Towson men’s lacrosse falls short in comeback attempt against No. 5 Virginia
By Cam Bonner, staff writer
Despite a stalwart effort, the Towson men’s lacrosse team fell to No. 5 Virginia Cavaliers. This loss not only left a bitter taste but also demonstrated the team’s resilience for future challenges; the final score was 19-16.
It started off tied in the first quarter at six a piece. Midfielder Mikey Weisshaar had two goals, and so did attackman Bode Maurer. Matt Constantinides and Austin Ducommun followed up with one goal each. Alex Roussel had three assists, Nick DeMaio had two and Reece Porter had one.
“We came out fast, we came out in attack mode,” said head coach Shawn Nadelen. “We worked hard there against their ride, which is something they do a great job against teams, and also clearing the ball.”
Heading into the second quarter, Weisshaar led the team with four goals, and Joaquin Villagomez also got on the scoreboard with a goal. DeMaio led the team in assists with four. Both teams were close with faceoff wins, with UVA leading by two faceoff controls at the half. In the first half, Towson took advantage of having an extra man opportunity, scoring on both tries.
Virginia had the lead at halftime 10-9. However, in the third quarter, the Cavs started to pull away, taking the momentum away from Towson. The Tigers had seven turnovers, giving the Cavs more opportunities to shoot on goal, scoring six goals to Towson’s one. The Cavs’ defense only allowed the Tigers to have six shots on goal in the third quarter. UVA’s first line of attackmen all had hat-tricks at the end of the third quarter, with attackman Peyton Cormier scoring four goals in the third.
With the score being 16-10 at the end of the third quarter, Towson tried to rally back in the fourth, scoring five goals; however, it wasn’t enough to stop the run of the Cavs. DeMaio led the team in points with one goal and six assists, while Weisshaar led the team in goals with a shot percentage of 71%. Goalkeeper Luke Downs finished with 12 saves on the day.
Towson finished their non-conference game and will now start conference play next week against Drexel at Vidas Field on March 16.
