Box Score

TOWSON MD - Host Towson outscored the visiting Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team 5-0 over a span of more than 17 minutes from midway through the second quarter until late in the third to build a 6-3 lead and the Blue Jays never pulled even again as the Tigers posted a 7-5 victory at Unitas Stadium Tuesday evening. Towson takes its season opener with the win, while the Blue Jays fall to 1-1 with the loss.

Johns Hopkins led 3-1 after back-to-back goals by Wells Stanwick and Ryan Brown in a span of 44 seconds less than six minutes into the second quarter, but the Tigers scored the final three goals of the first half to take a 4-3 lead into the half.

It took Towson less than two minutes after Brown's goal to knot the game at 3-3 as Andrew Hodgson took a skip pass from Ryan Drenner and ripped one home and Greg Cuccinello was on the back end of a Drenner helper 38 seconds later to force the second and final tie of the game.

Towson took all the momentum into the half as Hodgson scored with just one second remaining before intermission. Out of a timeout, junior Ben McCarty dodged from the side to the center of the field and threw back to Hodgson, who spun and ripped side-winder home to make it 4-3 Towson at the half.

The Blue Jays had their chances in the third quarter as they fired 12 shots at Towson goalie Tyler White, but it was the Tigers who got the first two goals of the quarter to cap the 5-0 run and build the 6-3 lead. A Joe Seider goal at the 9:26 mark and an unassisted goal by Mike Lynch less than four minutes later accounted for Towson's two third-quarter strikes.

Brown netted his second of the game with 27 seconds left in the third quarter to slice the deficit to 6-4 at the end of three quarters. Shack Stanwick threaded a pass to a cutting Brown who quick-sticked home his ninth goal in two games from just off the crease.

The deficit was back to three less than two minutes into the fourth quarter as Seider whipped a laser to the top shelf off Drenner's third assist of the game and the Tigers methodically iced the game from there. Working the ball for long stretches and controlling 11 of 15 fourth quarter ground balls, Towson held Hopkins scoreless in the period until 69 seconds remained, when freshman Joel Tinney got inside his defender and bounced one home to make it 7-5.

Towson won the ensuing faceoff after a long scramble and ran out the final minute to seal the win and snap a 19-game losing streak in the series.

Drenner led the way offensively for the Tigers with his one-goal, three-assist performance, while Seider and Hodgson both added the two goals. White finished with 12 saves, including six in the third quarter when the Blue Jays fired off 12 of their 31 shots in the game.

With his two goals, Brown was the only multi-point scorer for Johns Hopkins. Senior Eric Schneider registered 11 saves in goal for the Blue Jays, who will return to action quickly again as they travel to Villanova for a game against the Wildcats on Saturday, February 14. Faceoff is set for 1 pm.

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