Opening Face-Off
Towson will look to continue its hot start to the 2015 season on Friday as the Tigers travel to Mount St. Mary's. Towson (2-1) is off to its best start since 2007 and has not started the year 3-1 since 2005. The Mount (1-1) is coming off a narrow 11-10 loss against CAA foe Delaware. Friday's game was originally scheduled to start at 4 p.m. but was moved to a 2 p.m. opening face-off because of the cold weather. For the second straight year, the Tigers face Mount St. Mary's coming off a win over Georgetown.

In The National Rankings
After splitting a pair of games last week, Towson fell one spot in both national polls. The Tigers dropped to No. 15 in the USILA Coaches' Poll and No. 17 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Towson lost its first game of the year last Wednesday against then-No. 8 Loyola, 15-11. The Tigers rebounded by winning at Georgetown, 9-6, on Sunday.

Updating the Tigers
Sophomore Joe Seider and senior Andrew Hodgson are tied for the team lead with seven goals each while junior Spencer Parks (5g, 4a) and Seider (7g, 2a) each have nine points. Hodgson posted his first hat trick of the year at Georgetown, while Parks scored three goals and dished out four assists in Towson's loss to Loyola. Tyler White has started all three games in goal, posting an 8.89 goals-against-average and a .521 save percentage. Sophomore Alec Burckley (9-for-28) and junior Pat Conroy (17-for-34) have split time in the face-off X this season.

Scouting The Mount
Mount St. Mary's is coming off an 11-10 loss to Delaware on Tuesday in the team's home opener. Spencer Smith led the way with a career-high four goals while Bubba Johnson added a pair of goals and two assists. Smith leads the team with seven points (5g, 2a). Frankie McCarthy and Matt Vierheller have each played one game in goal, with Vierheller getting the win in the Mount's season opener at VMI.

Towson-Mount St. Mary's History
The Tigers lead the all-time series with the Mount, 9-1. Mount St. Mary's' only win came in 1975 when Towson forfeited six games due to an ineligible player. The Tigers have won eight straight in the series.

Last Time Out vs. The Mount
March 1, 2014 (Towson 9, MSM 1)
Towson set a program record for fewest goals allowed in a DI game with the Tigers' 9-1 defeat of Mount St. Mary's at home last year. Towson had a shut-out until 7:45 in the fourth quarter. Joe Seider and Max Siskind led Towson with two goals apiece. JoJo Ostrander scored his first career goal in the win.

Parks Named CAA Player of the Week
Junior attacker Spencer Parks was named CAA Player of the Week on Tuesday. It's the second straight week a Tiger has earned the league honor as redshirt junior Tyler White took home the award last Tuesday. Parks shined for Towson last week, recording nine points on five goals and four assists. He posted a career-high seven points (3g, 4a) in a loss to then-No. 8 Loyola and followed that up with a pair of goals in a Tiger win at Georgetown on Sunday. Parks' seven points against the Greyhounds made him the first Towson player in two seasons to record such an effort.

Starting Fast
After falling behind 3-1 to Johns Hopkins and 4-0 to Loyola, Tiger Head Coach Shawn Nadelen stressed to his team that they needed to start fast against Georgetown. His message was obviously received as Towson scored the first seven goals of the game against the Hoyas. The Tiger defense held Georgetown without a goal until the 9:25 mark of the second quarter and Towson led 8-1 at halftime.

Andrew Hodgson Picking Up Where He Left Off
After missing all of the 2014 season with an injury, senior midfield Andrew Hodgson has returned in a big way in 2015. He posted his first hat trick of the year at Georgetown on Sunday and has scored two or more goals in every game this season. Hodgson earned Second Team All-CAA honors in 2013 after starting all 18 games as a junior, ranking second on the team in goals (27) and third in assists (14). This year he's tied for the team lead in goals (7) and leads the squad in shots (28).

On the Board
A trio of Tigers, who are all expected to be major contributors this season, tallied their first goals of the season on Sunday at Georgetown. Senior Max Siskind and redshirt junior Ben McCarty scored their first goal of the season during Towson's 7-0 run to open the game, and senior Justin Mabus posted his first goal to put the Tigers up 8-1 just before halftime.  

Sensational Sophomores
So far there hasn't been any sort of sophomore slump for 2014 CAA All-Rookie selections Ryan Drenner and Joe Seider. Drenner matched his career high with three assists and added a goal in the win against Johns Hopkins while Seider scored twice against the Blue Jays and then matched his career high with four goals against Loyola. Seider was the team leader in goals (23) and was third in points (28) in 2014. Seider totaled four hat tricks during his freshman campaign. Drenner has moved to attack full-time this year. Last season he started in the midfield before injuries forced a change. Drenner put in good shifts all season, finishing with 12 goals and 10 assists. His five man-up goals led the team, and he scored at least one point in 13 games.

Backyard Lax
Twelve of Towson's 14 games are against opponents in the DelPaMarVa area. Towson won't leave that area until game nine when the Tigers travel to Binghamton. The only other instance where Towson will travel outside that area is when the Tigers visit Fairfield on April 11.


-TowsonTigers.com-