TOWSON, Md. – The No. 16/14 Towson University men's lacrosse team is 6-0 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play for the first time after the Tigers crushed Monmouth 17-2 during Senior Day.
Towson (10-3, 6-0 CAA) allowed just one goal to Monmouth (5-7, 2-4 CAA) in the opening 54 minutes, outshooting the Hawks 51-23 and having 47 ground balls to Monmouth's 26.
Towson has won six consecutive games, winning its last two by a combined score of 42-4.
Before the game, Towson honored its senior class, playing in its final regular season home game at Unitas. In addition, Towson celebrated the 50
th anniversary of the 1974 NCAA championship team.
Key Stats:
- Towson committed just 14 turnovers as Monmouth had 27. Towson's ride helped force turnovers on seven Monmouth clear attempts.
- Luke Downs anchored down in goal with eight saves and just one goal allowed in 53:46 of play, with Bryce Kendrigan finishing the game with two saves and a goal allowed in the final 6:14. The Towson defense caused 17 turnovers, led by short-stick defensive midfielder Joe Meidling with three, adding two ground balls.
- Six Tigers earned at least three points, including Nick DeMaio and Mikey Weisshaar having two goals and three assists each. Bode Maurer, Joaquin Villagomez and Josh Webber all had hat tricks, with Webber adding an assist.
- Towson won the faceoff battle 15 to eight, including winning 10-of-11 in the second half. Matt Constantinides won 8-for-14 with seven ground balls while Rocco Mareno earned seven wins in nine attempts, scooping up five ground balls.
- For Monmouth, Connor Macrae had a goal and an assist. Goalkeeper Tommy Heller had the loss with 17 saves and 17 goals allowed.
How It Happened:
- Towson's ride paid early dividends as Elijah Smith forced a turnover near the benches to get the Tigers back to offense. Seconds later, a drop off pass from Nick DeMaio to Mikey Weisshaar led to a goal in the opening 1:33. 37 seconds later, Alex Roussel, from behind the cage, found Bode Maurer on the doorstep for a quick 2-0 Towson lead.
- Monmouth fired on cage a couple of times, with Luke Downs making two saves to hold. The other way, Josh Webber put some heat on a shot for a score unassisted. The Towson ride got another turnover, then another pass from behind cage to an open player in front of the net, this from DeMaio to Joaquin Villagomez, made it 4-0 Towson with 8:21 to go in the first.
- Monmouth got its first goal with 6:28 left in the opening period on a score from Connor Gorman. Towson got the goal back 43 seconds later with a high-to-low rocket from Villagomez. Towson kept up the pressure and added two more goals, a DeMaio low shot and a Weisshaar goal on a run to the cage, to lead 7-1 after one.
- The second quarter began with 10:23 of scoreless play as Monmouth's Tommy Heller saved four shots while the Towson defense forced four turnovers in that span. A catch and shoot goal to Villagomez built Towson's lead to seven.
- Towards the closing seconds of the second, DeMaio scored again on a low shot off the pass from Weisshaar. Towson led 9-1 at the break.
- Towson wasted no time into the third quarter off a won faceoff as DeMaio fired a pass to long pole Sam Morin on the doorstep for the catch-and-shoot goal. Minutes later, Joe Meidling forced a turnover as Towson attacked again. Chop Gallagher drew a double team and dropped off to Webber for the shot and score.
- Back-and-forth play commenced in the following minutes as Downs and Gallagher caused turnovers. Maurer got another near the doorstep after being fed by DeMaio for the catch and shoot goal.
- Towson's defense continued to hold down the Hawks through the rest of the third. Webber picked up a loose ball in the closing seconds of the quarter and scored in transition, putting Towson up 13-1 going into the fourth.
- The Tigers kept up the pressure as Weisshaar stripped the goalkeeper of the ball in his stick on the ride. Weisshaar picked up the ball and found Maurer next to the goal circle for the goal 50 seconds into the quarter.
- Towson started to use its reserves but continued to attack. Alex Vieni scored as he came from around the cage and scored close range with 11:04 left in the fourth. He added another minutes later, finding his mark through a double team for a 16-1 Towson advantage with 7:52 to play.
- Bryce Kendrigan came into the game in goal on Senior Day. Monmouth scored with 5:37 left in the game, then Kendrigan stopped the next shot. After the clear, Ethan Pearson notched his first career goal from Vieni. Towson finished the game out as the Tigers won 17-2.
Inside the Numbers:
- With 10 victories, Towson earns its first double digit win season since 2019, when Towson went 11-5. Towson earns its sixth double-digit win season under head coach Shawn Nadelen.
- Towson is looking to earn its first undefeated run in CAA play since 2004, when the Tigers finished the regular season at 5-0 in the league.
- With eight faceoff victories today, Matt Constantinides moves into second all-time in Towson history with 511 career faceoff wins. Alex Woodall is first in Towson history with 583 faceoff wins from 2017-19. With seven ground balls, he also moved into fourth in Towson history with 277 career ground balls.
- Nick DeMaio has 36 assists this season, tying for sixth all-time in Towson single-season history.
- Nick DeMaio has notched at least one point in 23 consecutive games while Mikey Weisshaar has in 21 straight games. Chop Gallagher has a 15-game scoring streak going.
- Towson has not allowed a goal in the second or third quarters the last two games.
- Towson did not have a penalty in this game.
Next Game:
- Towson takes the short trek to Newark to play at No. 18/19 Delaware on Friday, April 26 at 7 p.m. The winner will be the CAA regular season champion and 1-seed for the upcoming CAA Tournament.
- TowsonTigers.com –