Opening Faceoff
It's been well over a week since the Tigers took to the field at Unitas Stadium, but head coach Shawn Nadelen was encouraged over the last week by the work Towson put in at practice since falling to Ohio State last Wednesday.

In The National Rankings
After suffering a 6-3 setback to No. 18 Ohio State, who then went on to beat No. 1 Denver 16-7, Towson dropped a few spots in this week's polls. Towson ranks 16th in both the USILA Coaches' Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Towson checked in at No. 14 in this week's US Lacrosse Magazine Division I Men's Lacrosse Top 20. Denver dropped several spots as well, slotting at No. 6 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 7 in the Media rankings.

The Spring Break Tigers
After jamming four games into the first two weeks of the month, the Tigers have had 10 days to work towards this weekend's game against Denver. Ryan Drenner (13g, 7a) hit the 20-point mark in last week's loss to Ohio State. He's reached that plateau in every season as a Tiger. He is one game shy of a 20-game point scoring streak. Joe Seider (10g, 5a) handed out his fifth helper of the year, tying the second-most he's dished out in a season. Jon Mazza (10g) is the only other Tiger in double figures, but Tyler Konen (3g, 4a), Mike Lynch (4g, 2a) and Brian Bolewicki (3g, 3a) are closing in. Faceoffs will be a crucial focus on Saturday. After a subpar performance against Ohio State, specialist Alex Woodall will look to rebound. He is 71-110 (.645) this season and has a team-best 40 ground balls. In goal, Josh Miller has a goals against average of 7.39 in his 357 minutes of action, making 49 saves. He matached a career-best 11 last week against the Buckeyes.

Scouting The East Coast Pioneers
Like Towson, No. 6/No. 7 Denver is coming off of a loss to Ohio State. The Pioneers (5-2) fell 16-7 in Columbus to open their East Coast trip. Connor Cannizzaro (16g, 12a) paces Denver's potent offense that averages nearly 13 goals a game. Ethan Walker (15g, 9a) is second with 24 points as Austin French (8g, 8a) inches closer to the 20-point mark. No other Pioneer has hit double digits this season, but 20 different players have at least one goal. At the X, Trevor Baptiste is the workhorse for Denver. He has won 108 of his 151 draws and leads the NCAA in faceoff percentage (.715). He is the only Division I player winnning more than 70 percent of his faceoffs. Alex Ready has played the bulk of time in goal for the Pioneers (396 minutes). He has a goals against average of 8.77 along with 47 saves. He carries a .448 save percentage into Saturday's tilt.

Towson-Denver History
Saturday's game marks the second-straight season the Tigers and Pioneers meet. Towson stunned Denver in Colorado last season with a 10-9 win over the No. 2 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Saturday's game will be just the second time in series history the teams meeting in back-to-back seasons (2008, 2009). Towson leads the all-time series at 4-1, including 2-0 at home. The lone blemish came on March 1, 2009 in a 9-4 Denver win.

Towson-Denver By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson 4-1
    at Towson Towson 2-0
    at Denver Towson 2-1
    at Neutral Sites n/a
    at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting March 19, 2000 (Towson 16-9)
Last Meeting May 15, 2016 
#10 Towson 10, #2 Denver 9
Streak Towson +1

Last Time Out vs. Denver
After winning handily in the preliminary round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament, the Tigers had a quick turnaround to fly to Denver for the first round. Unfazed, the Tigers took a 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back. Towson reeled off three straight goals to open the second period, getting a pair from Spencer Parks. Host Denver made it a two-goal game late in the second as Towson took a 5-3 lead into the break. But the Pioneers rallied in the second half, tying the contest 7-7 with 11:35 to play. But smart play on defensive and long possessions helped the Tigers regain a three-goal lead with another pair from Parks and one from Ryan Drenner. The Pioneers made it interesting down the stretch, thanks to a 20-22 day at the X for Denver's Trevor Baptiste, as the Pioneers scored twice in the final minute of the game to make it 10-9. Towson's starting attack line of Parks, Drenner and Joe Seider accounted for seven of Towson's 10 goals, while midfielder Mike Lynch chipped in a pair and Towson got one from Jon Mazza.

With a Win Saturday
- Towson would conclude nonconfence play with a 5-2 overall record, its fourth-straight regular season with a winning record in nonconference action.
- The Tigers would collect a second win this season over a team ranked No. 6 in the USILA Coaches' Poll. Towson has never beaten No. 6 twice in the same year.
- The Tigers would get a second win over a BIG EAST team this year after knocking off Georgetown 11-10 in Washington D.C. back in February. Towson is currently 2-1 against teams from conferences with Big in their name.
- Towson would avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since the conclusion of the 2015 season. Towson has not suffered back-to-back nonconference losses in the regular season since early in the 2014 campaign.

Careers Versus Denver
Current members of the program have only played Denver once since coming to Towson. Joe Seider and Mike Lynch are the active goals and points leader with two each, while Ryan Drenner and Jon Mazza have one career goal.

Military Appreciation/Hometown Heroes Doubleheader
Saturday will feature a doubleheader at Johnny Unitas Stadium. The No. 16 Towson men's lacrosse team hosts No. 6 University of Denver with a noon start on Lax Sports Network as the CAA Game of the Week. Shortly after, the Tiger women's side, currently ranked 12th in the most recent coaches' poll, will welcome the University of Oregon to Unitas Stadium. Game time for the second tilt will be no earlier than 2:30 p.m., depending on the finish to the men's game. The women's game will also be broadcast on Lax Sports Network.

Honoring Those Who Serve
As part of Military Appreciation Week for the Tigers, Towson's student-athletes and staff have volunteered around the DMV region. On Sunday, the squad visited NSA Bethesda and hosted a youth clinic for military-dependent children. The clinic was held in conjunction with Towson University Athletic Department community partner USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore (USO-Metro).

On Wednesday, the team visited The Baltimore Station's South Baltimore location and served dinner to veterans, preparing and serving over 150 chicken alfredo meals to those involved in the Station's therapeutic residential program.

Lids for a Cause
For a second-straight season, Saturday's game will feature special one-off helmets for the Tigers in their continued support of the armed forces. The custom Cascade R helmets with decals donated by Zima Gear went on sale Friday at 12:01 p.m. through TowsonTigers.com. An update on the helmet sales will be given in the press box during the game.

Proceeds from the helmets will benefit local military support organizations and Towson University Athletics Department community partners USO-Metro and The Baltimore Station. Through the sale of last season's American flag helmets, the Tigers donated over $2,200 to each organization in special ceremony in early June.

Saturday's Military Appreciation Helmets: Defined
The Zima Gear decals on the custom Cascade R helmets Towson is sporting have special meaning. Below is a list of each decal and its meaning.
Matte Gray Helmet Shell - Represents the steel helmets worn by the US Army during engagements in World War I.
Back Panel - World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring the 100th anniversary of the United States' entry into The Great War.
United States Logo (Right Side) - Represents the United States with a reflective Uncle Sam from the famous "I want YOU for U.S. Army" posters. Uncle Sam is made of a material the reflects when a camera flash goes off.
Back of Helmet Stripe - The Red, White and Blue stripe along the bottom of the helmet emulates the border on the Uncle Sam poster.
Chin Straps - The right side of the chin straps reads "Thank You Veterans" on the upper right strap. The chin cup features a Support our Troops ribbon.
Mohawk Vent Stripes - Each player will wear a helmet with a different mohawk vent stripe, representing the five branches of the United States Armed Forces: Army (Black/Gold), Marines (Red/Blue/Gold), Navy (Blue/Gold), Air Force (Blue/White), Coast Guard (White/Red).

Nonconference Wrap Up
Saturday's game concludes the nonconference portion of the Tigers' 2017 regular season. Regardless of the outcome, the Tigers will finish with a winning nonconference record, including a 3-1 mark against in-state foes. Since head coach Shawn Nadelen took over the program in 2012, Towson has suffered just one sub-.500 mark in regular season nonconference play, going 4-5 in 2013. In five of Nadelen's six seasons, the Tigers have been at least two wins above .500. Overall in nonconference regular season games since 2012, the Tigers are 34-16, a 68.0 winning percentage.

The Long Pause
When the Tigers take the field on Saturday, it will end a 10-day gameless drought for the program. It is the longest such in-season gap for Towson since the Tigers joined the CAA for the 2002 season. The previous longest has been nine days on five previous ocassions. Towson will look to reverse a trend on Saturday; the Tigers are 2-9 in their first game back after a gap of at least eight days since the 2002 season. Head coach Shawn Nadelen is 1-5 out of a "bye" week, with the lone win coming on March 30, 2013 against Hofstra in a 7-6 grinder.

Strength of Schedule
Over the last several seasons, the Tigers have worked to beef up their schedule. In the Tigers' first seven games, four of those opponents have been ranked in the top 20 of the USILA Coaches' Poll. Additionally, CAA foes #5 Hofstra and Delaware, which received votes this week, await the Tigers. According to the NCAA statistical rankings, the Tigers have the 10th-toughest schedule so far this season. Towson's 12 opponents, past and future, have a cumulative winning percentage of .598. It is the best cumulative winning percentage for a member of the CAA. Fairfield is in second at .576.

Gearing Up for the CAA
Towson's tough nonconference schedule was not an accident. The coaching staff built a seven-game nonconference slate to emulate the grind of the CAA. And it will be a tough upcoming schedule for the Tigers in the CAA, which has the second-most nonconference wins (26) among the 10 NCAA Division I lacrosse conferences. Only the Big Ten has more with 40 nonconference victories.

Let's Get Defensive
Defense has long been the backbone of the Towson University lacrosse program. Entering the 2017 season, it was a spot many looked to as a potential weakness with the graduation of three close defenseman and a goalie, two of whom were All-Americans. Head coach Shawn Nadelen and defensive coordinator Dan Cocchi have laid those questions to rest. After owning the best defense in Division a year ago, Towson is currently ranked eighth in Division I in goals allowed per game (7.67). Moreover, Towson has allowed the fourth-fewest total goals this season (46). Of teams with at least six games to their credit, Towson has allowed the second-fewest total goals, despite four new starters in the backfield.

Control the Rock, Control the Game
Ball control is an important facet in the game of lacrosse. One way to control the rock is through defense, while another is at the faceoff X. Through the first half of the 2017 season, only four teams in NCAA Division I rank in the top 10 nationally in both scoring defense and faceoff winning percentage: Army West Point, North Carolina, Ohio State and Towson. The Tigers are fifth in faceoff winning percentage (.622) and tied for eighth in scoring defense (7.67). Only three NCAA Division I teams rank in the top 15 in scoring defense, faceoff winning percentage and groundballs per game: Albany, Army West Point and Towson, which is also ranked 13th in ground balls per game (30.50).

Faceoffs: Always Key
One key area to Saturday's clash with be at the faceoff X. Both Towson and Denver boast one of the best faceoff specialists in the country in Alex Woodall and Trevor Baptiste, respectively. Woodall currently ranks sixth in Division I with a winning percentage at .645 (71-110) while Baptiste is the top draw man in the country, winning 71.5 percent (108-151). 

Watching faceoffs on Saturday may be a glimpse at the irresistible force paradox when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. Woodall checks in at 6-1, 225 pounds while Baptiste measures 5-10, 220 pounds.

Versus No. 6
Saturday's matchup will be the second game this season the Tigers tussle with a team ranked sixth in the USILA Coaches' Poll. Two weeks ago, then-No. 17 knocked off local rival Johns Hopkins, ranked sixth at the time, 13-8. Denver enters Saturday's game with the No. 6 ranking after dropping their last game against Ohio State. Towson is 4-10 all-time against the sixth-ranked squad. The win over Hopkins snapped a three-game skid against No. 6 for the Tigers. Towson will meet a second team ranked sixth for the first time since the 2008 season when the Tigers drew No. 6 Maryland and No. 6 Johns Hopkins.

Best in Baltimore
Local rivalries are always important. For a second-straight season, the Tigers squared off against the three Greater Baltimore schools, Johns Hopkins, Loyola and UMBC, in three consecutive games. This season, Towson went 2-1 against local rivals, beating UMBC 8-6 and No. 6 Johns Hopkins 13-8. Towson dropped an 11-7 decision against Loyola. As of March 20, Towson was the top-ranked team in Greater Baltimore, ranking 16 in both the USILA Coaches' Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Johns Hopkins and Loyola swap places between 17 and 18 in the polls, depending on which poll is used.

Over the last three regular seasons, Towson has controlled the Greater Baltimore Area.
Towson: 6-3
Johns Hopkins: 5-3
Loyola: 3-2
UMBC 3-2.

The Century Club
In the Tigers' 13-8 win over No. 6 Johns Hopkins, senior attackman Joe Seider joined an elite club in the Tigers' program history. At 14:02 of the second quarter, Seider potted the 100th goal of his Tiger career. He became the seventh player in program history to hit the 100-goal mark, joining the likes of Glenn Smith (154), Kevin Sturm (125), Jonathan Engelke (113), Matt Clune (108), Mike Burke (106) and Tom Nelson (105). Seider has 102 career goals and needs just three more to catch Nelson.

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 30-14 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 1-2 at Unitas Stadium this season.

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 all but one game, out-ground balling opponents 183-133 in the early goings. Last season, Towson was a perfect 10-0 when it collected more ground balls than its opponent, and went 5-4 in games when opponents had more grounders. The Tigers' two-year record is 14-1 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 on March 3 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 on March 8 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.

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 36-22 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 15 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.

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 34-5 in games when Towson scores double digits. When Towson's defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 50-8 in that same time, including the 13-8 win over No. 6 Johns Hopkins. On 32 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 32-0 record.