It's a pretty rare thing to see Jon Mazza without a goofy smile on his face.
 
But over the course of his two and a half years on campus at Towson University, the junior men's lacrosse player has learned to tone down the Cheshire Cat grin and then times to crack jokes.
 
It wasn't an easy process for Mazza to mature both on the field and off. During his rookie season in 2016, he had the chance to play, one of a handful of true freshmen to get plenty of runs that season. The midfielder-come-attackman got to work every day with the juniors and seniors; guys like Ryan Drenner, Joe Seider, Jack Adams. Then-redshirt junior and co-captain Brian Bolewicki was a big voice in Mazza's ear, nudging the rookie back on the right path when he strayed.
 
"Being with those older guys as a freshman, I was around them a lot," said the junior from Davidsonville, Maryland. "They were like older brothers to me. It was a 'younger brother' thing; they pulled me in, knew when I needed to be serious. … I had them to hold me down, especially Brian Bolewicki."
 
Getting the chance to play early and often is something that has paid off for both Mazza and the team. As a rookie, he put away 15 goals and had seven assists. Last season, he took more of a support role as Drenner and Seider powered the Tiger offense. This year, however, Mazza already has a career-high 23 points thanks to 16 goals and seven assists.
 
Mazza has learned, and sometimes the hard way, to stay out of the spotlight off the field. His grade point average in his rookie season was not where he nor the program wanted it to be. There were tough conversations with head coach Shawn Nadelen and offensive coordinator/associate head coach Anthony Gilardi.
 
"I had a lot of talks with Coach Nadelen, Coach Gilardi and my dad," Mazza said. "I knew I had to step up this year as a returner."
 
Over the last two and a half years, it hasn't been solely the coaching staff, nor on since-graduated players, to nudge the 6-4 student-athlete back on the right path. As soon as a longhaired, cocksure Mazza stepped on campus, he got immediate guidance from a classmate and soon-to-be best friend.
 
"Being a leader is huge to me. I try to be a leader but still have a fun time at the same time. … Z (Zach Goodrich) has been my best friend since freshman year here. We clicked as soon as we got together but Z is an alpha dog. I try and emulate and copy his leadership role. He does a great job. I definitely look at Z and try and do what he does."
 
The Towson coaching staff has an open-door policy with its student-athletes and Mazza has taken advantage of that. Sometimes it's to discuss lacrosse, sometimes it's just to catch up on life and family. Nadelen's two children, Megan and Will, may be the biggest Jon Mazza fans out there. They love getting to chat with the attackman on the field after games or catch a high-five on the way to the locker room.
 
Perhaps the most maturing moment for Mazza came in the waning moments of the Tigers' March 10 game at No. 13 Ohio State. After the host Buckeyes took a 5-3 lead after falling behind 3-0, Towson tied the game with 74 seconds left. Grant Maloof notched an extra-man goal that pushed the budding rivals to overtime for a second-straight meeting at Ohio Stadium.
 
Cue Jon Mazza.
 
After a Timmy Monahan shot was deflected by a Buckeye defender and went out of bounds, Mazza picked up a ball from the far sideline, 45 yards from the coaching staff. Without a clock at that end of the Stadium, Mazza heard Maloof shouting "SEVEN SECONDS! SEVEN SECONDS!", announcing the time left in overtime.
 
Mazza drove past his defender, anticipated a slide from a second defender, slipped back to the middle of the field and beat Ohio State goalie Matthew Smidt to the far right post for the game-winner and the right to a dog pile.
 
"Drenner was really good at it, but I HATE looking at the clock when the ball is on our side," said Mazza. "Timmy (Monahan) takes a shot, I see we're going to get the ball back and Grant (Maloof) is screaming 'SEVEN SECONDS!' and in my head I'm thinking 'I have to go to the cage no matter what'."
 
As the Tigers hit the midway point of the 2018 campaign and with only one more nonconference game on the schedule, Saturday's showdown in Denver, Mazza still has time to grow and mature both on and off the field over the next year and half.
 
"Over the years, Jonny has grown more into a leader and he's currently the leader on our offense and that's warranted," said Nadelen of Mazza. "He's had some struggles along the way, off the field, academically he's had some struggles. On the field, he has struggled with some consistency. A lot of his fight is fighting against doing the right thing all the time and knowing the right thing isn't always the easiest… Jonny sometimes defaulted to the easy thing, which wasn't always the worst thing but it also wasn't the best thing."
 
One thing is for certain, coming to Towson University and playing for Nadelen, Gilardi et al, has been one of the best decisions Mazza has made to date. The culture of the program has helped mold him, a process yet unfinished.
 
"I've had so many talks with Coach Gilardi and Coach Nads, some good, some bad," stated Mazza. "My family and I love this program so much. It's not really about you as a lacrosse player … but about you as a man and growing up. That's what is most important. Lacrosse doesn't last forever. I always try and keep that in the back of my mind: I have to get better on the field and off the field."