Towson Men’s Lacrosse falls in overtime nail-biter to #7 Loyola
By: Jake Shindel, Sports Editor and Trevor Letourneau, Contributing Writer
The Towson Men’s Lacrosse was downed in overtime to #7 Loyola 12-11 as the team dropped their third-straight game after starting the season with a strong win against Mount St. Mary’s.
“What more can you ask for in a Towson-Loyola game? I’m very proud of the team and I’m proud of the way they fought into the fourth quarter,” said Head Coach Shawn Nadelen.
Attackmen Nick DeMaio and Joaquin Villagomez scored three goals for the Tigers, while FOGO Matt Constantinides won 18 faceoffs (67%) despite the loss.
“I was happy for [Constantinides],” Nadelen said. “Obviously happy for what he did for our team too, coming out of the previous two games. Matt played kind of out of character against Richmond. For him to settle down and play the way we know he’s capable of… I was excited for him and how that impacted our team.”
Towson got on the board first less than two minutes into the game after DeMaio found the back of the net. Midfielder Austin Stewart picked up an assist on the play. Two minutes later, the Tigers took a 2-0 lead when the Greyhound defense left DeMaio open for his second goal of the game. Midfielder Mikey Weisshaar picked up the assist.
After Loyola picked up a slashing penalty and gave Towson a man-up advantage, midfielder Kyle Berkley sent the ball into the middle where midfielder Jonathan Bender was able to put it in the net. Loyola converted a man-up advantage to score, cutting the lead to 3-1. Midfielder Adam Poitras scored on the assist from Attackman Davis Lindsey.
Goalkeeper Evan Long ended the quarter with a save, and the opening period ended with Towson ahead 5-3. Attackman Joey Kamish evened up the game at 5-5 with midfielder Seth Higgins getting the assist.
After a 30-second advantage for Towson, Villagomez scored his second goal of the night, with Berkeley picking up the assist to give Towson a 6-5 lead. After a failed clear attempt by Towson, Attackman Matthew Minicus tied the game up for Loyola as Long’s diving attempt at a save came up just short.
The first half came to a close with a slow ending to the second quarter from both teams as there were no goals scored over the last eight minutes of the half. Loyola’s seven goals each came from a different player, while Villagomez, DeMaio and Bender netted two goals each for Towson.
The first goal of the second half evened up the game at seven as Towson midfielder Josh Webber worked his way into the middle of the box and scored. Attackman Chop Gallagher gave Towson a one-goal lead with Bender contributing the assist.
Poitras scored his second goal of the night on a man-up advantage to tie the game at eight with 2:37 left in the third quarter.
The third quarter ended with both teams tied at eight, with Loyola scoring one goal and Towson scoring two goals in the third quarter.
Villagomez gave Towson a 9-8 lead early in the fourth quarter putting the ball in the upper-right corner of the net. Loyola responded with a goal in transition after midfielder Evan James scored with defensive midfielder Max McGillicuddy assisting on the goal. Loyola retook the lead after James picked up his third goal of the night and second-in-a-row. Minicus picked up the assist on the goal that gave Loyola a 10-9 lead.
Loyola took a two-goal lead as Minicus scored and Davis picked up the assist, but Gallagher scooped up a ground ball and scored for Towson, cutting the Tiger deficit to one goal with five minutes remaining.
DeMaio scored his third goal of the night to tie the game up at 11 before Loyola used a timeout a couple minutes later. Both teams were tied at the end of regulation, sending the game to overtime.
Towson won the faceoff to start overtime and called a timeout to draw up a play. The Tigers were unable to convert on their chance, and the Greyhounds called a timeout once they had possession in their zone.
Poitras scored on Loyola’s possession to give them the win in overtime, winning 12-11. Towson out-shot Loyola 45-43, but was only able to turn it into 11 goals.
“We have to continue to sharpen up our offensive shooting, we need to take the great opportunities we get and be able to bury them,” said Nadelen.
Nadelen and the Tigers will look to avenge the tough loss when they return to action on Saturday, March 4 to take on UMBC on the road at noon.