TOWSON, Md. – Tommy Gross produced a gem on Saturday afternoon at Unitas Stadium, recording a career-high 17 saves to help the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team power past Towson in an 11-6 victory.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Mark Watters opened his busy day in the first minute, finding the net to give the Hawks an early lead.
• After Towson tied the contest seven minutes later on an extra-man opportunity, Watters sandwiched his second goal of the day between strikes from Ben Dutton and Richie LaCalandra to help the Hawks to a 3-0 run.
• The Tigers added one back in the final minute of the frame.
• St. Joe's tallied a lone strike from Watters in the second quarter, but the effort between the pipes from Gross kept Towson at bay with six saves in the frame. The hosts were able to bring the score within one headed into the break.
• Watters nearly identically matched his start in the first half, scoring in the first 53 seconds of the restart to push the lead to 6-4.
• A pair of goals from the Tigers looked to carry the momentum for the home side before Michael Gaughan snatched it away as the defensive midfielder made a rare appearance in the attack to find his second goal of the season.
• The goal from Gaughan started a five-goal run after Trae Ika scored twice in a 1:07 span before both teams were held scoreless over the final eight minutes of the third quarter.
• Another five-save effort from Gross in the final stanza and insurance goals from Dutton and Watters with under four minutes to play helped keep distance from Towson as the hosts were unable to find the back of the net in the final 15 minutes.

 
GAME NOTES

• Watters' five-goal game doubled his season total, his 10 goals on the season matching a team-high. Watters scored 10 goals in all of the 2024 season.
• Ben Dutton and Trae Ika each added two goals in the win. Dutton also has registered 10 goals this season, scoring seven on the week after a five-goal performance against Monmouth.
• The Hawks assisted on five of the 11 goals, Jesse Jason leading the team with two helpers.
• Levi Verch added a caused turnover and tied a team-high six ground balls.
• Conor Trant finished 11-19 in his face-offs, recording six ground balls and a caused turnover.
• Gross returned from an injury that kept him out of the midweek contest against Monmouth, setting a career-high with 17 saves on a .739 save percentage. The junior also tallied four ground balls and a caused turnover.
• Hawk goalkeepers combined for 32 saves in the two games this week to just nine goals conceded.
• Towson outshot St. Joe's by a 50-31 margin but only turned 23 of the 50 shots on target.

 
UP NEXT
The Hawks head to Rutgers on Saturday, March 1 with a two-game win streak. Action is slated to start at 1 p.m.