TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's lacrosse team scored three goals in the final minute of regulation to force overtime against Drexel in the CAA opener, but fell to the Dragons 12-11 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Paced by Matt Constantinides winning all fourth quarter faceoffs, Towson (1-6, 0-1 CAA) scored three goals in a span of 26 seconds in the final minute of the game, capped by two goals from LSM Sam Morin.  Drexel (4-3, 1-0 CAA) got the opening faceoff of overtime and scored on a second chance shot from Jack Mulcahy to win.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson outshot Drexel in the game 48-42.  The Tigers had a key advantage at faceoff with Matt Constantinides winning 17-of-26, including 14-of-17 in the second half and 8-for-8 in the fourth quarter.  Constantinides had 10 ground balls, adding an assist.
• Kyle Berkeley put together a six-point day on four goals and two assists, adding a caused turnover.  Sam Morin, Towson's primary LSM, finished with a hat trick and a pair of caused turnovers.
• On the defensive end, Evan Long got the loss in goal with seven saves and 12 goals allowed.  At SSDM, Ray Glass notched three caused turnovers and a ground ball.
• For Drexel, Luke Tomak had three goals and an assist with Jack Mulcahy scoring his lone goal in overtime to add to an assist and four ground balls.  Keeper Ross Blumenthal picked up the win with 15 saves and 11 goals allowed.

How It Happened:

• The game started as a back-and-forth affair, with neither side scoring in the opening 11:38.  Towson's defense forced shot clock violations on Drexel while the Dragons held with three early saves.
• Drexel broke through the ice with three goals in a span of 2:08, including two Luke Tomak goals on man-up situations.  Towson got its first goal off the next faceoff as Matt Constantinides dropped off to Sam Morin for a bouncing shot and score.  Towson trailed 3-1 going into the second quarter.
• Two minutes into the second, a high shot led Towson to reset the offense.  Jonathan Bender found Kyle Berkeley on the doorstep for the score to pull Towson within one.
• Each side committed several turnovers in the following minutes.  After a Towson turnover and penalty with six minutes left in the quarter, Zach Augustine scored off a pass from Sean Donnelly to go back up two for Drexel.
• Towards the end of the quarter, a Mikey Weisshaar shot was saved with 27 seconds remaining.  Drexel cleared and had a shot slam the crossbar.  George Grippo grabbed the ground ball and scored on the putback to give Drexel a 5-2 lead at the break.
• Action picked up in the start of the second half.  Donnelly scored on a third chance in the opening minute, which Towson countered minutes later with a Berkeley goal towards the end of the shot block.
• Drexel went on a 3-0 run, all from different goal scorers, to lead 9-3 with 8:17 left in the third.
• Towson's offense started to chip away with 5:45 left in the third as Nick DeMaio scored off a catch and shoot from Berkeley while man-up.  A Drexel faceoff violation then a Drexel turnover led to two possessions, where Berkeley, on a dive parallel to the crease, and Chop Gallagher, off a dodge on a shot over the goalie's shoulder, scored.  Towson pulled to within three at 9-6, the eventual score at the end of the third quarter.
• Countering a Drexel attack off an Evan Long save, Alex Reid fired a shot under the crossbar for a goal to get Towson back within two.  Drexel got the goal back minutes later to lead 10-7.
• As the back-and-forth continued, Joaquin Villagomez scored from near side from Josh Webber with 3:58 remaining.  Drexel scored with 1:06 left as the Dragons took a three-goal lead into the final minute.
• Shawn Nadelen called a timeout with 56 seconds left.  Berkeley swam through the Drexel defense to score close range.  Constantinides quickly won the faceoff to Reece Potter, who passed off a triple team to Morin for the score.  Again Constantinides won the faceoff, getting the ball to Potter, to Berkeley then to Morin again, who equalized with 23 seconds to go.  Towson had a chance with a faceoff win to take the lead, but after a chaotic final seconds with turnovers on each side, the teams went into overtime tied at 11-11.
• Drexel got the faceoff via violation and scored on a second chance effort from Jack Mulcahy to win 12-11 46 seconds into the overtime period.

Inside the Numbers:

• Kyle Berkeley has earned at least one point in the last 15 games played.
• In his 21^st career game with Towson, Sam Morin earned his first-ever collegiate goals.
• Led by Matt Constantinides, Towson has earned a faceoff edge in three of its last four games.
• Ray Glass is the second Tiger with a three-caused turnover day this year.  Colby Barsz forced three turnovers against Richmond on Feb. 24.
• Towson's last six games have come against teams either ranked or receiving votes in at least one poll.

Next Game:

• Towson returns to Unitas on Saturday, Mar. 25 at 12 p.m. to play Fairfield.
• For ticket information, interested parties can visit www.towsontigers.com, call1-855-TU-TIGER or email dkogok@towson.edu.

- TowsonTigers.com –