Opening Faceoff
In a third-straight clash against a local rival, the No. 17/No. 16 Tigers welcome No. 7 Johns Hopkins to Johnny Unitas Stadium. Both teams suffered their first losses of the season last week, Towson falling to No. 12 Loyola and Johns Hopkins dropping an 18-7 decision at Princeton. However, Towson picked up its third road win of 2017 with an 8-6 grinder at UMBC.

In The National Rankings
After a split week, the Tigers dropped in the polls. Towson sits at 17th in the USILA Coaches' Poll and 16th in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. The Tigers slid to 17th in the US Lacrosse Magazine Division I Top 20. Hopkins too dropped this week, moving to seventh in both major polls and ninth in the US Lacrosse Magazine Division I Top 20.

The Bounce Back Tigers
After dropping an 11-7 decision in its home opener against No. 12 Loyola, Towson rebounded with a grind-it-out win at UMBC, 8-6, on Saturday. Ryan Drenner continues to pace the offensive side with nine goals and six assists. He is tied with linemate Jon Mazza for the goals lead. Joe Seider played limited time on Saturday, but did score the game-winning goal, bringing his season points total to 10 (6g, 4a). Brian Bolewicki (3g, 2a) and Tyler Konen (2g, 3a) lead the midfield with five points each, while fellow middie Mike Lynch (2g. 2a) is one back with four. Towson's close defense continues to limit opponent chances, with the Tigers ranking 14th nationally in scoring defense (8.00 opponent goals per game). The close defense and goalie unit, Sid Ewell, Chad Patterson, Gray Bodden and keeper Josh Miller, have started all four games together so far this season. Miller carries a 7.59 goals against average.

Scouting The Blue Jays
Johns Hopkins is coming off of an 18-7 loss on the road last Friday at unranked Princeton. The Blue Jays fell victim to a 10-goal Princeton run. Four Hopkins players have double-digit points, paced by Shack Stanwick (10g, 8a). Wilkins Dismuke (10g, 1a) and Joel Tinney (7g, 4a) have 11 apiece while John Crawley rounds out the double figures with eight goals and two helpers. Hopkins has out-scored opponents 64-49 this season, with Gerald Logan shouldering the load in goal with 267 minutes played. He has a 9.64 goals against average and a .482 save percentage. The Blue Jays have struggled at the X, winning 40.8 percent of their draws (53-130). Matt Ledwin has the team's top percentage (.533) with 16 wins in 30 chances.

Towson-Hopkins History
Saturday's Charles Street Clash will be the 45th meeting all-time between the schools, whose homefields are separated by just five miles. The Blue Jays lead the series 40-4, but the Tigers won the last meeting at Johnny Unitas Stadium, 7-5. Last season, the two teams met as ranked foes, with No. 11 Johns Hopkins nipping the No. 6 Tigers 14-8. The two sides have squared off at least once every season since the 1976 campaign. Towson and Hopkins have met in the NCAA Tournament on three occasions (1992, 1994, 2003).

Towson-Hopkins By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Hopkins 40-4
    at Towson Hopkins 20-2
    at Hopkins Hopkins 20-2
    at Neutral Sites n/a
    at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting March 27, 1976 - JHU 15, Towson 8
Last Meeting March 12, 2016 
#11 Johns Hopkins 14, #6 Towson 8
Streak Hopkins +1

Last Time Out vs. Hopkins
Riding a five-game winning streak, the No. 6 Tigers headed to Homewood Field for a matchup with the No. 11 Blue Jays. Johns Hopkins used a seven-goal fourth quarter to pull away late, winning 14-8. It was a two-goal, 7-5 game at the end of the third quarter. Then-senior midfielder Ben McCarty logged a hat trick at Homewood, while the Tigers got three goals off the bench from the graduated Pat Conroy and current Tigers Brian Bolewicki and Dylan Kinnear. Starting midfielder Tyler Young added a goal as well. Tyler White made seven saves before suffering his first loss of 2016. Hopkins won the faceoff battle 14-25 behind an 11-of-13 effort from Hunter Moreland. It was a relatively penalty-free afternoon as Towson took just two flags while Hopkins was called for one penalty.

With a Win Wednesday
- The Tigers would win back-to-back home games against Johns Hopkins for the first time in program history. Prior to the 2015 win, Towson had not beaten the Blue Jays at home since 1989.
- The Tigers would win their first home game of the 2017 season.
- Towson would beat a ranked team at home for the first time since knocking off No. 17 Georgetown 10-7 on Feb. 27, 2016.
- The Tigers would improve to 2-1 on the season against Baltimore foes. It would be the third time in as many years Towson wins two of the three Baltimore games.

Careers Versus Johns Hopkins
Senior attackman Ryan Drenner is the active points leader for Towson against Johns Hopkins with seven on one goal and six assists. Joe Seider is second with five points behind four goals and one helper. Seider's four strikes are the current active high while Drenner's six assists are the most for a Tiger against the Blue Jays since Matt Lamon (2009-12) and Randall Cooper (2008-09) had three. Senior longstick midfielder Tyler Mayes has forced four Blue Jay turnovers.

Breast Cancer Awareness
Saturday's game will be the Tigers' annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game. Towson will sport pink vent stripes, courtesy of Zima Gear, on their Cascade R helmets.

Breast cancer awareness is a cause near-and-dear to the program. Two years ago, the Tigers lost Bobbi Madison, the late director of academic services for student-athletes. Each year, the Tigers run at the Komen Race for the Cure 5k in Hunt Valley. This past year, Towson helped raised over $5,000 for the cause.

Earlier this week, the Tigers took time out of their busy days to visit the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Cancer Institute at the MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center. Seven student-athletes (JP Crowley, Ryan Drenner, Brian Bolewicki, Scott Barger, Michael Fanshaw, Jake McLean and Adam Ceribelli), along with head coach Shawn Nadelen and director of operations Brian Hemming, visited with cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Familiar Faces
Saturday's matchup will be a third-straight games coaches are involved in a contest against their alma maters. Towson head coach Shawn Nadelen graduated from Johns Hopkins in 2001 while associate head coach Anthony Gilardi will see his former squad, Ohio State, on Tuesday. Last weekend, the Tigers saw former student-athlete and volunteer assistant coach Neil Hutchinson, who is now an assistant coach at UMBC.

Battle for Greater Baltimore
For just the second time in the program's Division I History (1980), the Tigers will take on all three Baltimore-area schools consecutively. The Tigers did the same last year, topping UMBC and No. 5 Loyola, but stumbled at No. 11 Johns Hopkins. With a win on Saturday, the Tigers would continue their stronghold over the Baltimore area, winning two of their three local games for a third-straight season.

Feeling 22
Attackman Ryan Drenner knows every game counts, especially in one's senior season. Through the first four games of 2017, Drenner has piled up 15 points on nine goals and six assists. He has at least two points in every game this season, extending his point streak back to last season's game at Ohio State, a run of 17 games.

Versus No. 7
Saturday's game will be Towson's 21st matchup against a team ranked seventh in the USILA Coaches' Poll. The Tigers are 7-13 all-time against No. 7, with the most recent clash coming last season against Loyola in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Towson meets the seventh-ranked team in the regular season for the first time since April 17, 2010, an 8-7 win over Drexel. 

Towson has squared off with a Johns Hopkins team ranked seventh in three previous seasons. This matchup will be the first such game since April 22, 2009. Johns Hopkins won that battle 11-10 in double overtime. Towson is 0-3 against Hopkins when the Blue Jays are ranked seventh.

The Century Mark
Senior attackman Joe Seider is just two goals shy of hitting the 100-career goal mark. The Hereford High School product has 98 goals to his credit and is looking to become the seventh player in program history to surpass the 100-goal plateau. He currently ranks seventh, surpassing program legend Bob Griebe (96) at Georgetown. Glenn Smith holds the program's career mark at 154 goals from 1988-1991.

No Place Like Home
Since taking over the program for the 2012 season, head coach Shawn Nadelen and the Tigers love playing at the friendly confines of Johnny Unitas Stadium. The Tigers are 29-14 all-time at Minnegan Field, including a program-record 11-1 last season. The Tigers have never suffered a losing mark at home under Nadelen, logging three 4-3 seasons (2015, 2013, 2012) at home. During the 2014 campaign, the Tigers finished with a 6-3 mark at home. The Tigers are currently 0-1 at Unitas Stadium this season.

Facing Off
In the early goings of 2017, the Tigers have revamped their personnel at the faceoff X, with two transfers, Alex Woodall and Connor Harryman joining Alec Burckley and Steven Stillwell from years past in the faceoff corps. Freshman Jack McNallen is also learning the trade at Towson with head coach Shawn Nadelen working closely with the important unit. So far in 2017, the Tigers have dominated at the X, winning 69.1 percent of the draws, ranking second in the country. Woodall has the second-best percentage in Division I entering Saturday, winning 69.2 percent of his chances, including 19 of 27 at Georgetown. His 19 wins helped him collect CAA Player of the Week honors, while resetting the program mark under Nadelen. The previous best was 17, set by Ian Mills against Delaware in the coach's rookie campaign of 2012.

Ground Balls Win Games
There is a long-standing adage in lacrosse that "ground balls win games". So far this season, Towson has won the ground ball battle in every game, out-ground balling opponents 131-88 in the early goings. Last season, Towson was a perfect 10-0 when it collected more ground balls than its opponent, and went 5-3 in games when opponents had more grounders. The Tigers' two-year record is 13-1 in games with more ground balls.

Local Flare
Not only will the Tigers play nine of their 12 games within an hour drive of Unitas Stadium, but the Tigers are bringing local talent to campus as well. On the roster this season, not only are there 26 student-athletes from Maryland, but of those 26, 25 are from within an hour of Towson University. The lone outlier is Matt Sovero, who hails from Easton, Maryland on the Eastern Shore, roughly 85 miles from Unitas.

Eight of the Tigers' 10 starters this season are from the Old Line State, including the entire starting attack and midfield units. The only two starters not from Maryland are Sid Ewell, whose hometown of Carlisle, Pennsylvania is 85 miles from campus, and Josh Miller, who will get to play near his hometown of Norwalk, Connecticut when the Tigers take on Fairfield on April 22.

The Down Lowe
Players come, players go. In Major League Lacrosse, a high-profile trade was made last Friday between the Florida Launch and the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Brothers Lyle and Jeremy Thompson were traded to the Annapolis-based Bayhawks, along with the 38th pick in the upcoming Collegiate Draft. In exchange, the Launch received the number eight over all pick, defenseman Mark McNeil and former Towson standout Mike Lowe.

The former #20 for Towson played in seven games with the Bayhawks last season after an outstanding career with the Tigers. He collected 17 ground balls and served just two minutes in penalties. Chesapeake went 4-3 with Lowe on the roster, including an immediate impact as the Bayhawks won four straight games.

In the Nick of Time
Another former Towson Tiger is set to make an impact at the professional level. Nick Gorman, who played for the Tigers from 2014-16, was signed to the Denver Outlaws earlier this week after the franchise held open tryouts. Gorman impressed at the tryouts as assistant head coach/general manager Jon Cohen stated "We were very impressed not only by his on ball play at the tryout but Gorman did a fantastic job off of the ground and in his off-ball play."

Gorman was a member of two CAA championship teams (2015, 2016) while playing in 44 career games for the Black & Gold. During his time at Towson, Gorman grabbed 94 ground balls, including a career-best 40 in his first season at Towson. The University of Denver transfer scored a full-field goal on a buzzer beater against Drexel in the 2016 CAA Semifinals.

Lid Lifters
Since taking over the program prior to the 2012 season, head coach Shawn Nadelen is 5-1 in season openers, including victories in each of the last three seasons. Since elevating to Division I prior to the 1980 season, Towson is 18-19 in season openers. All-time since the program's first game, a 7-4 win over the Brown Lacrosse Club in 1959, Towson is 27-31 in the first game of the season.

Crabcakes and Lacrosse
Maryland has long been known as a hotbed for lacrosse talent. With 26 current players from the Old Line State, Towson is certainly reaping the benefits of that. Heading into Saturday's game against No. 7 Johns Hopkins, head coach Shawn Nadelen is 35-21 all-time when playing games within Maryland. This season, the Tigers will play eight games in Maryland, including six at Johnny Unitas Stadium. February 18 and March 11 are the only two games in Maryland in which Towson will not be the home team. Nadelen has a sub-.500 record in a just one season when playing in Maryland, winning four of the nine games in 2012.

50 Nifty
Last season in the CAA Semifinals, head coach Shawn Nadelen picked up the 50th win of his Towson career, eliminating Drexel with a 10-6 win at Unitas Stadium. He became the third coach in program history to hit the 50-win plateau, and became the fastest of the three to gain 50 Division I victories. That game was his 81st contest at the helm. Former head coaches Tony Seaman and Carl Runk needed 88 and 89 games, respectively, to grab 50 Division I wins. However, legendary head coach Carl Runk is the fastest Towson coach to 50 total wins, hitting the mark in 1972 in just 69 total games in the Tigers' Division II Era.

No Oil Changes
During the 2017 regular season, the Tigers won't even need to change the oil on the bus, logging just an estimated 1,093 miles spread over 12 games. In the nonconference season, the Tigers will roll just 278 miles between Mount St. Mary's, Georgetown and UMBC.

Lax Sports Network
This season, the CAA office and the Lax Sports Network signed the Network's first-ever conference deal, picking up a total of 15 games for the CAA Game of the Week. LSN will broadcast 10 men's games and five women's games for the package, which features at least one CAA member. The Tiger men's team will be featured three times as the CAA Game of the Week: March 14 vs. Ohio State, March 25 vs. Denver and April 29 vs. Hofstra. Additional games may be added to the LSN broadcast schedule at a later date.

Challenging Schedule
The adage goes that to be the best, you have to beat the best. This season, the Tigers continue to have a challenging nonconference schedule, with four teams currently mentioned in the March 6 USILA Coaches' Poll Top 20. All four of those opponents, No. 12 Loyola, No. 7 Johns Hopkins, receiving votes Ohio State and No. 4 Denver will make the trek to Johnny Unitas Stadium this season.

Tigers Favored in the Preseason
After a highly successful 2016, the lacrosse pundits agree on one thing: The Tigers are the team to beat in the CAA this season. In a preseason poll of the league's head coaches, Towson was the league favorite, garnering 25 points and five of the six first place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team). Fairfield was second with 21 points and the final first place vote. Hofstra and Drexel had 15 and 11 points, respectively, rounding out the potential field for the CAA Tournament.

Preseason All-America Looks
Three Tigers earned mention in the Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America conversation, with senior defensive midfielder Jack Adams picking up second team honors. Classmates and fellow Marylanders Ryan Drenner and Joe Seider, both attackmen, earned honorable mention.

Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere
Since taking over the program in 2012, head coach Shawn Nadelen has not shied away from the "anyone, anytime, anywhere" mentality. Under his direction, Towson has won 22 true road games in that time, including a combined 12 in the last two seasons. Nadelen's teams have finished at .500 or better on the road in three of his five seasons at the helm: 5-1 in 2016, 6-3 in 2015 and 5-5 in 2013. Towson is 2-0 in road games so far in 2017. In each of those seasons, the Tigers have won the CAA Tournament and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament via the league's automatic bid.

Familiar Faces
If the 2017 schedule looks similar to the 2016 edition, it's for one simple reason: All 12 teams on this year's slate are teams the Tigers played at least once last season. With the exception of Denver (March 25), Towson played every 2017 opponent during the 2016 regular season, while also drawing Drexel, Fairfield and Loyola in the postseason.

2017 Captains
This season, the Towson men's lacrosse coaching staff, in conjunction with the student-athletes, named four captains.

Redshirt senior midfielder Brian Bolewicki is a captain for a second-straight season. He is the fourth two-time captain in the Shawn Nadelen Era, joining Thomas DeNapoli (2013, 2014), Greg Cuccinello (2014, 2015) and Ben McCarty (2015, 2016). Seniors shortstick defensive midfielder Jack Adams and attackman Ryan Drenner are captains for the first time in their career. Sophomore defensive midfielder Zach Goodrich was named this year as well, becoming the first sophomore captain in the Nadelen Era.

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 33-5 in games when Towson scores double digits. When Towson's defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 49-8 in that same time, including last week's 8-6 win at UMBC. On 31 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 31-0 record.