Opening Faceoff
Despite the calendar reading April, this weekend's game was moved up a day thanks to some February-type weather. The Tigers take on Drexel under the lights at Johnny Unitas Stadium Friday night at 7 p.m. in the Tigers' league home opener.

In The National Rankings
Towson dropped from the national weekly polls entirely this week after suffering a 9-3 setback last weekend at Hofstra. Likewise, the Dragons of Drexel are not named among the polls.

The Home Again Tigers
After three of its last four games on the road, Towson returns to The U for its 2018 CAA home opener against Drexel. Timmy Monahan (10g, 8a) is the top active Tiger in the points column paced closely by Jean-Luc Chetner (7g, 7a), who saw his long point streak snapped last weekend. Grant Maloof (11g, 1a) has the hot hand on the EMO, striking five times on the man-up. Midfielder Brendan Sunday (9g, 1a) will be a contributor this weekend in several spots on the field. The Tigers have produced heavily in the even-number periods this year, scoring 21 in the second and 20 in the fourth. Towson continues to be a two-headed monster at the X with Alex Woodall (90-153) winning at a 58.8 percentage while Steven Stillwell (28-46) has been a capable backup at 60.9 percent. Woodall leads the Tigers with 56 ground balls. Koby Smith has been a versatile rookie this season, playing primarily at LSM, but starting at close defense last weekend and forcing three Hofstra turnovers. He has nine caused turnovers and 27 ground balls in 2018. Shane Brennan has been strong in cage, making 73 saves at a 51.4 percent clip and holds a 10.07 goals against average.

Scouting the Visiting Dragons
Like Towson, Drexel dropped its CAA opener, falling 11-10 against UMass last weekend. Matthew Varian (20g, 12a) leads the Dragons' offensive efforts with 32 points while Reid Bowering (20g, 5a) is tied for the goal lead. Bowering leads Drexel with four extra-man goals and has potted two man-down goals as well. Chre Teitelbaum has played the bulk of minutes in goal, logging 436. He has 79 saves in that span and a goals against average of 9.22. Jimmeh Koita has been the go-to at faceoffs, winning 79 of his 115 chances (.506).

Towson-Drexel History
Friday's foes are no strangers to one another; the clash will be the 43rd meeting all-time between the longtime rivals. The Tigers have dominated the series, holding a 42-10 mark, including a five-game winning streak dating back to the CAA Semifinals in 2015. That overall record is thanks in large part to a 23-game win streak for Towson from 1965 until the 1998 season. Towson has not dropped a contest at Johnny Unitas Stadium against the Dragons since the 2014 campaign, a 13-7 loss during the regular season. The Tigers and Drexel have meet twice a year for the last five seasons. Towson is 2-3 in the first meeting in that span, but 4-1 in the second meeting during the CAA Tournament.

Towson-Drexel By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record .....................Towson 43-10
    at Towson .....................................Towson 19-3
    at Drexel.........................................Towson 12-5
    at Neutral Sites............................ Towson 2-0
    at Unknown Sites........................Towson 10-2
First Meeting .............. 1962 (Drexel 14, Towson 7)
Last Meeting .......................................... May 4, 2017
    No. 12 Towson 8, Drexel 4
Streak......................................................... Towson +5

Last Time Out vs. Drexel | May 4, 2017 | Towson, Md. | Johnny Unitas Stadium
The Tigers advanced to their third-straight CAA Championship game thanks to an 8-4 win over the visiting Dragons in the 2017 CAA Championship semifinals. Tyler Young, Tyler Konen and Mike Lynch all scored a pair of goals for Towson, with Lynch tacking on an assist for a three-point afternoon. Alex Woodall won 14 of his 16 faceoffs, collecting nine ground balls along the way. Marshal King was the only Dragon with multiple points, potting two goals along with one assist. Despite the result, Drexel got 18 saves from starting goalie Jimmy Joe Granito made 18 saves.

With a Win Friday Towson Would...
- Collect its first CAA win of the season.
- Win its 60th CAA game, becoming the first program in league history to get 60 wins.
- Improve to 3-2 at home this season.
- Run its winning streak to six straight over Drexel, the longest stretch since claiming 10 in a row from 1999-2007.
- Earn its 44th win over the Dragons in a series dating back to 1962, the most wins over a single opponent in program history.

On this Date: April 6
The Tigers may want to schedule a game on the sixth day of April every year. Since elevating to Division I for the 1980 season, the Tigers are 9-2 all-time on this date, including a 7-1 mark at home. Head coach Shawn Nadelen is 1-0 on April 6 thanks to a 9-5 win over UMass during the 2013 season. Towson last tasted defeat on April 6 during the 2011 season, falling 10-9 on the road at UMBC.

What's with the Lids?
Shield your eyes from the bright chrome helmets Towson is wearing tonight! The Tigers are wearing custom one-off Cascade S helmets with decals donated by Zima Gear featuring a cartoon version of the Tigers' mascot, Doc the Tiger. The helmets were sold on TowsonTigers.com to benefit the Cool Kids Campaign, a local organization aimed to aide families enduring pediatric cancer. The helmets are emblazened with the Campaign's logo and their motto "Cancer Fears Me" on the chin strap.

How to Say It: TOWSON
TOWSON is pronounced TOW like towel + Son. 

IT IS NOT: TOE-son, Townson, Towsond, Townsend, Townsen, Towzen. One N, no Z.

We are Towson University, no longer Towson State University (and haven't been since July 1, 1997).

Our mascot is Doc The Tiger, named after Donald "Doc" Minnegan, long-time soccer coach and athletics department administrator. Towson became the "Tigers" in 1962 after John Schuerholz (yes, the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame General Manager) pushed for the name change from the "Towson College Knights".

Player Notes
Two members of the lacrosse program have been suspended indefinitely by head coach Shawn Nadelen for a violation of team rules: junior attackman Jon Mazza and senior close defenseman Sid Ewell. A third student-athlete, redshirt junior Dylan Kinnear, has been removed from the program for a violation of team rules.

Hanging with the Cool Kids
On Wednesday afternoon, the Towson University men's lacrosse team took a quick trip up Charles Street to hangout with some Cool Kids at the Cool Kids Clubhouse on Bellona Road. The Tigers hungout with pediatric cancer patients and their families, playing keep it up with a ballon, teaching basic lacrosse skills, including one brave young man stepping to take some shots (don't worry, it was with tennis balls!) and general fun and games. At the end of the afternoon, the student-athletes, led by freshman Carson Gaeger, taught the Cool Kids the Tigers' fight song, Hail Towson!

For a Good Cause
Today's game helmets were sold on TowsonTigers.com at $350 per helmet. The proceeds from the sale will benefit the Cool Kids Campaign. The Cool Kids Campaign is devoted to improving the quality of life for pediatric oncology patients and their families by focusing on the academic, social and emotional needs brought on by a cancer diagnosis.

It's Early Yet
The Tigers don't need to hit the panic button on the 2018 CAA schedule just yet after dropping a 9-3 decision at Hofstra last weekend. While it was the first time in the Shawn Nadelen the Tigers dropped their first conference game of the year, Towson has advanced to the CAA Tournament in each of the previous six seasons.

Class of the CAA
Since joining the CAA for the 2002 season, no program in league history has enjoyed more success than Towson University. The Tigers have racked up 59 total wins in the CAA, two more than rival Hofstra. Below is a list of the current members of the CAA and their win totals in conference games since joining the league. The Tigers have appeared in the conference title game a total of nine times, bringing home the trophy on a league-record six occasions.

Team: Wins (CAA Titles, Last)
Towson: 59 (7, 2017)
Hofstra: 58 (2, 2008)
Drexel: 49 (1, 2014)
Delaware: 32 (3, 2011)
UMass: 21 (1, 2012)
Fairfield: 10 (0) 

Midseason All-America First Teamer
In an announcement on Thursday, junior defensive midfielder Zach Goodrich was named to the Inside Lacrosse Midseason Media First Team All-America. He is one of two CAA student-athletes named, joined by this weekend's foe, Jack Concannon, who was the keeper for the second team.

To date, Goodrich has caused 11 turnovers, including a career-best four last weekend at No. 5 Denver. He ranks third on the team with 18 ground balls and has potted a pair of goals, once against Mount St. Mary's and one at No. 13 Ohio State.

How Big is a Tiger?
Not only has the roster size gotten larger this year, but the student-athletes that comprise have gotten bigger as well. Since Shawn Nadelen took over the program in 2012, the Tigers have gotten bigger and heavier. As researched by Media Relations Student Intern Zoë Winslow, below are the average heights (in inches) and weights (in pounds) for the last seven Towson University men's lacrosse teams.

2012: 71.2 / 182.3
2013: 71.4 / 182.3
2014: 71.5 / 182.7
2015: 71.5 / 184.2
2016: 71.4 / 183.9
2017: 72.0 / 187.9
2018: 72.0 / 187.2

Home Sweet Home... Eventually.
It feels like it's been forever since the Tigers have played at home at Johnny Unitas Stadium. The last time Towson played at home was on march 17 against Duke. That game was the one time in the Tigers' last four games Towson has played at home. But fear not! Towson will play three of its next four games at home, finishing the CAA regular season at The U on April 21 against Fairfield and April 28 against rival Delaware.

Another Rookie of the Week
For a second time this season, a Towson Tiger was tapped as the CAA Rookie of the Week as redshirt freshman Shane Brennan was selected on March 12. He joined true freshman Phil Wies with the weekly honor after Brennan turned aside 16 shots in a 7-6 win at No. 13/No. 14 Ohio State on March 10. The 16 saves reset Brennan's career-best, topping his mark of 14 set earlier this year at No. 9 Loyola. 

A program known to develop talent with only a handful of freshmen seeing significant minutes, the last time Towson had a pair of CAA Rookies of the Week was during the 2014 season as Joe Seider and Ryan Drenner earned honors.

Double the Honors
After earning CAA Rookie of the Week plaudits, Shane Brennan earned more weekly honors as he was selected as the US Lacrosse Player of the Week following Saturday's 7-6 overtime win at No. 13/No. 14 Ohio State.

Welcome to the Program, Chinny!
In advance of the March 3 game against UMBC, the Tigers added one more member to the program as Chinny Hackley signs an "NLI" and becomes an honorary member of the Towson University men's lacrosse team. The 10 year old brain cancer survivor elected to take a trip to Johnny Unitas Stadium with his grandparents as part of a family tradition. Chinny will be with the program all day sporting his jersey number, 30, on the sidelines with the Tigers.

One and Done
Since head coach Shawn Nadelen took over the program in 2012, the Tigers have found themselves in some tight contests. Saturday's game at No. 5 Denver marked the 29th time Towson was involved in a one-goal game. And the Tigers have flexed their clutch muscles in those games, sitting at 20-9 in games decided by one goal after an 11-10 overtime loss. In overtime games, Towson is now 4-4 and has won two of its last three extra-stanza contests, both wins coming on the road at Ohio Stadium. 

Tewaaraton Watch List
In February, the Tewaaraton Foundation announced its annual watch list, naming 50 male student-athletes from all three division and 50 female student-athletes from all three divisions as players to watch for the coveted player of the year award. 

Towson junior defensive midfielder Zach Goodrich was selected to the Watch List and is one of four CAA members to be named. The two-time captain and Second Team All-American will look to make the cut later this season when the next round of watch listers was announced on March 22.

EVENly Spread Out
As mentioned in the Rookie of the Week note for Shane Brennan, a Tiger has been named CAA Rookie of the Week 12 times since Towson joined the league. Of those 12, nine have been named Rookie of the Week in even-numbered years. The last Tigers to win CAA Rookie of the Week in an odd-numbered year were Eric Boyle and Cryder DiPietro.

Conference History
For the first time in CAA history, a midfielder was named CAA Preseason Player of the Year, according to a poll of the league's head coaches. And it was not an offensive midfielder: defensive midfielder Zach Goodrich was selected as the top player in the league. He is just the second non-attackman to be named and second defensive player to earn the honor after former Penn State goalie Austin Kaut was selected.

Youth Movement
Towson will be a young but experienced team this season. At the onset of the 2018 season, there are 21 true freshmen or redshirt freshmen on the roster. That amounts to nearly 40 percent of the roster. Below is a roster breakdown by classFreshmen: 18 | Redshirt Freshmen: 3
Sophomores: 11 | Redshirt Sophomores: 1
Juniors: 11 | Redshirt Juniors: 2
Seniors: 7 | Redshirt Seniors: 1

No Rest for the Weary
Coming off the success of 2017, the Tigers will take on another challenging schedule in 2018. Of the 20 teams on the USILA Division I Men's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll, Towson will take on six, including five on the road. Rankings below are based on the Preseason Poll.

Feb. 10 at No. 11 Johns Hopkins | Feb. 28 at No. 13 Loyola | March 10 at No. 8 Ohio State
March 17 vs. No. 2 Duke | March 24 at No. 4 Denver | March 31 at No. 19 Hofstra

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 35-17 all-time at Minnegan Field, including a 2-2 mark this season. In 2016, the Tigers set a program record for home wins, going 11-1 at Unitas Stadium. The Tigers have never suffered a losing mark at home under Nadelen, logging three 4-3 seasons (2012, 2013, 2015) at home. During the 2014 campaign, the Tigers finished with a 6-3 mark at home. 

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 41-7 in games when Towson scores double digits. When Towson's defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 60-9 in that same time, including a 7-6 overtime win at No. 13/No. 14 Ohio State. On 37 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 37-0 record.