Opening Face-Off
The Tigers hit the road for a CAA game for the first time this season as they head to Newark, Del. for a tilt with the Blue Hens of Delaware. Towson is coming off of a defensive triumph, 6-3, over Massachusetts. Towson will be looking to improve on its 5-0 weekend record and 4-1 mark on the road.
In The National Rankings
The Tigers moved up two spots in both national rankings, earning the No. 16 spot in the USILA Coaches' and the Inside Lacrosse Cascade/Maverik Media polls. Last week, Towson was ranked 18th in both polls, topping UMass, which was receiving votes, 6-3 to move up two slots. Six of the Tigers' regular season opponents are currently ranked or receiving votes. For the polls, please see page two.
Updating the Tigers
Towson's defense continues to smother its opponents, ranking third in the country (as of March 29) in scoring defense (6.90) after a 6-3 win over Massachusetts in the team's CAA opener. Tyler White has made 97 saves this season, thanks to a season-high tying 14 against the Minutemen on Saturday. He carries a 6.20 goals against average, aided by the strong defense in front of him. Joe Seider (21-4-25) leads the Tigers' offense with 21 goals, marking the fourth-straight season at least one Towson player has hit the 20-goal mark. Seider is on a 12-game scoring streak, dating back to last season. Spencer Parks (14-9-23) is second on the team while Ryan Drenner (12-10-22) rounds out the 20-point getters. Max Siskind (6-0-6) has scored five goals in the last two games.
Scouting The Blue Hens
The Blue Hens of Delaware slipped to 0-1 in the CAA after dropping a 9-5 at home against Hofstra. The Hens will play their final home game on Saturday, capping a run of seven-straight games at Delaware Stadium. Brian Kormondy (16-13-29) is the leading point getter for Delaware, with Beau Jones (15-12-27) close behind. Tom Holland (19-2-21) is the team's leading goal scorer while Jackson Finnegan (7-10-17) one of three Hens with double-digit assists. Delaware has trotted out two faceoff experts this season. Matt Olbrich is 55-108 (.509) while Tyler Barbarich has gone 58-135 (.430). Connor Peaks got the start in goal last weekend, making eight of his 31 saves this season. Brett Anton played the second half and made six saves and allowed just two goals. He has 85 saves on the season in nearly 500 minutes of work.
Towson-Delaware History
Towson and Delaware are familiar foes, meeting for the 56th time since 1961. The Tigers own the series record at 38-17, thanks to 16-4 record from 1980-1999. The 38 wins represent a tie for the most over a single Towson foe. Towson will be looking to extend a three-game winning streak over the Hens.
Towson-Delaware By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads, 38-17
at Towson Towson leads, 19-5
at Delaware Towson leads, 12-7
at Neutral Sites n/a
at Unknown Sites Towson leads, 7-5
First Meeting 1961 - Delaware 6, Towson 3
Last Meeting March 22, 2014 - Towson 11, UD 8
Streak Towson +3
Last Time Out vs. Delaware
March 22, 2014 (Towson 11, Delaware 8)
The Tigers took an 11-8 win over the Blue Hens at Johnny Unitas Stadium last season, holding Delaware off the board for the final 31:18 of the game. The Tigers rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the first 10 minutes of the game before eight different Towson players scored. Greg Cuccinello, Ryan Drenner and Ben McCarty all scored twice while Max Siskind, Thomas DeNapoli, Joe Seider, Justin Mabus and Devin Grimaldi all scored once. Mabus finished the day with four helpers while Cuccinello added a pair. Tyler White made three saves behind a defense that allowed just 20 total shots.
Careers Against Delaware
Greg Cuccinello has dropped three goals and two assists against Delaware in his career, including two and two last season. Ryan Drenner deposited three points on two goals and one assist a year ago while the injured Andrew Hodgson has six points on four goals and two helpers. Justin Mabus is working a three-game scoring streak against the Hens, scoring once in each of the last three meetings, adding four assists last year to the cause. Ben McCarty and Joe Seider scored their first points, two goals for the former and one for the latter, last season, while Max Siskind also tallied his first goal against the Hens. Tyler White has made one start against UD, stopping three shots and has a career goals against average of 8.00 against Delaware.
White Named USILA Division I Defensive Player of the Week
Redshirt junior Tyler White was named the USILA Division I Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday, following a 14-save effort against UMass in the Tigers' 6-3 win over the visiting Minutemen. White allowed just three goals, the fewest in a conference game for Towson in the Shawn Nadelen Era (2012). White is the first Tiger to win the award and first Towson lacrosse player to earn national weekly plaudits since Ben McCarty was tabbed Inside Lacrosse Cascade Rookie of the Week in 2013.
Ostrander Named Inside Lacrosse Mid-Season All-America Second Team
Senior close defenseman JoJo Ostrander was named to Inside Lacrosse's Midseason All-America Second Team, which released Thursday morning. Ostrander anchors a defense the is ranked third in country, allowing just 6.90 goals per game, including eight straight games allowing single-digit goals. Ostrander has started every game this season, recording 22 groundballs and forcing eight turnovers. He was one of two CAA players named to the Midseason All-American list.
Cream of the CAA Crop
The Tigers kicked off their 14th campaign in the CAA, which began sponsoring men's lacrosse for the 2002 season. All-time, Towson is 49-25 in the league, ranking second in CAA wins, edged by Hofstra's 50-25 record. Drexel ranks third among active CAA teams with 41 while Delaware rounds out the long-standing programs with a 28-46 mark. UMass joined the league in 2010 and is 16-14 all-time in CAA games. Fairfield played its first CAA game, collecting a 7-4 win over Drexel. In that time, Towson has won four conference titles, including three in a row from 2003-06, a mark untouched by the rest of the league. Delaware is second with three titles.
In Like A Lion, Out Like a Tiger
After topping Massachusetts 6-3 on Saturday, Towson improved to 4-2 in the month of March this season. In the four years under head coach Shawn Nadelen, Towson is now 19-6 in that month, including five-win Marchs in his first three seasons. Towson's two losses in March this year came by one goal, including a triple-overtime thriller at Navy.
Working for the Weekend
Everyone loves the weekend, especially the 2015 Tigers. Towson boasts a 5-0 record in weekend games this season, topping Georgetown (9-6), UMBC (11-7), Hobart (9-6), Binghamton (9-8) and Massachusetts (6-3).
Brrr... It's cold out here
As anyone in the northeast, Mother Nature has not been kind this spring. In addition to playing in snowy conditions, the thermometers have been bottomed out as well. According to historical data available from Weather Underground, the average temperature for opening faceoff at Towson's first 10 games this season has been just north of freezing at 34.6 degrees. Only one game, Hobart, was started with a temperature warmer than 45 degrees. It was 51 at the opening faceoff.
CAA Openers
The Tigers began their 14th season in the CAA with relative newcomer UMass. All-time in CAA openers, the Tigers are 11-3 and have won four league openers in a row. In Towson's first home CAA game of the season, the Tigers are now a remarkable 13-1 all-time, with the lone loss coming in 2011 against 10th-ranked Hofstra, 12-5. Towson has won its last three CAA home openers.
Strong Scheduling
No one looking at the 2015 Towson men's lacrosse schedule would say its a walk in the park. Including the week seven national polls, six Tiger opponents appear on the lists, either as ranked teams or receiving votes. As of March 30, Towson's RPI ranks 17th in the country out of the 69 Division I programs. Towson's past opponents have accumulated a 44-39 record so far this season, ranking the Tigers' past opponents winning percentage (.530) 24th in the country. Those 44 combined wins for past opponents are tied for 19th-most in Division I.
Startin' Hot
The Tigers like to jump out early on opponents. So far this season, Towson has scored first in seven of the 10 games. Not only that, but the Tigers have out-scored opponents 30-13 in the first 15 minutes, including three first-quarter shutouts. Those quick starts have paid dividends for Towson this season; the Tigers are 6-1 when scoring the first goal of the game. The lone loss under that criteria was a 7-6 defeat against No. 17 Ohio State.
Dubs on Dubs
The Tigers hold a 38-17 all-time record against the Blue Hens, with the series dating back to the 1961 season, just the third season in Towson's history. The 38 wins over Delaware are tied for the most over a single program in Towson's history, drawing even with the Tigers' 38-9 record against a team Towson closes the regular season against: Drexel.
#BallSecurity
The Tigers understand how important ball security is. Through games played on March 28 , Towson is ranked first among the 69 Division I programs in turnovers per game, committing just 11.00 per game. The Tigers rank first in the CAA in turnovers per game. Conversely, Towson forces 6.78 opponent turnovers an outing, ranking the Tigers third in the CAA and 24th nationally.
On This Date in the Nadelen Era
Saturday's game will be the second time in the last four seasons Towson plays on April 4. The date has been good to the Tigers under the direction of head coach Shawn Nadelen. Towson played on April 4 in his first season at the helm (2012) as the No. 19 Tigers edged visiting UMBC in a local battle. The Delaware game will be Towson's first away from home on April 4 under Nadelen, and the Tigers' first road game on that date since playing at Penn State, a 12-8 win, during the 1984 season. In the Tigers' DIvision I Era (1980), Towson is 8-1 on April 4. The lone loss was a 12-10 defeat against Rutgers, which was tied with Towson for the No. 12 ranking at the time.
Brick in the Wall
Redshirt junior Tyler White and his defense have been venerable this season, holding opponents to single digit goals in nine of the 10 games. The Tigers have the best goals against average in the CAA (6.77). Towson's defense is picky about which shots get through, with White seeing 301 total shots (30.1 per game), only 169 of which have been on cage.
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.
Fennessy Selected in MLL Supplemental Draft
Towson Lacrosse alumnus John Fennessy '14 was picked 33rd by the Charlotte Hounds in the 2015 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Supplemental Draft. The supplemental draft is designed to bolster teams' rosters from 23 to 35 players and preceded the MLL's collegiate draft, which occurred on Friday, Jan. 23. The defenseman joins former teammate Thomas DeNapoli '14 and Towson alumnus Casey Cittadino '06 on the Hounds' roster. Fennessy was a second team All-Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) honoree, CAA All-Tournament team selection, and a team captain in 2014. He led the Tigers with 15 caused turnovers and was third on the team in ground balls. The 2015 MLL season begins on Sunday, April 12 when the Hounds host the Rattlers at 1 p.m.
Ostrander, Tigers Recognized by Inside Lacrosse
The Towson men's lacrosse team ranked 19th in the 2015 Inside Lacrosse (IL) Preseason DI Top 20 poll, as released in IL's 2015 Face-Off Yearbook. Senior JoJo Ostrander received IL preseason honorable mention All-America honors.
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.
