TOWSON, Md. —  Sparked by senior Alex Roussel's three fourth-quarter goals, the 17th-ranked Towson men's lacrosse team (1-1) used a 6-2 run to close out the game and seal a 12-8 victory over Navy (1-1 / 0-0 Patriot League) Saturday afternoon at Johnny Unitas Stadium. 

With 2:26 remaining in the third quarter and the game tied at 6-6, redshirt junior Ryan Schrier used a pass from All-American attackman Mikey Weisshaar to give the Tigers the go-ahead goal, a lead they would not relinquish. Weisshaar, who was held without a point in the opening half, scored a goal and dealt out a pair of assists during the 6-2 run, while Roussel scored all three of his goals in the closing 15 minutes of action.

"I thought you had two good teams that battled it out to the end," said seventh-year Navy head coach Joe Amplo. "There were times that I thought we outplayed them, but they had a few veteran players who stepped up for them at the end and were difference makers."

The game opened with a flurry of goals, as Towson jumped out to a 2-1 lead three minutes into the contest. However, 10 minutes would elapse before either team would find the back of the net. The Tigers took a two-goal lead into the second frame following an unassisted goal by Owen Scott.

After more than 23 minutes without a goal, Navy evened the game at 3 apiece on goals from Alec Gregorek (So / A / Wading River, N.Y.) and co-captain Mac Haley (Sr / A / Shady Side, Md.). Gregorek drove straight to the goal from the left alleyway, while Paul Garza (Sr / M / Frederick, Md.) was perched down low to the right of the cage and found Haley on the left wing for the equalizer and sent the Mids into the break tied.

"To have 25 shots in the first half honestly is really good, but I thought their goalkeeper was excellent today. We made some adjustments in the second quarter and it changed the tempo of the game. I thought we played a solid half against a very dangerous offense that in turn put us in a good position to come out in the second half."

A goal by redshirt junior Joaquin Villagomez snapped a 20-minute scoring drought by Towson and gave the Tigers a 4-3 lead. The two teams would trade goals for the remainder of the quarter with Towson holding a 7-6 lead heading into the final frame. Of note, Navy had goals by Haley and William Goers (So / A / Chester, Md.) waved off in the third period due to crease violations.

Roussel scored an unassisted goal less than two minutes into the fourth quarter to give Towson its first two-goal advantage since 1:21 in the opening quarter. It would trigger a 4-1 run by the Tigers to give them their largest lead of the game (4 goals) at 11-7 with 3:34 remaining in the contest. Navy got to within 3 after Haley found Gregorek for a goal with 2:24 left, but Villagomez punched in his third of the day on an open cage with 1:16 to go.

Navy's defense and riding game showed its strength throughout as Towson turned the ball over 21 times with the Mids credited with 11 caused turnovers. All-American AJ Marsh (Jr / D / Reisterstown, Md.) and offensive middie-turned-long pole Patrick Flaherty (So / Massapequa, N.Y.) led the charge with three takeaways apiece. Goalkeeper Dan Daly (Sr / Wayne, N.J.), who made 8 saves in the contest, also played a pivotal role in the Mids' ride.

Haley, who extended his point-scoring streak to 17-consecutive games, led the offensive charge with 3 goals and an assist. Gregorek added a pair of goals, while Goers, Jack Flaherty (Sr / M / Massapequa, N.Y.) and Nick Golini (Jr / M / Annapolis, Md.) each scored one.

The faceoff game was nearly even with Towson taking the slight 13-11 edge. Navy's Zach Hayashi (Jr / North Potomac, Md.) won 9 of the 13 draws he took, while Colin Shadowens (Sr / Severna Park, Md.) came up with just 2 wins on his 11 faceoff attempts.

Weisshaar paced the Tigers with 5 points on 2 goals and 3 assists, while Villagomez turned in 4 points on 3 goals and an assist and Roussel finished with 3 goals on 4 shots.

Matt Nilan, the star of the game for the Tigers, turned in a career-high 18 saves.

Navy returns to action on Tuesday when it plays host to VMI. Faceoff is slated for 6:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with Joe Miller calling the action on ESPN+ and 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV.

### Go Navy ###