4-29-2024 1:56pm

TU NIPS BLUE HENS

The No. 15 Towson University men's lacrosse team is the 2024 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) regular season champion, winning a thriller at No. 18 Delaware 11-10 to earn the program's first undefeated league season since 2004.

Down 6-3 at halftime in a back-and-forth, physical contest, Towson (11-3, 7-0 CAA) took the lead with five goals in the third quarter. Down one with 4:30 to play, the Tigers notched the final two goals at Delaware (8-4, 6-1 CAA), grabbing the lead on a Bode Maurer goal with 1:31 remaining. Luke Downs saved a John McCurry shot with 47 seconds left, then Conor Spagnolli forced a turnover on the Delaware keeper to effectively end the game.

The Tigers earned their first undefeated CAA season since 2004, when Towson went 5-0. It is Towson's first outright CAA title since 2017 and first share of a regular season title since 2022.

With the win, Towson, on a seven-game winning streak, will be the 1-seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament at Johnny Unitas® Stadium. Towson will play the 4-seed, either Drexel or Stony Brook, on Thursday, May 2 at 4 p.m. for the CAA Semifinal round. For CAA Tournament ticket information, visit https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/caamlaxchampionship.

Key Stats:

In a very even game, shots were equal with each team having 44. Towson committed just 10 turnovers to Delaware's 18, including the Tigers forcing five turnovers on the ride.
Joaquin Villagomez led the Tigers in scoring with three goals and two assists. Nick DeMaio also had a hat trick, adding an assist.
The win was earned by Luke Downs, who tied a career-high in saves with 14 in 60 minutes in cage, allowing 10 goals. The Towson defense caused 11 turnovers, led by Conor Spagnolli with two caused turnovers and three ground balls. Reece Potter scooped up six ground balls and caused a turnover.
Faceoffs were even, with each side grabbing 12-of-24. Matt Constantinides was 11-for-21 with three ground balls.
For Delaware, Mike Robinson scored four goals and grabbed two ground balls. Kevin Ellington got the loss on 13 saves and 11 goals allowed.
The 1-seed and No. 15-ranked Towson University men's lacrosse team will kick off the 2024 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament by hosting 4-seed Drexel on Thursday, May 2 at 4 p.m.
Towson is serving as the host for the 2024 CAA Tournament on May 2 and 4. For CAA Tournament ticket information, visit https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/caamlaxchampionship. All three games will be played at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.

The second semifinal game will be on May 2 at 7 p.m. between 2-seed Delaware and 3-seed Fairfield. The winners of the semifinal games will play in the CAA title game on Saturday, May 4 at 3:30 p.m.

Towson earned the 1-seed after going undefeated in league play for its first regular season league title since 2022 and first outright regular season title since 2017. The Tigers stand at 11-3 overall and 7-0 in league play.

Drexel defeated Monmouth 6-4 on Friday, getting the final berth into the CAA Tournament after Saturday's games. The Dragons are 6-8 overall and 3-4 in CAA play this season.

Towson and Drexel met in Philadelphia during the regular season on March 16, with Towson winning 16-11.

How It Happened:

Following a turnover by Towson on offense, Delaware struck first on a goal by John McCurry on a run to the cage. Matt Constantinides won another faceoff as Towson fired away at the goal, but Kevin Ellington stopped a couple of shots, including one point blank by Bode Maurer.
Towson's ride forced a Delaware turnover about 20 yards from the goal, leading to a long Towson offensive possession, but Ellington again held with several saves. Towson finally got through with a roll around the cage and score from Joaquin Villagomez to tie the game at 1-1.
With 3:15 left in the first, Cam Acchione got a goal for Delaware straight away from the goal to put the home team back in the lead. Mikey Weisshaar, following a Towson timeout, swam his way to a run to the goal but missed wide as Delaware led 2-1 after one.
Luke Downs fended off a multi-shot possession, making a great low save on a behind-the-back shot from Delaware. Drawing a cross-check, Towson scored man-up on a Weisshaar low heater inside the post to tie the game less than two minutes into the second quarter. Delaware got a goal back on the next possession on a Mike Robinson straight-away shot.
The physical play continued as Colby Barsz forced a turnover on Delaware and Towson cleared. Nick DeMaio scored from the right side to tie the game at 3-3 with 9:54 left in the second.
The high-paced action went back-and-forth as Towson caused turnovers by Barsz and Joe Petro, but Ellington held off multiple chances by the Tigers. Acchione added another close range on a second chance to put Delaware back ahead, then just over two minutes later, Tyler Owings hit a shot man-up under the crossbar to push Delaware up 5-3 with 2:02 left in the half.
Towson tried to cut the deficit in the final minute of the first half, but two missed shots and a caused turnover ended the chance. Delaware added a goal in the closing seconds to lead 6-3 at half.
The Tigers came out of halftime with incredible energy and aggressiveness, forcing two turnovers on the ride. Despite Ellington making two saves, Towson pulled to within one off a Villagomez goal while falling down, then Chop Gallagher passed across the fan to DeMaio for the high-to-low shot and score to pull Towson within one at 6-5 less than five minutes into the second half.
Towson continued the aggressive play, holding off a man-down situation with a Downs save. Towson countered by scoring two goals in less than a minute, a run to the cage for Gallagher then Villagomez scoring while falling down to push Towson ahead 7-6 with 4:47 left in the third.
On the next possession, Delaware scored to tie the game. On the next faceoff, Delaware won, but Towson triple teamed JP Ward to force a turnover as Sam Morin came across the mid-line, passed off to DeMaio for the long range shot and score as Towson retook the lead 8-7.
Into the fourth, Towson killed a man-down situation and continued to harass Delaware on the ride, forcing two more turnovers. Despite this, Delaware tied the game shortly after a successful clear for an 8-8 score.
Jamison Gaskins rolled and dodged to the cage and got a point blank look, scoring to push Towson back up. Delaware evened up 40 seconds later off a left-to-right shot from Nick Jessen.
Despite Downs making two saves, Delaware peppered away at cage and scored on a Robinson catch and shoot to lead 10-9 with 7:21 left.
With 4:21 remaining, Towson evened up the game again as Maurer found Alex Roussel on a dive near the goal circle for the shot and score. Towson fended off a long Delaware possession, with Downs making a save with 2:51 remaining and getting the ball back to the Towson offense.
On a third effort towards the end of the shot clock, Villagomez passed to the center of the goal circle to Maurer, who caught and shot forward for the goal-ahead goal. Towson led 11-10 with 1:31 to go.
After Towson turnover off a won faceoff, Downs saved John McCurry's shot as Towson cleared. Towson lost the ball on a turnover, but Conor Spagnolli forced a turnover on the goalkeeper as Towson ran out the rest of the clock, winning the game 11-10.

Inside the Numbers:

Towson's last undefeated CAA regular season came in 2004 when the Tigers defeated then league opponents Villanova, Sacred Heart, Delaware, Hofstra and Drexel. Towson is the first CAA team to finish the regular season undefeated in league play since UMass in 2018.
The Tigers win their fifth CAA regular season title under head coach Shawn Nadelen since 2016. It is the program's 10th regular season title since 2004.
Towson has won the last two regular season contests vs. Delaware, both times when the Blue Hens were ranked. Towson's 15-10 win on April 29, 2023 came when Delaware was ranked No. 15/13.
Joaquin Villagomez notched his sixth hat trick of the year and his fourth game in a row while Nick DeMaio earned his fifth hat trick of the season.
Luke Downs previously had 14 saves at Loyola on Feb. 27.

Next Game:

Towson takes on the 4-seed (either Drexel or Stony Brook) for the CAA semifinal on Thursday, May 2 at 4 p.m. at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.
For CAA Tournament ticket information, visit https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/caamlaxchampionship.