA scored the next six goals to hold the lead for good despite the Tigers scoring four in the final period.
Towson will enter Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play next week having played five straight teams either ranked or receiving votes in the polls.
Key Stats:
- Evan Long finished with 19 saves, tying his career-high of the same number at Denver on Mar. 26, 2022. He had 10 saves in the first quarter and six in the third. Long had 19 goals allowed in the defeat.
- Helped the defense, Reece Potter notched a pair of caused turnovers while LSM Sam Morin had five ground balls and an assist. Garrett Zungailia finished with three ground balls and a caused turnover.
- Nick DeMaio scored four goals to lead Towson, having a hat trick in the first half, adding a trio of ground balls. Mikey Weisshaar earned three goals, his first collegiate goals, and an assist with two ground balls.
- Matt Constantinides won the faceoff battle, earning 18 wins on 35 attempts for seven ground balls, a goal and an assist.
- For Virginia, Connor Shellenberger tallied up 10 points on four goals and six assists. Matthew Nunes got the win in goal, saving nine shots and having 12 goals allowed in 57:46 of play.
How It Happened:
- Towson scored right out of the gate in five seconds off a Matt Constantinides faceoff win to Joaquin Villagomez for the rip and score.
- Evan Long had four saves in the opening five minutes to hold off UVA's offense, but UVA tied the game off a failed Towson clear. Long continued to stop UVA's attacks, including a big save on a Thomas Mencke shot on the doorstep. Towson countered as Austin Stewart cleared, then Nick DeMaio revved up and scored off the pass for a 2-1 Towson lead with 5:53 left in the first.
- A few more Long saves held Towson's lead, but UVA tied the game on a score from Thomas McConvey towards the end of the shot clock. Another UVA goal with 2:03 left in the first from Truitt Sunderland, then another man-up from Xander Dickson, made it 4-2 Virginia. Long's 10th save kept the deficit at two after one quarter.
- Constantinides again burst out of the gate with a won faceoff and scored on a run to the cage 10 seconds into the second. UVA got the goal back off a failed Towson clear from Jeff Conner. Towson drew a man-up and got the goal right back as Jonathan Bender passed from behind the cage to DeMaio for the straight-away shot and score to get Towson back within one with 12:32 in the second.
- UVA scored with 7:48 left to get its advantage back to two. Towson got Mikey Weisshaar clear from the right side for a run to the crease and a score on a dive to make it 6-5 UVA with just over six minutes left in the half.
- The home team scored three goals in a span of 1:37. In the final seconds of the half, Josh Webber found DeMaio on the doorstep to complete a hat trick and make it 9-6 UVA at the break.
- Towson came out firing in the third quarter as Kyle Berkeley scored from left to the right side of the cage. Towson then drew a man-up on a UVA cross check as Weisshaar finished the play off a catch and shoot from Berkeley to pull Towson within one at 9-8 UVA with 11:19 left in the quarter.
- UVA held the lead and built it back up on two goals in a span of 36 seconds. Towson and UVA went back and forth on offense, trading possessions, but UVA added three more goals. Long had three more saves in the final minutes of the third as UVA led 14-8 with one quarter to play.
- UVA scored 1:12 into the fourth, then Towson responded as Sam Morin got the faceoff ground ball and passed off to Villagomez for the rip and score. UVA got the goal back off a man-up chance, then Weisshaar earned his hat trick off a laser shot and score over the goalie's shoulder. Towson trailed 16-10 with 11:06 left.
- Constantinides kept winning faceoffs to keep Towson in the game. DeMaio added his fourth goal off a pass from Webber on a bouncing shot under the crossbar to pull Towson to five at 16-11 with 10:34 to play.
- After a chaotic couple of attempted clears, UVA stopped the Towson mini-burst with a McConvey goal. With 4:37 let to play, Weisshaar found Jonathan Bender close to the doorstep for the shot and score to get Towson back within five.
- Towson did not get closer in the game as UVA scored two more to win the game 19-12.
Inside the Numbers:
- Evan Long's 20 saves ties for the most saves in a game for a Towson goalkeeper since Andrew Wascavage had 20 saves vs. UMass on Apr. 6, 2013.
- This is Nick DeMaio's second four-goal game of the season, also having four goals vs. Saint Joseph's on Feb. 18.
- With a goal and an assist, Kyle Berkeley has at least one point in the last 14 games.
- Towson's 12 goals against Virginia is the most in a game for the Tigers against the Cavaliers since Towson fell 18-13 to UVA on Mar. 15, 2008.
- This is the third straight season, and fourth in the last five years, where Towson played the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.
Next Game:
- Towson will have the CAA home opener on Saturday, March 18 at 12 p.m. vs. Drexel.
- For ticket information, interested parties can visit www.towsontigers.com, call 1-855-TU-TIGER or email dkogok@towson.edu.
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