FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Facing brutal precipitation and a team which had won four of its last five, the Towson University men's lacrosse team held its opponent to two second half goals to earn a 12-10 victory at Fairfield on Saturday afternoon.
 
In a back-and-forth contest in a driving rain which did not see either team lead by multiple goals until late in the third quarter, Towson (6-3, 2-0 CAA) took the lead on a 3-0 run in the final 5:01 of the third quarter to take a two-goal lead.  After Fairfield (4-5, 1-1 CAA) scored with 11:51 left, Towson's defense did not allow a score the rest of the way to earn the 12-10 win.
 
Through two Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) games, Towson and Delaware stand in first place in the league at 2-0.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson had a slight edge in shots 40-38 and ground balls 38-37.  Faceoffs with even at 13 each.
• Mikey Weisshaar earned a hat trick to lead the scoring, adding a pair of ground balls.  Austin Ducommun and Joaquin Villagomez each had two goals while Chop Gallagher finished with a goal and two assists.
• On the defensive end, Sam Morin tallied up seven ground balls and three caused turnovers, helping to protect Matt Nilan, who notched the victory in goal with seven saves in his first career start.
• Matt Constantinides was 13-for-26 on faceoffs, grabbing six ground balls.
• For Fairfield, Jake Gilbert scored four goals to lead all players, adding three ground balls.  The Stags used two goalkeepers, with second half netminder Owen Hirsch having the loss with seven saves and four goals allowed.

How It Happened:

• Fairfield got off to a fast start after a faceoff violation, scoring on the first shot from Luke Okupski 19 seconds in.  Mikey Weisshaar had a quick response after a restart, scoring on a bouncing shot off a screen to tie the game.
• After Matt Nilan notched a save to send Towson to offense, the Tigers drew a slash penalty.  Fairfield forced a turnover and scored the other way while man-down on a shot from the doorstep.  Towson countered next possession as on a second chance, Nick DeMaio passed back to Austin Ducommun on the goal circle for the catch and shoot goal, tying the game at 2-2 with 10:18 left in the first.
• The rain continued to hamper play on both sides as Chop Gallagher used a bull dodge to clear the ball.  Ducommun notched his second goal off a pass from Jamison Gaskins and straight away fire to give Towson the lead 3-2.  Fairfield got the goal back minutes later as Jake Coleman spun away from his defender and scored on a high to low shot.
• After Fairfield turned the ball over, Towson beat the 10-man ride as DeMaio found Bode Maurer on the doorstep while the goalkeeper was out of cage for the goal.  Forced turnovers by Maurer on the ride and Joe Meidling on defense kept Towson ahead 4-3 after one quarter.
• Another quick start for Fairfield led to Gilbert scoring 68 seconds into the quarter start to tie the game.  Gilbert added another after coming from behind the cage and scoring close range.  Towson again tied the game with some flair as Weisshaar dove across the goal circle and scored, then shortly thereafter, Chop Gallagher got free straight away and score on a bouncing ball under the crossbar for a 6-5 Towson lead.
• The back-and-forth continued as Fairfield equalized on an Okupski shot, retaking the lead off a turnover on the ride and a goal by Gilbert.  Towson tied it up just over a minute later on another burner from Weisshaar as the game was 7-7 with just under seven minutes left in the quarter.
• With 3:29 to play in the first half, Will Consoli took advantage of a player-up situation with a high-to-low shot and score to push Fairfield back ahead.  Towson kept up the bouncing shots, hitting one with Jamison Gaskins to tie the game again.  The game stayed tied at 8-8 going into halftime.
• Following a save on a Gallagher close shot, Nilan saved an Okupski shot, but a second chance by Keegan Lynch gave Fairfield back the lead.  The rain continued to pound the turf as the physical play kept going.
• Each side traded possessions in the following minutes as Sam Morin forced a turnover at the top of the fan to stop a potential Fairfield shot.  Towson nearly equalized in transition as Dan Reilly got to the doorstep but was stopped by Owen Hirsch on the right side of the net.
• Towson broke the scoring drought with 5:01 to go in the third as Josh Webber scored on the run to make it 9-9.  DeMaio nearly gave Towson the lead with a move to the cage, but Hirsch saved the chance to keep it a tied game.
• Colby Barsz forced a turnover behind the cage to send Towson back to offense.  Alex Roussel pulled off a defender to free up Joaquin Villagomez on the doorstep for a Towson lead.  To nearly close out the quarter, Roussel scored a goal of his own to give Towson an 11-9 advantage after three quarters.
• After some early trading of possessions to begin the fourth, Bryce Ford scored for Fairfield on a catch and shoot in the of the goal circle to pull the Stags within one with 11:51 to play.
• Connecticut native Matt Constantinides got a couple of key faceoffs in a row to keep Towson's pressure on.  Villagomez scored on a run from around the cage to put Towson back up two. 
• Towson's defense held off Fairfield for several minutes, with Nilan making a save and Barsz and Morin holding off passes to help get turnovers.  The Tigers held off Fairfield on a long possession, including being man-down, with Joe Petro forcing a turnover to end the chance.  Towson led by two with under four minutes left.
• After a Towson shot clock violation, the Tiger ride forced another turnover in the midfield to get possession back and clear off more time.  A Webber shot was saved, then recovered by Webber himself to kill more time.  Fairfield got the ball back in the final minute, but a final save by Nilan finished the game as Towson earned the 12-10 win.

Inside the Numbers:

• Matt Constantinides moved into third in Towson history in career faceoff victories with 470, passing Matt Eckerl, who had 466 from 2004-07.  He also moved into fifth all-time in career ground balls with 258, passing Ben DeFelice, who had 231 from 2001-04.
• Towson's defense has not allowed a goal in the final 11:37 of the last three games.
• Mikey Weisshaar has had at least a hat trick in five games this year.
• Nick DeMaio has notched at least one point in his last 19 games while Mikey Weisshaar has had at least one in his last 17 contests.
• Towson has won six straight games against Fairfield and is 9-1 against the Stags all-time.
• Towson has earned victories in its first two league games in two of the last three seasons.

Next Game:

• Towson is back at Unitas on Saturday, March 30, hosting Stony Brook for the CAA home opener.
• To purchase tickets or if you have any questions regarding tickets, visit https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/ or call the Towson Athletics ticket office at 410-704-4501.