HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Evan Long saved 20 shots and Nick DeMaio assisted six goals as the Towson University men's lacrosse team earned an important 10-8 victory at Hofstra on Saturday afternoon.
 
Facing an early 4-0 deficit, Towson (3-7, 2-2 CAA) rallied for five straight goals into the second quarter at Hofstra (3-8, 1-3 CAA).  The teams went back and forth when at 8-8 with 12 minutes to play, a Ryan Schrier goal with 8:56 left gave Towson the lead as six fourth quarter saves by Long held for the Tigers' victory.
 
With the win, Towson moves into sole possession of fourth place in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
 
Key Stats:

• Shots were near even in the game with Towson having a 43-42 edge. The Tigers notched 20 saves to Hofstra's nine.
• Evan Long earned his second 20-save game of the season, turning away 16 of the last 20 Hofstra shots on goal, for the victory.
• Nick DeMaio notched six assists, helping on six of Towson's 10 goals.  Ryan Schrier was the leading goal-scorer with a hat trick, adding two ground balls, while Joaquin Villagomez finished with two goals, one assist and three ground balls.
• At the faceoff-X, Matt Constantinides went 11-for-21 with seven ground balls and an assist.
• For Hofstra, Matt Elder had two goals, one of seven home team players with at least one goal.  The loss went to Mac Gates, who had nine saves and 10 goals allowed.

 
How It Happened:

• Towson earned the opening faceoff, but turned it over while passing around the arc.  Hofstra cleared and scored unsettled with Dalron Seesz hitting his shot straight away for a 1-0 home team lead just over 80 seconds in.
• Evan Long held on a long Hofstra possession, turning away four Hofstra shots despite the Pride keeping the ball.  But on the last save, the ball came right to Matt Elder in front of the goal circle, who scored on the putback.
• Matt Constantinides won the next faceoff as Towson set up Ryan Schrier for the chance in the corner, with the shot being saved.  Hofstra went the other way as Rory Jones passed across to Sam Lutfi for the shot and score.  Ryan Sheridan added another 41 seconds later top shelf as Hofstra led 4-0 with 8:05 left in the first.
• Towson called a timeout to regroup.  Constantides won the faceoff, then, Nick DeMaio pass from behind the cage to Joaquin Villagomez on the doorstep for the score.  Next possession, DeMaio this time passed to the far side to Mikey Weisshaar for the rip and score.
• Towson's faceoff wins continued to pay dividends as Josh Webber dropped off a pass to Kyle Berkeley.  Berkeley faked off a defender to move forward and scored straight away.  Hofstra won the next faceoff but threw it away as Towson took back possession.  Again DeMaio found Weisshaar on the doorstep for the catch and shoot goal, tying the game at four.  The sides traded possessions the rest of the quarter as the score remained 4-4 after one.
• With Towson having possession to start the second on a Hofstra penalty, DeMaio passed off to Webber who drilled the top right corner for the goal to give Towson the lead 5-4 nine seconds into the second.
• A couple of turnovers in the midfield kept Hofstra near or on its offensive end.  The Pride tied the game with 10:34 left in the second on a second Elder goal.
• Long turned away two Hofstra shots on a fast break attempt in six seconds as the Pride then tried to rest, turning the ball over a minute later.  Play continued to go back and forth with several turnovers on passes as Towson held on a Hofstra man-up chance.
• Towson had a good look towards the end of the half with Weisshaar getting free on a run to the cage, but a save stopped the chance.  The two sides went into the break tied 5-5.
• Towson took back the lead 4.7 seconds into the half.  Constantinides won the faceoff, lasered a pass to Schrier for the slam dunk.
• The action got very physical as both sides kept up pressure on the ride.  One possession had each side turn over the ball twice between the restraining lines.
• With 6:31 left in the third, Hofstra tied the game on a Gerard Kane goal.  Towson fired away in response on the next possession, with two shots being saved in a span of 25 seconds.
• Off a clear attempt, a Hofstra player got the ball out of Long's stick as he was trying to run.  John Recher got the ground ball and scored while the goalkeeper was out of the net as Hofstra led 7-6 with 2:32 left in the third.
• A tripping penalty gave Towson a man-up chance in the final minute of the third.  A second chance from DeMaio finding Villagomez for the close range score tied the game at 7-7 going into the fourth.
• Towson's quick quarter start again paid off as Villagomez made a short pass to an open Schrier for the quick shot and score.  Hofstra countered in the following minutes with a Turner goal to tie the game again at 8-8 with 12:02 to play.
• As Long continued to stop Hofstra shots, Towson reset after a clear.  DeMaio again found Schrier found behind the cage for the shot and score close range to push Towson ahead 9-8 with 8:56 to go.
• Towson held on defense in two key possessions, a save by Long on a Kane shot off a Hofstra timeout then the defense did not allow a shot in a full-minute man-down situation.  Towson held a 9-8 lead going into the final minute.
• Hofstra called a timeout and set up the offense.  With 39 seconds left, Elder fired towards the corner straight away as Long made the save.  Towson cleared, called a timeout.  While playing keep-away, Webber scored on the open net to seal Towson's 10-8 victory.

Inside the Numbers:

• Shawn Nadelen earned his 99^th career victory as Towson head coach, tying him with Tony Seaman for second all-time in program history.
• Evan Long's 20 saves ties a career-high, also having 20 saves at Virginia on Mar. 11, 2023. 
• Nick DeMaio earns Towson first 5+-assist game since James Avanzato had five assists vs. Delaware on March 20, 2021.
• The last five meetings between Towson and Hofstra, and seven of the last eight, have been determined by one or two goals.

Next Game:

• Towson is back at Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Thursday, April 13^th to take on No. 17/19 Denver at 7 p.m.
• For tickets, interested parties can visit www.towsontigers.com, call 410-704-3330 or email dkogok@towson.edu.