TOWSON, Md. – In a matchup of defending conference champions, the Towson University men's lacrosse team fell to Saint Joseph's 11-6 at Unitas Stadium. 
 
Towson (0-4) pulled to a tied game with 12:39 left in the third quarter off two goals in 30 seconds from Alex Vieni and Chop Gallagher, but Saint Joseph's (2-2) ended the game on a 5-0 run to take the win.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson outshot Saint Joseph's 50-31, with the Hawks countering with 17 saves to Towson's five.
• Josh Webber burst for two goals and three assists for five points, adding two ground balls.  Alex Vieni scored two goals and grabbed two ground balls.
• The loss went to Luke Downs with five saves, three ground balls and 11 goals allowed.  Conor Spagnolli caused two turnovers and got a ground ball.
• Matt Constantinides won 10-of-19 faceoffs, grabbing seven ground balls.
• For Saint Joseph's, Mark Watters scored five goals on as many shots on goal.  The win in goal went to Tommy Gross, who had 17 saves and six goals allowed.

How It Happened:

• Saint Joseph's scored a quick goal as the two sides went back and forth.  Towson had long possessions to counter St. Joe's, finally breaking through on a man-up situation as Josh Webber got a second chance and score from 10 meters out to tie the game at 1-1 with 6:49 left in the first.
• The visitors went on a 3-0 run to lead 4-1.  Towson got a goal back before the end of the quarter as Alex Roussel netted a shot towards the end of the shot clock on the low heater to make it 4-2 after one.
• Webber scored again on a man-up chance as after a saved shot, Webber scooped up the ground ball and scored to pull Towson within one at 4-3 4:36 into the second.
• Back and forth play continued as the Hawks got the goal back with 6:45 to play in the half.  Minutes later, Alex Vieni faked a shot with a defender right up against him then shot for real and scored to make it 5-4 Saint Joseph's, the eventual halftime score.
• Following a quick goal into the third, Towson hit the Hawks with back-to-back goals, each from the near side on heaters from Vieni and Chop Gallagher to tie the game at 6-6 with 12:39 left in the period.
• Despite several opportunities, Towson did not get on the board again.  The Hawks went on a 3-0 run in the coming minutes and held the lead the rest of the way.  Saint Joseph's scored the last five goals to win 11-6.

Inside the Numbers:

• Matt Constantinides moved into second all-time in Towson history in career ground balls with 313, passing Matt Eckerl, who had 307 from 2004-07. 
• Chop Gallagher, with a goal scored today, has gotten at least one point in his last 22 games played.
• Conor Spagnolli has caused at least one turnover in all four games for Towson this year.

Next Game:

• Towson takes the short trek to Catonsville on Friday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. to take on county rival UMBC.