FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The No. 17 Towson University men's lacrosse team shut down Fairfield's offense in a 12-5 road victory on Saturday to secure a share of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) regular season title and hosting rights to the upcoming 2026 CAA Tournament.
Towson (9-3, 5-0 CAA) shut out Fairfield (4-9, 1-4 CAA) in the opening quarter and allowed just five goals the rest of the way as
Matt Nilan saved 14 shots in the goal for a 73.7% save rate.
The Tigers win their seventh straight game plus Towson has won 23 consecutive games against league opponents (including league tournament wins), the eighth-longest streak in Division I history.
Towson earns at least a share of the regular season CAA title for the third straight year. Towson remains the only team undefeated in CAA play at 5-0 with one league weekend to go.
Towson will be the host of the upcoming CAA Tournament on April 30 and May 2. Tickets are available now here:
https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/buy/caamlaxchampionship
Key Stats
- Towson matches its top defensive performance of the season, holding an opponent to five goals for the second straight game. The Tigers have held opponents to single digit goals four times, all victories.
- Towson outshot Fairfield 42-34 in the game with Kai Lopez taking all Towson faceoffs, winning 15-of-21 against the Stags.
- Matt Nilan finished with 14 saves and just five goals allowed. Jake Law forced two turnovers and grabbed three ground balls.
- On offense, Alex Roussel earned four goals and grabbed four ground balls while Mikey Weisshaar earned three goals and an assist.
- For Fairfield, Rob Moore tallied up two goals and an assist. Landon Whitney had the loss in goal with 11 saves and 12 goals allowed.
Postgame Quotes – Shawn Nadelen
- "Matt Nilan was phenomenal. I thought we played solid defense, but Nilan closed the door on a lot of solid opportunities to keep us with that separation. Winning the possession battle with the faceoffs helped.
- (on hosting the CAA Tournament) "Proud for what these guys have worked hard for this season. We still have a lot in front of us and things to improve on; there are spurts in the goal we are still not playing as clean, but for these guys to put the body of work and earn the opportunity to play for a league championship at home is exciting."
How it Happened
- Towson's defense forced the first goal as Joe Meidling forced a turnover, cleared and scored off the clear before he was defended against. Towson continued to play strong defense and held off Fairfield, then scoring in transition. Mikey Weisshaar had a shot from close to midfield against the 10-man ride, then scored another emerging from behind the cage to make it 3-0 Towson in the opening 5:36.
- The game got physical as both sides got hit with one-minute penalties, with both holding as Matt Nilan had a huge kick save on a point blank shot. Towson had a couple of attempted cleared halted, but Nilan made five first quarter to keep Fairfield off the board in the opening quarter as Towson led 3-0.
- Towson fended off another penalty at the start of the second quarter, then the other way, Joaquin Villagomez pulled a double team to free Matt Burnam on the doorstep for the turn and shoot for the goal. Fairfield got its first goal on the next possession by Jeremiah Wade to make it 4-1 Towson with 11:50 left in the second.
- Defenses continued to play tough on both sides as both sides fired away. Fairfield inched close with a goal with 7:14 left in the second, then Towson got the goal back next possession with Alex Roussel scoring on a catch and shoot from Villagomez to make it 5-2 Tigers, 5:05 left in the quarter.
- Towson's defense continued to be dominant, holding off a pair of possessions off Fairfield timeouts. Before the end of the half, Shawn Nadelen called timeout and set up a play in the final 10 seconds. Weisshaar came forward and threw a perfect pass to Roussel near the doorstep for the bouncing shot and score with two seconds left. Towson led 6-2 at the break.
- The third quarter started a bit sloppy from both teams as Fairfield had turnovers, which Towson had quick shots the other way on Fairfield backups. Brody Morgan broke the trend after a successful clear, firing from 20 meters out to score unsettled. Towson then built on the lead as each Weisshaar and Roussel got doorstep goals to send the Tigers lead to seven at 9-2 with 7:31 to play in the third, leading to a Fairfield timeout.
- The Stags got a man-up chance next possession and scored to break the Towson 5-0 run. Towson continued to be pressured by the Fairfield ride, with a failed clear leading to another Rob Moore goal to get the home team within five. Towson went into the fourth quarter leading 9-4.
- Towson drew an early man-up penalty but could not convert, with Fairfield countering after the goalkeeper cleared the ball and the Stags got the goal unsettled. Towson fired back as another goal close to the end of the shot clock came with Ronan Fitzpatrick flaring a pass to Villagomez for the close range goal, then on man-up, Ryan Schrier finding a cutting Roussel as Towson led 11-5 with 10:25 left to play.
- Towson's defense continued to stifle Fairfield the rest of the way with Nilan making a couple more late saves. One more goal from Trevor Phipps helped seal the game as Towson won 12-5.
Inside the Numbers
- This is the first game this season where Towson has shut out its opponent in the opening quarter. In addition, Towson's defense has allowed just two goals in the first half in the last two games.
- Towson has earned hosting rights for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 CAA Tournaments. Towson can earn the outright regular season title with a win over Hofstra next week.
- Each Alex Roussel and Mikey Weisshaar earned their sixth hat tricks of the season.
- This is the first time since 1974, and first time in the Division I era, where Towson has scored in double digits in each of its first 12 games (per Spiro Morekas).
Next Game
- TowsonTigers.com –
