Opening Face-Off
Towson will play its second straight game inside Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Tuesday after a four-game road swing. The Tigers are coming off of a 9-6 win over Hobart on Saturday which improved their record to 5-2 after seven games for the second straight season. Tuesday's game matches up two of the top defenses in the country. The Tigers rank fourth in the nation allowing 7.29 goals per game while the Buckeyes rank fifth giving up just 7.38 goals per contest.

In The National Rankings
Towson moved up a spot in both polls this week, checking in at No. 16 in the USILA Coaches' Poll and No. 18 in the Inside Lacrosse Cascade/Maverik Media Poll. It's the fifth straight week that the Tigers have been ranked in the USILA poll, Towson's longest stretch since being ranked in all 12 Coaches' Polls during the 2007 season. Ohio State moved into the rankings this week after defeating then-No. 3 Denver last week. The Buckeyes check into the USILA poll at No. 17.

Updating the Tigers
Towson scored the first five goals of the game and held on to defeat Hoboart, 9-6, on Saturday. The Tigers' offense is paced by sophomore Joe Seider (16-3-19) and senior Andrew Hogson (15-4-19). The latter extended his point streak to 26 games while the former has a nine-game streak going. Spencer Parks (11-6-17) and Ryan Drenner (8-7-15) round out Towson's double digit point getters. The Tigers were without starting defenseman Andrew Cordes on Saturday, but the nation's fourth-ranked defense held true and limited Hobart's goals to single digits, the sixth time Towson has done that in 2015. Tyler White has a 7.08 GAA and has made 62 saves (.564) in his 406 minutes of work.

Scouting The Buckeyes
Ohio State has won six of its last seven games and improved to 6-2 with a 13-11 upset of then-No. 3 Denver on Saturday. Tyler Pfister tallied three goals and had one assist to lead Ohio State's offense while keeper Tom Carey stopped 11 Pioneer shots. Jesse King (21-12-33) leads Ohio State's offense, 11 points clear of Carter Brown (12-10-22). David Planning (8-9-17), Ryan Hunter (9-3-12) and Colin Chell (8-2-10) are the other double-digit pointer scorers. Carey has played all but five minutes in goal, making 75 saves at a 56.0 percent clip. He carries a goals against average of 7.46, allowing 59 goals in his 475 minutes of work.

Towson-Ohio State History
The Tigers and Buckeyes meet for the seventh time since beginning the series in 1962. Ohio State leads the series 4-2, including a 3-2 mark in Towson. The two teams met four times in the 60s (1962, 1963, 1965, 1966) but had a long hiatus until 2007, a 10-8 Tiger win at home. The teams met again in 2013 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes advanced with a 16-6 win over visiting Towson, the only game in series history to be played in Columbus.

Last Time Out vs. Ohio State
May 12, 2013 (#3 Ohio State 16, #17 Towson 6)
The Tigers and Ohio State are meeting for the first time since the 2013 season, a first-round clash in the NCAA tournament. The No. 3 Buckeyes advanced with a 16-6 win. Current redshirt senior Andrew Hodgson led Towson with a hat trick while Matt Hughes had two markers. Andrew Wascavage made eight saves in goal for Towson.

Coaching Connections
Towson associate head coach and offensive coordinator Anthony Gilardi is a graduate of Ohio State. Gilardi helped lead the Buckeyes to a NCAA Tournament berths as a junior and senior, while being named an All-Great Western Lacrosse selection twice. Gilardi returned to his alma mater as a coach for four seasons, helping guide the Buckeyes to the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Gilardi is the second member of the Towson staff to face his alma mater this season as head coach Shawn Nadelen earned his first win over Johns Hopkins in the season opener.

State of Affairs - As of March 14
Five teams in the State of Maryland have five wins this year, paced by Maryland (5-1). Towson is second in the state with its 5-2 record, edging Navy at 5-3. Loyola (4-3) is the only other team with a winning record. Johns Hopkins is 3-4 while Mount St. Mary's and UMBC are both 2-4.

Pointless
In last weekend's game against Hobart, the Tiger defense held the Statesmen off the board for the first 30 minutes. It was the third time this season Towson held an opponent scoreless through the first quarter and first scoreless opening half of the year. Towson held an opponent scoreless for the first 30 minutes for the first time since March 1, 2014 when the Tigers kept Mount St. Mary's to just one goal in the fourth quarter.

But So Many Points
Andrew Hodgson is just four points shy of 100 for his career. The redshirt senior has 61 career goals and 35 assists for the Tigers, bringing his career total to 96. Hodgson averages 1.8 points per game in his career, but that average rests at 2.7 following his three points against Hobart on Saturday.

Brick in the Wall
Redshirt junior Tyler White and his defense have been venerable this season, holding opponents to single digit goals in six of the seven games. The Tigers have the best goals against average in the CAA (7.09). Towson's defense is picky about which shots get through, with White making seeing 209 total shots, only 110 of which have been on cage.

Streaky
Redshirt senior Andrew Hodgson is currently on a 26-game point-scoring streak, dating back to May 2, 2012 in the CAA Semifinals against UMass. Hodgson has 61 points during that streak, tallying 43 goals and 18 assists. The West Islip, N.Y. native is also on a 13-game goal streak going back to April 13, 2013 against Penn State, tucking away 27 goals in that time. Hodgson's point streak is tied for 14th in the nation in terms of length (as of March 15).

Towson Vs. Ranked Opponents
When Towson defeated then-No. 5 Johns Hopkins on February 10, the Tigers recorded the 66th win over a nationally ranked opponent in program history. Overall, Towson is 66-158 against nationally ranked opponents. The Tigers have a 24-110 record against top 10 teams and an 8-70 mark against top 5 teams. Towson is 32-80 at home, 30-73 on the road and 4-5 on neutral fields against ranked teams. In 2013, the Tigers defeated three ranked foes.


-TowsonTigers.com-