Opening Faceoff
The Tigers continue a three-game home stand this afternoon with a second home game in as many weeks. The Tigers topped Mercer 11-2 thanks to a balanced scoring effort and a stout defensive showing last Friday. The three-game stand marks the first time since the 2003 season the Tigers open a season with three straight games at Johnny Unitas Stadium. 

In The National Rankings
Towson moved up one spot in the Nike/USILA Coaches' Poll and the Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Poll, slotting in at No. 15 in both rankings. The Tigers remain the only CAA team ranked this season, while staying at the No. 17 spot in the Cascade/Maverik Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Fairfield was the only other CAA program to receive mention in the polls, picking up votes in the Coaches' Poll.

Updating the 2016 Tigers
Seven different Tigers scored in the season-opening win against Mercer last Friday, including a pair of hat tricks from Joe Seider (3g, 1a) and Spencer Parks (3g, 0a). Ben McCarty, Ryan Drenner, Zach Goodrich, Ian Kirby and Dylan Kinnear all scored once. Parks and Kirby each scored on the extra man. Towson's defense came to play, holding the Bears to just two goals, the first time since 2011 Towson held an opponent to just a pair of tallies. Tyler White made seven saves in his 58 minutes of time, allowing just one goal. The defense forced eight of Mercer's 11 turnovers while killing off three Bear extra-man chances. Thanks to his wingmen, faceoff specialist Alec Burckley won seven of his 11 draws (63.6%), while grabbing two groundballs.

Scouting The Mountaineers
Mount St. Mary's opened the season with a 14-11 win at Towson's CAA rival Delaware last Friday. Bubba Johnson turned in three goals and one assist while Evan Gormley put up four goals off the bench for the The Mount. Matt Vierheller went the distance, making nine saves, including four in the final period to secure the win. The Mount limited its turnovers to just 11, with the defense causing seven Delaware miscues. The Mountaineers successfully killed two of its three penalties, playing shorthanded for two and a half minutes.

Towson-Mount St. Mary's History
Located 50 miles apart, Towson and Mount St. Mary's began playing each other in 1970. The first two games are interesting in the history, as either side won by forfeit, Towson in 1970 and Mount St. Mary's in 1975 due to ineligible players. Since that lone loss, Towson has run off nine-straight wins against the Mount to take a 10-1 series lead after last season's 7-4 win in Western Maryland. Towson's defense has shown up against Mount St. Mary's, holding the Mountaineers to single-digit goals in the last eight games. Head coach Shawn Nadelen is 4-0 against The Mount. Towson has out-scored the Mountaineers 39-18 in those games.

Towson-Mount St. Mary's By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record    Towson 10-1
    at Towson    Towson 4-1
    at Mount St. Mary's    Towson 5-0
    at Neutral Sites    n/a
    at Unknown Sites    Towson 1-0
First Meeting    1970
Last Meeting     Feb. 27, 2015
Streak    Towson +9

Last Time Out vs. Mount St. Mary's
The Tigers and Mountaineers met last season in Emmitsburg, Maryland in what proved to be a low-scoring affair. The teams combined for just 11 goals, with Towson coming out on top 7-4. Current junior Joe Seider notched a hat trick, while linemate Spencer Parks potted a pair. Andrew Hodgson registered two assists, including one in a broken Mount clear, while tallying one goal. Ryan Drenner finished with one goal. The Tigers were stymied by Mount keeper Matt Vierheller, who made 17 saves against 44 total Towson shots. Tiger goalie Tyler White countered Vierheller with nine saves in the win, which improved Towson to 3-1 on the early season. Alec Burckley had a very strong outing, winning 10 of his 15 faceoffs along with six groundballs. Four Tigers caused two turnovers apiece as the Mount had 18 total turnovers.

Careers Against Mount St. Mary's
Eighteen current Tigers have seen the field against Mount St. Mary's. Joe Seider is the active goal getter against The Mount with five, including a hat trick last season. Ben McCarty has a trio of tallies, with two coming in the 2013 campaign. Spencer Parks has two goals, while Ryan Drenner has two, one in each of the last two meetings. Brian Bolewicki and Tyler Konen notched one goal apiece in the 2013 and 2014 games, respectively. McCarty, Dan Carder and Mike Lowe are the only current players with three career games played against The Mount. Tyler White has played 120 minutes in goal for Towson against Mount St. Mary's, allowing just five goals in that time. In 2014, White and the defense limited the Mountaineers to just one goal in a 9-1 win.

Seider Named CAA Player of the Week
On Tuesday, the CAA office announced Joe Seider as the Player of the Week in the first conference report of the season. Seider is the first Tiger to win a weekly award in the first report since he was tabbed Rookie of the Week during the 2014 season. In the Tigers' 11-2 win over Mercer Friday night, Seider finished with four points on three goals and one assist. He paced the game with 11 shots while helping Towson to double digits for the fifth time in Towson's last six games, dating back to last season.

White Named Senior CLASS Award Candidate
Redshirt senior goalie Tyler White was one of 20 NCAA Division I student-athletes named to the Senior CLASS Award candidate list, announced Tuesday afternoon. White is one of two CAA players named as candidates, joined by UMass's Kyle Karaska. 

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. CLASS is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®. 

The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

Three Items or Less
Last Friday, the Tigers held Mercer to just two goals, one in the second quarter and one in the final two minutes of the game. Nine times since joining the CAA in 2002 the Tigers have held opponents to three goals or less, including one against Saturday's foe, Mount St. Mary's, just two seasons ago. In that time, Towson has held three opponents, Mercer (2/12/16), Saint Joseph's (4/30/11) and Drexel (4/30/03, CAA Semifinals) to just two goals. Just four times since joining Division I in 1980 has Towson held opponents to two goals.

Division I Opponent Two Goal or Less Games
2 - Mercer - 2/12/16
1 - Mount St. Mary's - 3/1/14
2 - St. Joseph's - 4/30/11
2 - Drexel - 4/29/2009
2 - Drexel - 4/30/03 - CAA Semifinals
2 - Drexel - 4/18/90

Local Market
This year, Towson has 14 games on its regular season slate. Of those 14 games, nine will be played at Johnny Unitas Stadium. This season, Towson won't have to travel far for two of its five road games as the Tigers head down the road to Loyola (March 2) and Johns Hopkins (March 12). However, what the Tigers gain in local games, they make up for in true road games, covering roughly 2,000 miles going to Ohio State (March 15), Massachusetts (April 9) and Hofstra (April 30).

Local Market Part Deux
While it's not uncommon at all for the Tigers to face all three of the local institutions in the same season, this year's edition of the Battle for Greater Baltimore will have a unique twist: Towson will play all three schools in consecutive games. The Tigers head to Loyola on March 2, host UMBC on March 5 and then travel down Charles Street to Johns Hopkins on March 12.

It's All About the U
Announced prior to the start of the season, Towson men's lacrosse will appear in a game televised nationaly on ESPNU on March 12 at Johns Hopkins. Check local listings for ESPNU before the 2 p.m. opening faceofff.

A Good Start to the Season
Towson improved to 4-1 in season openers under head coach Shawn Nadelen, including winning the last three. It marks the first time since 2005-07 the Tigers ripped off three-straight season-opening wins. Since joining the Division I ranks in 1980, Towson is 18-19 in season openers and now sit at 27-31 all-time in season openers, dating back to the program's first win in 1959 over the Brown Lacrosse Club. 

Jumping Out Quickly
While the Tigers' offense isn't the first thing people think of lately, Towson is quietly putting in the work for goals. Since the 2015 season, Towson has out-scored opponents 56-31 in the first quarter of games, and 95-67 in the first half.

Defense + Offense = Success
With a defense as heralded as Towson's, it's not a surprise to followers of the team that the Tigers have lots of success when the offense and defense pair well. Since head coach Shawn Nadelen took over in 2012, the Tigers are 22-5 in game when Towson scores double digits. When Towson's defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 35-7 in that same time. On 18 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously an 18-0 record. 

Home Openers Under Nadelen
Since taking over the program for the 2012 campaign, the Tigers are 4-1 all-time in homeopeners under fifth-year head coach Shawn Nadelen, winning the last three home openers, 11-8 over High Point (2014), 7-5 last season against No. 5 Johns Hopkins and 11-2 over Mercer Friday night. The lone home opening blemish on Nadelen's record is a 12-6 defeat against No. 4 Johns Hopkins in 2013.

No Place Like Home
The Tigers have enjoyed home cooking at Johnny Unitas Stadium under head coach Shawn Nadelen. Since taking over for the 2012 season, Towson is 19-12 all-time on Minnegan Field, including six home wins in 2014. The Tigers have never lost more than three home games in a season under Nadelen.