No. 1 Towson and No. 2 Delaware Headed to CAA Championship Game Following Semifinal Victories
Hunter Peters
TOWSON, Md. (May 2, 2024) - Top-seeded Towson and second-seeded Delaware advanced to the 2024 CAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship game following semifinal victories on Thursday at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md.
Towson rolled into the championship game, improving to 12-3 this spring, while Delaware needed overtime to move to 9-4 and meet the Tigers for a heavy-weight CAA battle on Saturday. The Blue Hens will defend their back-to-back CAA titles against Towson at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.
It marks the ninth time Towson and Delaware will meet in the CAA Tournament, including the fifth time in the conference championship. In addition, it marks the third consecutive season the Tigers and Blue Hens will face in the postseason. Delaware is 5-3 all-time against Towson at the CAA Championship, including 3-1 in the title game.
No. 2 Delaware 13, No. 3 Fairfield 12 (OT) | BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY | HIGHLIGHTS
Mike Robinson netted the game-winning goal, lifting second-seeded Delaware over third-seeded Fairfield (8-7), 13-12, in overtime during the semifinals of the CAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Thursday night at Johnny Unitas Stadium. It was the first overtime game in the CAA Tournament since 2018 when the Blue Hens fell to Towson in the semis.
Robinson scored the game-tying goal with 68 seconds remaining in regulation before recording the game-winner 38 seconds into overtime. It marked the first lead for the Blue Hens since gaining a 5-4 advantage at the 9:26 mark in the second quarter.
Robinson – who broke the CAA career record for goals in Delaware’s regular-season finale – finished with four points on three goals and one assist. In addition, Hank D’Ambrogi tallied a career-high four goals against his former team.
Delaware scored three goals in the final four minutes of the first quarter and took a 4-2 lead into the second. The Stags opened the scoring with a goal from Will Consoli, but the Blue Hens responded 38 seconds later –D’Ambrogi tied the game before John McCurry made it consecutive tallies for Delaware six minutes later. John Okupski brought Fairfield even before D’Ambrogi and Nick Jessen netted back-to-back in the final two minutes of the frame.
Fairfield flipped the script in the second quarter, outscoring the Blue Hens 5-1, gaining a 7-5 advantage at halftime. Jake Gilbert tallied back-to-back goals, tying the game before Robinson regained a 5-4 lead for Delaware. The Stages finished the half on a 3-0 spurt over the final 5:03, with Bryce Ford, Jake Coleman and Okupski scoring goals.
A back-and-forth third quarter saw us enter the fourth with a one-goal game. Delaware scored two goals in the first minute of the second half as the Acchione brothers tied the game at 7-7. Fairfield responded with back-to-back tallies, regaining a two-goal advantage. Julian Radossich netted a long pole goal before Ford’s second of the day. The teams alternated goals before D’Ambrogi notched his first career hat trick to pull the Blue Hens within one, 10-9, at the end of the period.
Keegan Lynch pushed the lead back to two for the Stags just under two minutes into the fourth quarter; however, D’Ambrogi scored 46 seconds later, and JP Ward brought the Blue Hens even at 11 with 7:21 remaining. Dean Ford snapped a scoring drought of 9:51 for the Fairfield, giving the Stags a 12-11 lead with 3:46 left in regulation before Robinson sent things into overtime.
Four Stags recorded multi-goal games, including Lynch who paced Fairfield with three points on two goals and one assist.
No. 1 Towson 18, No. 4 Drexel 8 | BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY | HIGHLIGHTS
Bode Maurer broke the CAA Tournament record with a career-high seven goals, leading top-seeded Towson to an 18-8 victory over fourth-seeded Drexel (6-9) in the semifinals of the CAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Thursday afternoon at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
Maurer also set a new tournament record with a career-best nine points, adding two assists. Nick DeMaio – the CAA offensive Player of the Year – added eight points on three goals while matching the CAA Championship record with five assists. In addition, Joaquin Villagomez contributed six points on four goals and two assists. As a team, Towson matched the tournament record with 32 points, assisting on 14 of its 18 scores.
The Tigers used a 5-0 run to seize momentum in the first half before pulling away with 11 goals in the second half.
Towson scored back-to-back goals to end the opening stanza and led 4-2 after one. The teams traded goals to begin the game, with Maurer netting the first score 3:35 into the contest before Drexel’s Liam Kammar scored 12 seconds later. Maurer added his second goal with 5:14 remaining in the period, and Villagomez capped off the quarter.
The Tigers carried the momentum into the second, extending the run to 5-0, gaining a 7-2 advantage. Towson held Drexel scoreless for 14:52 in the quarter as Luke Downs made six saves in the frame. Witt Crawford ended the run, but the Tigers took a 7-3 lead into the break. For Towson, Villagomez scored his second tally of the contest before Maurer reset his career-high with back-to-back goals in the period.
Towson came out of the break firing on all cylinders, outscoring Drexel 6-2 in the frame before outpacing the Dragons 5-3 in the fourth to secure the victory. Maurer – whose previous career high was three goals – netted three more in the second half, while DeMaio scored all three goals with two helpers after the break.
Downs finished with 11 saves between the pipes and a .579 save percentage. It marks his ninth game with double-digit saves this season.
Luke Tomak recorded his fifth multi-goal performance this season, leading Drexel with two goals, while Conor Hooley matched his career-high with three assists.
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