TOWSON, Md. – The Towson men’s lacrosse team defeated visiting Keio University, 11-4, in an international friendly Wednesday evening at Unitas Stadium.
“It was a great evening,” said head coach Shawn Nadelen. “We were happy to welcome Keio University to Towson. They are the premier lacrosse-playing school in Japan, and we were honored to host them.”
Playing international rules did not slow down the Tigers. Towson got plenty of early shots. Junior Thomas DeNapoli scored at 16:37 in the first quarter, unassisted. Keio University displayed good ball movement and tallied an equalizer at 8:10 in the first quarter when Keisuke Ishiguro connected with Makoto Takahashi for Keio’s first goal. Playing at an up-tempo pace, Towson poured in four more goals to take a 5-1 lead at the first intermission. DeNapoli scored again off a feed from Junior Devin Grimaldi, who also fed sophomore Cory Dobyns before scoring Grimaldi off a pass from junior Andrew Hodgson. Dobyns and DeNapoli combined for the last Towson goal of the first quarter.
The final three quarters featured fewer goals as both teams settled in. Red-shirt sophomore Robby Zoppo scored two goals – one each in the second and third quarters – for Towson. Zoppo won a gold medal with the US Men’s U-19 National Team at the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Tournament in July 2012.
“It was good to shake off the rust,” said Nadelen. “We wanted to install a few things. We have 16 fresh faces on the team this year, so it was a good experience for them to get out on the field.”
Towson outshot Keio 42-24 and won 13-of-19 faceoffs. The Tigers continue their fall season with the Play for Parkinson’s Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 6 when they face Air Force and Virginia at 10 a.m. and noon, respectively.
The Towson players are wearing Under Armour lacrosse equipment this season. Players are wearing Under Armour Player Gloves as well as Under Armour Nitro cleats. View images below.