TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's lacrosse team stays at the top of Baltimore County, using a nine-goal third quarter to win vs. UMBC 14-10 on Friday night at Unitas.
 
Down 6-5 at the half, Towson (2-2) outscored UMBC (1-3) 9-2 in the third quarter and held the rest of the way for the win.  Towson outshot UMBC 18-3 in that period, scoring nine of its 10 shots on goal during that time.
 
Key Stats

• Towson outshot UMBC 42-29 in the game.  The Tigers won 18 of 28 faceoffs and had 38 ground balls to UMBC's 21.
• Kai Lopez won 18-of-28 faceoffs for Towson, scooping 15 ground balls and having an assist.
• Mikey Weisshaar earned a five-goal day, adding an assist, three ground balls and a caused turnover.  Joaquin Villagomez earned seven points off four goals and three assists, also having a caused turnover, while Alex Roussel notched a hat trick plus had three ground balls.
• The win in goal went to Matt Nilan with seven saves, including six in the fourth quarter, and 10 goals allowed.  Jake Law caused three turnovers and grabbed three ground balls.
• For UMBC, Jake Kucinski tallied up two goals and three assists.  Connor McMahon had the loss in goal with eight saves and 14 goals allowed.

How it Happened

• After UMBC hit the opening goal in the opening minute, each side had several turnovers in the following minutes.  Elijah Smith and Joaquin Villagomez forced turnovers on the defensive side for Towson.
• Towson broke the ice with 6:35 left in the first as Villagomez scored on a laser inside the right post.  UMBC answered with two goals in the following couple of minutes to lead by two.
• Mikey Weisshaar scored off a screen with 90 seconds left in the first to pull Towson within one 3-2.
• Into the second quarter, Towson equalized with Weisshaar scoring off a dodge on a left to right shot.  UMBC got the goal back in the next minute, then Owen Scott scored for Towson on a running low shot to make it 4-4 with 10:34 left in the second.
• Following several minutes of back and forth play, UMBC retook the lead with 4:36 to go in the period.  Villagomez shook off a defender and stung the corner on a shot to again tie the game.  UMBC again took the lead with a Corey Myers goal and led 6-5 at the break.
• Towson drew a couple of man-up penalties and stormed ahead in the third quarter.  A drop-off pass to Will Schoonmaker for the shot and score, then another low shot and score for Villagomez gave Towson the lead.  Kai Lopez kept winning faceoffs and Towson kept adding goals, Weisshaar adding another on a straight-away shot then scoring against off a run to the goal.  The 4-0 run put Towson up 9-6 with 11:53 left in the third.
• UMBC stopped the run on a Jake Kucinski goal, but Towson's momentum kept going as the home team notched the next two goals, a feed from Villagomez to Alex Roussel on the doorstep and Roussel scoring again off a pass from Alex Vieni to make it 11-7 Towson.
• After UMBC scored with 3:12 left in the third, Towson ended the third quarter on a 3-0 run.  Villagomez scored on a pass from Lopez's faceoff win, another Villagomez feed to Roussel on the doorstep and Weisshaar faking off a defender and running to the cage made it 14-8 Towson after three quarters.
• Nearly eight minutes went by in the fourth quarter went with no goals, including Matt Nilan saving five shots in that span.  UMBC got back on the board with a Nathan Ward man-up goal with 7:11 left to play.  The visitors added another two minutes later to pull within four at 14-10.
• Towson caused three turnovers in the final five minutes to keep UMBC off the board the rest of the way and win 14-10.

Inside the Numbers

• Mikey Weisshaar earns his seventh 5+ goal game of his Towson career, last having five goals vs. Hofstra on May 1, 2025.  His six points gives him 176 in his career, moving him to ninth all-time in Towson history.
• Joaquin Villagomez ties his career-high with seven points in a game, last having seven points vs. Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 10, 2024.
• 18 faceoff wins and 15 ground balls are each career-highs for Kai Lopez. 
• This is the third straight victory for Towson over UMBC.  All-time, Towson is 38-17 against the Retrievers.

Next Meet

• Towson takes the short trek to Charles Street to take on Loyola on Tuesday, March 3 at 6 p.m.