Opening Face-Off
The Tigers of Towson will look to continue their winning ways during a four-game road swing, following a 7-4 win at Mount St. Mary's on Friday. Towson heads to Annapolis for game three of four away from home, the longest road stretch for the Tigers since the 2013 season. Towson is coming off of its strongest defensive outing this season, holding The Mount to just four goals.
In The National Rankings
Towson moved up in both national polls this week, slotting in 14th in the USILA Coaches' Poll and moving up two spots to 15th in the InsideLacrosse Cascade/Maverik Media Poll. The Tigers have been ranked 14th in the USILA poll twice this season, representing the highest ranking for Towson in the Shawn Nadelen era (since 2012). The Tigers have been in mentioned in both polls all season and were the only CAA representatives this week.
Updating the Tigers
Sophomore Joe Seider and redshirt senior Andrew Hodgson continue to pace the offense, with both Tigers scoring multiple points in all four games for the Tigers this season. The pair have scored at least once in every game as well. Spencer Parks is bookended by Seider and Hodgson, logging 11 points on seven goals and four assists. Second-year faceoff man Alec Burckley had his best outing of the year at The Mount, winning 10 of 15 (66.7 percent) draws and grabbing six groundballs. Redshirt junior Tyler White has been stout in goal, holding foes to single-digit goals in three of the four games this season. White made nine saves at The Mount while the defense caused 12 of Mount St. Mary's 18 turnovers.
Scouting The Mids
Navy enters Tuesday's game with a 2-2 overall record after edging No. 19 Holy Cross 7-6 on Saturday. Patrick Kenna leads the Midshipmen offense with 12 points on two goals and 10 assists. T.J. Hanzsche has a team-high eight goals and three assists for 11 points. The Mids have been sharp at the X this season, winning 64.1 percent (50-78) of their draws, paced by 35-of-49 from Brady Dove. John Connors has started every game in goal for Navy, making 35 saves and allowing just 26 goals in his 220 minutes of work. Connors carries a goals against average of 7.06 against the 97 total shots he has faced.
Towson-Navy History
Despite being separated by less than 50 miles, Towson and Navy have met just 13 times. The series began in 1975 with a 13-9 Navy win in Annapolis and would take a long hiatus before resuming in 1991. Navy holds a narrow 7-6 advantage in the series, with the Tigers winning the last two meetings.
Towson-Navy By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Navy leads, 6-7
at Towson Towson leads, 4-2
at Navy Navy leads, 5-2
at Neutral Sites n/a
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting 3/22/1975 - Navy 13, Towson 9
Last Meeting 3/11/14 - Towson 14, Navy 9
Streak Towson +2
Last Time Out vs. Navy
March 11, 2014 (Towson 14, Navy 9)
Towson won its second-straight over the Midshipmen with a 14-9 victory at home. Greg Cuccinello had an efficient day, scoring three times on five shots to pace the Tigers. Tyler White made six saves in the game, holding Navy to just one goal in the first half. Despite taking six penalties, Towson held Navy to just one extra-man goal.
Time Change
Tuesday's game was originally slated for a 7 p.m. start at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium but has been moved up to 4 p.m. Inclement weather is forecasted for the area and forced the change.
Helperlessness
On Friday, the Tigers held host Mount St. Mary's without an assist on any of the Mountaineers' four goals. It was the first time in the Tigers' Colonial Athletic Association era (2002) that Towson held an opponent without an assist.
Streaky
Redshirt senior Andrew Hodgson is currently on a 23-game point-scoring streak, dating back to May 2, 2012 in the CAA Semifinals against UMass. Hodgson has 52 points during that streak, tallying 36 goals and 16 assists. The West Islip, N.Y. native is also on a 10-game goal streak going back to April 13, 2013 against Penn State, tucking away 20 goals in that time. Hodgson's point streak is tied for 21st in the nation in terms of length.
Hats Off
Over the last three games, the Tigers have had at least one player log a hat trick. But it's not just one player doing all the scoring; all three hat tricks have come from a different source. Spencer Parks logged the first Towson hat trick this season during a seven-point outburst against Loyola (3-4-7), followed by a trio of goals from Andrew Hodgson at Georgetown (3-0-3). Joe Seider has the most recent hat trick, putting away three at Mount St. Mary's (3-0-3) on Friday.
On This Date in the Nadelen Era
The Tigers have played just once on March 3 under head coach Shawn Nadelen. Tuesday's game will be the first such contest since the 2012 season, Nadelen's first season at the helm. The Tigers hosted Mount St. Mary's, edging their in-state foes 10-8 at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium.
Parks Named CAA Player of the Week
Junior attacker Spencer Parks was named CAA Player of the Week on February 24. 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 second on the team lead in goals (8) and leads the squad in shots (38), along with a Towson third-best 10 points.
On the Board
A trio of Tigers, who are all expected to be major contributors this season, tallied their first goals of the season 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.
Knocking off Johns Hopkins
Towson's win over JHU was its first over a Top 5 opponent since also knocking off then-No. 5 Johns Hopkins, 13-12, on the road on April 27, 1996. It was also the first win for the Tigers over the Blue Jays since that game and the first home win for Towson over its crosstown rivals since 1989.
White Named CAA Player of the Week
Redshirt junior Tyler White was named as the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Week on February 16. White held the high-powered Johns Hopkins offense, which put up 16 goals in its season opener, to just five goals as the Tigers stunned the then fifth-ranked Blue Jays, 7-5. White recorded 12 saves and scooped a groundball in the win.
Ostrander Selected Preseason All-CAA; TU Picked to Finish Fourth
Towson senior JoJo Ostrander earned preseason All-CAA honors for the second straight year while the Tigers were picked to finish fourth in the 2014 preseason poll. Hofstra was voted atop the poll with 29 points while Drexel, the defending CAA champions, received 25 points and was predicted to finish second. Fairfield, which begins its first season as a member of the CAA for men's lacrosse, earned 21 points to edge the Tigers by just one point for third. UMass (15) and Delaware (10) rounded out the predicted order of finish. Ostrander was one of six Tigers to earn All-CAA accolades last season and the only one on the league's first team. A four-year starter on close defense, Ostrander posted 22 ground balls and nine caused turnovers in 2014.
Cuccinello, Mabus, McCarty Named Captains
Seniors Greg Cuccinello and Justin Mabus and junior Ben McCarty have been named Towson Lacrosse team captains for the 2015 season. Cuccinello will serve as a team captain for the second straight year in 2015. He has been a key contributor to Towson's success over the last two seasons, leading the Tigers to a CAA title win over No. 9 Penn State with a hat trick. Last season, he finished second on the team with 20 goals and nine assists and earned a spot on the CAA all-tournament team. The New Jersey native has been a 20-plus-goal scorer for Towson the last two seasons. Mabus has been a starter all four years for the Tigers. He earned All-CAA rookie honors as a freshman and was a second team pick last season. A mainstay in the midfield, the New York native tallied a career-best 10 goals in 2014 with 17 assists – another career best – for 27 points. McCarty bounced back after a preseason injury in 2014 to score nine goals with three assists for 12 points in the Tiger midfield. He scored the game winner against Delaware and had 14 ground balls. McCarty can be a two-way middie for Nadelen and can also serve as a wing on face-offs.
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.
