HOUSTON – The Towson University men's lacrosse team led at the half in an upset bid against No. RV/20 Virginia but fell to the Cavaliers 11-6 in the team's first-ever game in the state of Texas.
 
The Towson (1-5) defense had a stellar first half as the Tigers led 4-3 at the break, aided by Matt Constantinides winning six of the first seven faceoffs. Virginia (3-3) went on an 8-0 run to begin the second half.  Towson scored two late goals in a comeback attempt but could not get closer.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson outshot Virginia 45-41 in the game plus won 12-of-20 faceoffs.  Virginia had a 15-11 advantage in saves.
• Mikey Weisshaar and Ronan Fitzpatrick each had two goals for Towson while Chop Gallagher had a pair of assists.
• Matt Constantinides took all but one faceoff for Towson, winning 12-of-19 for seven ground balls. 
• On defense, Luke Downs got the loss despite 11 saves and 11 goals allowed.  Joe Petro caused three turnovers and scooped two ground balls.
• For Virginia, Thomas Mencke led the team in goals with three, adding an assist.  Truitt Sunderland tallied up two goals and three assists.  The win went to goalkeeper Matthew Nunes, who had 15 saves and six goals allowed.

How It Happened:

• After Virginia scored in the opening minute, Towson took the lead in the following minutes.  Alex Vieni passed across the fan to Chuck Matusek for a catch and shoot goal, then minutes later, Ronan Fitzpatrick fought through a double team on the doorstep to score while being pushed to make it 2-1 Towson with 8:35 to go in the first.
• Virginia finished the quarter with two goals to lead 3-2 after one.
• The Towson defense held on Virginia through the second quarter, keeping the Cavaliers off the scoreboard in that period.  Luke Downs turned away five Virginia shots on goal.
• Picking up a man-up situation with just over six minutes to go in the half, Ronan Fitzpatrick faked out a defender towards the end of the chance and scored point blank to even the score up.  A minute later, Mikey Weisshaar came from around the cage to score and give Towson a 4-3 lead, the eventual halftime score.
• Towson held off a couple of possessions to begin the third but got pushed by the Virginia ride on a couple of clear attempts.  Virginia tied the game with 10:46 left in the third, adding another just under 90 seconds later to take the lead.
• Towson got man-up situations but Virginia held, adding a goal with 6:46 to go in the third.  Downs saved a shot with 31 seconds left in the period, but after a Towson turnover, Thomas Mencke scored in the final seconds to give UVA a 7-4 lead after three.
• Another couple of failed clears kept the ball with UVA as the Cavaliers added to their lead, going up 11-4.  Towson stopped the bleeding with two goals in the span of 25 seconds, a catch and shoot for a Josh Webber goal man-up then Weisshaar sticking a shot in the top right corner also man-up to pull within five, but Towson did not get closer and fell 11-6.

Inside the Numbers:

• Mikey Weisshaar has a point in each of his last 29 games while Chop Gallagher has at least one in his last 24.  Alex Roussel's 11-game point scoring streak was snapped.
• Seven different Tigers caused at least one turnover.

Next Game:

• Towson begins conference play on Saturday, March 15 at noon against Delaware.  Tickets are available at https://fevo-enterprise.com/group/25TUMLAXsinglegames.
• The Towson-Delaware game is the Strokes of Luck game.  The Strokes of Luck Corp is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on improving the lives of children and families impacted by pediatric strokes. Through education, support, and advocacy, the foundation aims to raise awareness about the often-overlooked issue of pediatric strokes and provide resources for better prevention, treatment, and recovery.  To learn more about the Strokes of Luck Corp, visit www.STROKESOFLUCK.org or follow on social media @StrokesOfLuck.