WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – With the game tied with just under three minutes to go,
Alex Roussel scored two goals in less than a minute to send the Towson University men's lacrosse team to victory at Monmouth 12-10, putting the Tigers in sole possession of first place in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA).
Towson (5-5, 4-0 CAA) held off a scrappy Monmouth (4-7, 1-3 CAA) team and the rain as Roussel hit those two late goals and
Matt Constantinides won those late faceoffs to secure Towson's late possessions.
With Hofstra's loss at Fairfield, Towson is the only team left in the CAA which is undefeated in CAA play through the first four weekends.
Key Stats:
- Towson outshot Monmouth 47-40 and won 19-of-26 faceoffs.
- Ryan Schrier had his best offensive game of the year with five points off three goals and two assists. Alex Roussel finished with three goals, an assist and two ground balls.
- Matt Constantinides won 16-of-22 faceoffs, adding five ground balls. Kai Lopez won 3-for-4 faceoffs.
- In goal, Luke Downs took the win, having seven saves. Joe'll Spagnuolo had a pair of caused turnovers.
- For Monmouth, Ty Caffarelli tallied three goals in as many shots, adding an assist. The loss went to Tommy Heller, who had 12 goals allowed and 11 saves.
How It Happened:
- After holding off Monmouth on the first possession, Towson cleared as Mikey Weisshaar emerged from behind the cage and scored on a jump. After some back-and-forth play, Monmouth equalized off a clear from a close defenseman to make it 1-1 with just over nine minutes left in the first.
- Monmouth later took the lead on a Brendan Dundas goal with under five in the first. Towson got the goal back on a long possession, with Owen Scott dropping off a pass to Ronan Fitzpatrick for the catch and shoot goal on the doorstep. Towards the end of the quarter, Ty Caffarelli scored on a second-chance shot to give Monmouth a 3-2 lead after one.
- Towson got out to a quick start into the second as Ryan Schrier got the pass from Josh Webber for the game-tying goal. Minutes later, Chop Gallagher hit a perfect shot to the corner to push Towson ahead 4-3.
- The teams exchanged goals in a span of just over a minute as Alex Roussel got free in front of the cage and scored off the pass from Gallagher. For the next several minutes, turnovers reigned as the two teams dealt with the elements.
- With 1:02 to go in the second, Chuck Matusek scored for the left side on a narrow angle from the Roussel pass. Towson led 6-4 at the half.
- Into the third, Weisshaar again started the half with a laser shot under the crossbar to put Towson up three. Monmouth countered with the next two goals to pull within one at 7-6 Towson with 10 minutes to play in the third.
- Towson took advantage of unsettled situations off clears to burst forward. Schirer hit two straight goals, each close to cage, then set up Fitzpatrick off a clear for the close shot and score. Towson led 10-6 with 2:25 left in the third, inducing Monmouth to call a timeout.
- Monmouth scored two late goals in the third to pull within two as Towson led 10-8 after three.
- It was a chaotic start to the fourth as several turnovers and a couple of saved shots kept Towson's lead intact until with 9:01 left in the period, a Sean Ketchen goal pulled Monmouth within one. Minutes later, Monmouth drew two penalties on Towson, scoring on the 6-on-4 to tie the game at 10-10 with 6:31 to play.
- With under three minutes to go, Roussel got past a double team and scored off a pass from Alex Vieni, then 54 seconds later, Roussel scored again after emerging from the cage. Towson ran out the clock as Towson won 12-10.
Inside the Numbers:
- Dating back to 2023, Towson has won 15 consecutive CAA regular season games.
- Ryan Schrier earned his first three-goal game for Towson since Apr. 15, 2023.
- Mikey Weisshaar, with two goals today, has scored at least one point in his last 32 games. Chop Gallagher has a least one point in his last 28 games, having a goal and an assist today.
Next Game:
- TowsonTigers.com –
