The Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team saw their four-game winning streak as well as their undefeated conference record come to an end Saturday afternoon at Garber Field, as the No. 7 Minutemen fell to Towson, 10-9.

“They played with a lot of emotion, they played well, their goalie made saves early in the game, they played great defensively and they really deserved the win,” UMass coach Greg Cannella said.

Down just one goal with a little over a minute to play in regulation, Cannella called a timeout in order to set up an offensive play.

The Minutemen (7-3, 2-1 Colonial Athletic Conference) got off three shots, two from senior midfielder Christian Hain and two from sophomore attackman Steve D’Amario (one goal), but the Tigers (4-5, 2-0 CAA) scooped up the ground ball and ran the clock out for the victory.

“We had some opportunities, we just wanted to go against a short stick behind, we had some success,” Cannella said. “We were just trying to tell our guys [to] get open, go behind the head on some guys, when they show up, and hopefully we’ll get a good opportunity to score.”

UMass didn’t get that opportunity, as they were outshot by the Tigers, 35-30, in the contest, including 11-8 in the first quarter.

“Our offense was getting the looks; they just weren’t finishing the ball, so we have to work on that,” senior All-American defenseman Diogo Godoi said.

The Minutemen had 19 shots on goal, while the Tigers had 28 and goalkeeper Tim McCormack set a career-high with 18 saves for UMass.

Godoi scored the first goal of his career in the closing minutes of the third quarter, sprinting upfield and bouncing a shot past goalkeeper Travis Love (10 saves).

Along with Godoi, freshman attackman Willy Manny (two goals, one assist) and sophomore midfielder Anthony Biscardi (three goals) led the Minutemen offensively, while senior midfielder Bobby Hayes (two assists), D’Amario, junior midfielder Ryan Hantverk (one goal, one assist) and freshman Kyle Smith (one goal) also contributed.

UMass was also without starting attackman Art Kell, who missed his second-straight game and is likely out for the season with a foot injury.

Kell leads the team with 21 goals and 33 points, as Cannella pointed out how much of an impact not having him was against the Tigers, and will continue to be for future opponents.

“It changes everything, he was getting the number one, so now that all bumps down, so it makes a big difference,” Cannella said.

“We’re certainly going to have to adjust; some other guys are going to have to play well, and when they get their chances, put them away.”

The Minutemen have now lost three one-goal games on the season, including No. 18 Yale and No. 15 Harvard, along with the Tigers. Two of the losses came on Garber Field.

For the Tigers, Will Harrington had three goals, while Carl Iacona, Matt Lamon and Christian Pastirik each had two goals for Towson, who won their third game in a row.

Iacona scored the would-be game-winner with eight minutes, 17 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, as the Tigers’ defense buckled down, not allowing a UMass goal for the rest of the game.

In the contest there were seven ties, and the Minutemen turned the ball over 15 times and secured 22 ground balls compared to the Tigers’ 26.

“It’s not about being discouraged,” Cannella said. “You play a hard game, you come back, you score two goals in the fourth quarter, you tie it up, so you can be disappointed, but not discouraged, and we have to move on.”

The Minutemen head to Delaware to take on the Blue Hens next Saturday at 1 p.m.

David Brinch can be reached at [email protected].