5-05-2024 7:36am

CHAMPS TU GO

Hunt Valley Life Staff

THE ROAR HAS BEEN RESTORED: TOWSON MEN’S LACROSSE – 2024 CAA CHAMPS

NEXT GAME:

vs. NCAA First Round

5/11/2024 | TBA

TOWSON, Md. – In one of the most dominant tournament performances in league history, the No. 15 and 1-seed Towson University men's lacrosse team crushed No. 19 and 2-seed Delaware 15-6 to win the 2024 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament title, the ninth in program history.

Towson (13-3) started the game vs. Delaware (9-5) with a 3-0 run and never looked back, leading by as many as 10 goals going into the final quarter of play. The Tigers outshot 42-27 and forced Delaware to fail 10 clears for 60% success.

Towson's nine-goal win is the largest margin of victory ever in a CAA title game. Including its 18-8 win vs. Drexel on Thursday, Towson scored 33 goals in the CAA Tournament, just one shy of Towson's 34 goals in the 2019 CAA Tournament.

With the victory, Towson is off to the NCAA Tournament with the CAA's automatic bid. The Tigers will find out their matchup on Sunday, May 5 at 9:30 p.m. during the NCAA selection show on ESPN2.

Towson will ride into the NCAA Tournament on a nine-game winning streak, its longest winning streak in the D1 era and most since 1971, when Towson had a 10-game winning stretch.

Following the game, four Towson players earned CAA All-Tournament Team, led by Nick DeMaio, the CAA Tournament Most Valuable Player. The 2024 CAA Offensive Player of the Year set a CAA Tournament single game record with six assists vs. Delaware, totaling 14 points in the tournament with three goals and 11 assists.

DeMaio was joined on the CAA All-Tournament Team by Bode Maurer, Colby Barsz and Luke Downs. Maurer set the record for most goals in a CAA Tournament, having four goals today to total 11 in the two games. Barsz notched three caused turnovers today, holding Delaware's JP Ward to one goal. Downs earned the win in both games in goal, having 17 saves and 14 goals allowed.

Key Stats:

Towson won the ground ball battle 35-22 plus won 14 faceoffs to Delaware's 10.
Towson's defense kept Delaware to 15-for-25 on clear attempts, including six failed clears in the first quarter. Luke Downs had the win in goal with six saves and six goals allowed in 58:38 of play, with Matt Nilan having a scoreless 1:22 in goal. Colby Barsz locked down with three caused turnovers while SSDM Reece Potter notched a caused turnover and three ground balls.
On the offensive side, Towson had five multi-goal scorers against Delaware's goalkeeper Kevin Ellington, the CAA Defensive Player of the Year. Bode Maurer again led Towson in goals with four, adding an assist and three caused turnovers. Nick DeMaio finished with six assists, two ground balls and a caused turnovers while Chop Gallagher notched three goals and two assists. Mikey Weisshaar notched a hat trick while Alex Vieni picked up two goals and an assist.
Matt Constantinides took all faceoffs for Towson, winning 14-of-24 with eight ground balls.
For Delaware, Tyler Owings led the team with two goals. Ellington got the loss with 15 goals allowed and 12 saves.

How It Happened:

Towson got the first possession, following each side causing a turnover in a scrum, and fired away on cage three times, missing wide. Each team played early long possessions, with the Towson ride forcing two turnovers but the Delaware defense held. Towson held against a two-man down situation, each offsides, with Luke Downs making a save on the doorstep to hold the stalemate just over six minutes in.
The Tigers broke the drought in a big way, seeing Nick DeMaio set up Chop Gallagher for the high-to-low shot and score, then off a faceoff win, finding Bode Maurer on the doorstep for the catch and shoot goal. Following Downs saving another shot, Towson recovered after a close range shot that was saved by Kevin Ellington, seeing Maurer add a second goal for a 3-0 Towson lead just under 10 minutes into the first.
Delaware scored with 3:26 to go in the first, but Towson's ride kept causing Delaware massive problems, forcing turnovers on six Delaware clear attempts. Towards the end of the first, Alex Vieni got free on a straight-away shot, scoring inside the corner for a 4-1 Towson lead after one quarter.
Following a quick Ellington save, Cam Acchione was wide open on the goal circle off a pass from JP Ward behind the cage for the goal. The Towson pressure continued to force turnovers as after another Delaware turnover, Maurer added another score for a hat trick as Towson led 5-2 with 9:19 to play in the first half.
A high pass from behind the cage for Delaware led to a fast break as Sam Morin dropped off to DeMaio, for another pass to a running Alex Roussel for the point blank range goal. Delaware scored again 32 seconds later, then Towson again countered, seeing Gallagher score on a laser, then Josh Webber score man-up on a crease dive.
Towards the end of the quarter, Maurer forced a turnover after Delaware had the ball on defense. With five seconds left, Mikey Weisshaar got the catch and shoot goal from Maurer to give Towson a 9-3 lead at the half.
Towson continued to pressure going into the second half, notching two point blank shots, but Ellington saved both to hold the score. No teams scored in the first six minutes of the quarter, when Vieni notched his second in the corner of the cage for a 10-3 Towson advantage.
Just over a minute later, Ward got a goal off a roll to the cage. Towson built the lead even more with four consecutive goals: another Maurer score from Gallagher, a Weisshaar catch and shoot from DeMaio, a Gallagher shot from the left side and a Weisshaar roll from 25 yards away from behind the cage. Towson led 14-4 after three.
Delaware put together a final push, scoring from Mike Robinson just over two minutes into the fourth. The Tiger defense held the line, with Downs making two saves in a span of 21 seconds, then Colby Barsz caused a turnover on Hank D'Ambrogi.
With 6:34 to play, Josh Webber added the exclamation point on a pass from Alex Vieni. Tyler Owings scored a late goal for Delaware but Towson's lead reigned supreme. The Tigers celebrated with a run to the field as Towson won 15-6.

Inside the Numbers:

Towson has won nine CAA titles, the most in the league. It is Towson's sixth title under head coach Shawn Nadelen.
With its 13th win of the year, Towson has earned its winningest season since 2016, when the Tigers were 16-3.
With 11 total goals in the CAA Tournament, Bode Maurer set a new record for goals in a single CAA Tournament. Nick DeMaio set a new CAA Tournament record with 11 assists.
Towson wins its first CAA Tournament since 2019 and first in Towson since 2017.
Towson has won its last three CAA Tournaments when the Tigers were the 1-seed, including 2016 and 2017. Towson also won as the 1-seed in 2003 and 2004.
With 48 assists on the season, Nick DeMaio has the fourth-highest single-season assist total in Towson history. DeMaio's 80 points, including 32 goals, is also the fourth-highest point total in Towson single season history.
Mikey Weisshaar has 39 goals on the year, tied for the 10th-highest single-season goal total in Towson history.
Colby Barsz has 22 caused turnovers this season, the ninth most for a Tiger in a single season.
Matt Constantinides has won at least 50% of his faceoffs in his last 15 games.
Nick DeMaio has at least one point in his last 26 games while Mikey Weisshaar has at least one in his last 24. Chop Gallagher has notched at least one point in his last 18 contests.

Next Game:

Towson is off to the NCAA Tournament with the CAA's automatic bid. The Tigers will find out their matchup on Sunday, May 5 at 9:30 p.m. during the NCAA selection show on ESPN2.