Opening Faceoff
For the first time since the 2012 campaign, the Tigers will open the CAA Tournament with an institution not named Drexel University as No. 2 Towson squares up with No.3 Delaware in the second CAA Tournament Semifinal Thursday night at UMass's Garber Field. Towson and Delaware have not met in the CAA Tournament since the 2010 Championship game.

In The National Rankings
Neither team was ranked nor mentioned in the polls this week.

The Second-Seeded Tigers
In a must-win situation, the Tigers came through in the clutch, out-lasting Fairfield 8-7 on Saturday. While it was Senior Day, it was redshirt freshman Luke Fromert who proved the game-winner. Jean-Luc Chetner (15g, 11a) had the game-winning assist and the game-tying goal to move into first in the points column. Timmy Monahan (14g, 11a) is in second while riding a 12-game point streak. Grant Maloof (16g, 5a) jumped into the 20-point club while Brendan Sunday (13g, 5a) inches ever closer to the milestone. Defensively, the Tigers have been strong in league play, holding all five CAA foes below the 10-goal threshold. Shane Brennan continues to improve his goals against average, now down to 9.21. He made nine saves last weekend, bringing his season total to 110. A much-improved Alex Woodall had another solid outing at the X, winning 11 of the 16 faceoffs against Fairfield. He won 33 of the last 40 draws of the regular season. Defensively, three Tigers have forced double-digit turnovers this year, paced by 18 from Zach Goodrich, one shy of his career best 19 from last season. After a five-force afternoon against the Stags, Chad Patterson is second with 13 while LSM Koby Smith has caused 11 this season.

Scouting the Third-Seeded Blue Hens
Delaware's high-powered offense was on display last Friday as the Hens locked in a place in the Tournament with a 17-8 win over rival Drexel. Charlie Kitchen (35g, 14a) sets the pace with 49 points, followed by EMO weapon Will Hirschmann (25g, 13a), who has six man-up goals this season. Dean DiSimmone (23g, 11a) is the only other Blue Hen with at least 30 points. Matt DeLuca continues to be a mainstay in goal for Delaware, logging 789 minutes. He has made 150 saves in that span at a 52.4 percent rate. DeLuca carries a 10.34 goals against average into the CAA Championship Tournament. Jake Hervada has taken the lion's share of faceoffs this season, winning 95 of his 197 (.482) but the Blue Hens as a collective had a subpar 2-for-24 outing at Unitas Stadium two weeks ago. Joe Lenskold (41-79) has the best percentage at 51.9.

Towson-Delaware History
Thursday's game will be another chapter in the long-storied rivalry between the Tigers and the Blue Hens as the programs meet for the 60th time since 1961. It will be the first CAA Tournament meeting since the 2010 Championship game. The Blue Hens have won three of the four CAA Tournament meetings between the longtime rivals. The Tigers have won the last two regular season meetings, utilizing a 7-1 fourth quarter two weeks ago in a 13-7 win at Johnny Unitas Stadium. 

Towson-Delaware By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record .................... Towson 41-18
at Towson .................................... Towson 20-6
at Delaware...................................Towson 14-7
at Neutral Sites........................................... n/a
at Unknown Sites......................... Towson 7-5
First Meeting ...........................1961 (Delaware 6-3)
Last Meeting ........................................April 21, 2018
Towson 13, Delaware 7
Streak Towson +2

Last Time Out vs. Delaware | April 21, 2018 | Towson, Md. | Johnny Unitas ® Stadium
It was a tight affair for the first 45 minutes as the Tigers and Blue Hens entered the final frame tied 6-6. Towson locked down the first of back-to-back wins behind a 7-1 fourth quarter. Alex Woodall set a new career-best, winning 22 of the game's 24 faceoffs. He went a perfect 9-for-9 in the final quarter as the Tigers made separation. Redshirt senior Jean-Luc Chetner finished with a game-best five points on four goals and one assistMatt Sovero and Grant Maloof led the Tigers from the midfield with a hat trick and two goals, respectively. Johnny Giuffreda potted two goals and added an assist to his day, scoring twice in the final quarter. Shane Brennan made five saves in net.

With a Win Thursday Towson Would...
- Reach the CAA Championship game for a fourth-straight season and fifth time since 2013.
- Become the first program in CAA history to reach the title game in four straight seasons.
- Level its record at 7-7 on the season.
- Win its seventh-straight CAA Tournament game. Towson has not lost a league tournament since the 2014 semifinals.
- Collect an eight win in the last nine meetings against Delaware.
- Draw the winner of the 5 p.m. semifinal game between host and top-seeded UMass and No. 4 Hofstra.
- Win a third-straight game for the first time this season.

All-CAA Men's Lacrosse Honors
Junior defensive midfielder Zach Goodrich was selected by the league's head coaches as the 2018 CAA Defensive Player of the Year. He becomes the second-straight Tiger to win the honor after longstick midfielder Tyler Mayes was selected last season. 

In addition to Defensive Player of the Year honors, Goodrich was named to the league's First Team honor roll. Additionally, Koby Smith, a true freshman longsitck midfielder was selected Second Team All-CAA and was an All-Rookie selection. Fellow true freshman Phil Wies earned All-Rookie honors, as did redshirt freshman Shane Brennan.

Senior Success
The Class of 2018 is one of the most success classes in Tiger history, amassing 46 wins since stepping on campus in the fall of 2014. The 46 wins represent the second-most wins by a four-year class in the program's Division I Era (1980), tying the Class of 2018 with the Class of 2017. A win Thursday would move the Class of 2018 into second place by itself.

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".

One Final Weekly Honor
As the league office handed out its final weekly honors, Towson's redshirt freshman attacker Luke Fromert was selected the Rookie of the Week following a two-point, one goal, one assist effort in the 8-7 win over Fairfield. Fromert accounted for the final two points of the game as he fed Jean-Luc Chetner with the game-tying assist before scoring an acrobatic, toe-dragging and toe-tapping goal with 3:29 to play in the fourth quarter.

Alexander and the Terrific, Happy, Quite Good, Very Nice Day
Last weekend against Delaware, Alex Woodall had a career-best day at the X against the Blue Hens. The Annapolis, Maryland native won 22 of the game's 24 faceoffs, taking on all comers as the Hens trotted out four different players to have a go. Woodall's previous best was 21 set earlier this season against Mount St. Mary's.

Woodall had one of the best days at the X in program history as his 91.7 winning percentage was the best outting by percentage for a Tiger in the program's CAA Era (2002) for a faceoff man that took at least 10 draws.

Spring Football Success (Finally)!
Despite sharing a playing surface and being locker room neighbors, the Towson men's lacrosse team has had moderatly limited success on Towson football's spring game day. Since 2012, the Tiger laxers are 2-4, thanks to last week's win over Delaware, on the same day as the Towson spring game. The pair did not share game day in the spring of 2014. The last time Towson lacrosse won on spring football day was back in 2013, a season that resulted in a CAA Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

It's Rare
In his previous 113 games as the head coach of the Towson University men's lacrosse game, Shawn Nadelen has guided the Tigers to a 100 percent goals assisted mark just four times. Last weekend against Fairfield, the Tigers' eight goals were all assisted, adding to the previous three games, two of which came during his rookie head coaching season in 2012. The kicker? All three perfect goals-assisted games have came against teams located in New England. Illuminati confirmed?

More Rarity
If you're looking for consistency, the Towson-Delaware rivalry is the place to look, first and foremost. Since the Tigers and Blue Hens first squared off in 1961, the rivals have met 59 times. Towson and Delaware have met at least once a year, every year, since 1976. Last week's game was the fourth-different head coaching combination in the Tigers' Division I Era (1980) between the programs as Towson's Shawn Nadelen and Delaware's Ben DeLuca meet for the first time. Below is a breakdown of the all-time meetings between the programs' head coaches.
Carl Runk vs. Bob Shillinglaw: 16-3
Tony Seaman vs. Bob Shillinglaw: 10-7
Shawn Nadelen vs. Bob Shillinglaw: 5-1
Shawn Nadelen vs. Ben DeLuca: 1-0

Home Cooking
As the push for the 2018 CAA Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament continues, the Tigers have some home cooking to look forward to. The Tigers cap the regular season with back-to-back home games at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium, which is a good thing. Since head coach Shawn Nadelen took over the program in 2012, no current member of the CAA has won more home games than the Tigers. With a win Saturday, the Tigers can lock up a winning record at home this season for a seventh-straight year, a feat no other CAA school has managed in that span.

Team: Home Record Since 2012
Towson: 39-18
Hofstra: 34-22
Drexel: 30-18
Fairfield: 30-22
UMass: 28-20
Delaware: 23-31

Player Notes
One member of the lacrosse program has been suspended indefinitely by head coach Shawn Nadelen for a violation of team rules: junior attackman Jon Mazza. Senior close defenseman Sid Ewell returned from what amounted to a two-game suspension for a violation of team rules.  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, April 4, 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
The game helmets for the April 7 game against Drexel 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.

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 63 total wins in the CAA, three 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: 63 (7, 2017)
Hofstra: 59 (2, 2008)
Drexel: 50 (1, 2014)
Delaware: 35 (3, 2011)
UMass: 26 (1, 2012)
Fairfield: 11 (0) 

Peaking at the Right Time
Towson's vaunted defense was slow out of the gates in 2018, allowing 14 goals in the season opener at No. 11 Johns Hopkins. Since then, the Tigers have dropped their goals allowed per game every week (checked on Sundays) except one, and that was only a bump of seven-hundreths.

Date: Goals Allowed per game (NCAA Rank)
Feb. 11: 14.00 (41)
Feb. 18: 13.50 (61)
Feb. 25: 13.00 (60)
March 4: 11.40 (48)
March 11: 10.50 (40)
March 18: 10.43 (38)
March 25: 10.50 (39)
April 2: 10.33 (38)
April 8: 10.20 (38)
April 15: 10.00 (33)
April 24: 9.75 (27)
April 29: 9.54 (24)

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

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. The April 28 game against Fairfield marked the 30th time Towson was involved in a one-goal game. And the Tigers have flexed their clutch muscles in those games, sitting at 21-9 in games decided by one goal after an 8-7 win at home. 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 Nominee
On April 26, the Tewaaraton Foundation announced its annual list of nominees, naming 25 male student-athletes from all three divisions and 25 female student-athletes from all three divisions as semifinalists for the coveted player of the year award. 

Towson junior defensive midfielder Zach Goodrich was selected among those nominees and one of two CAA members to be named.

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 class

Freshmen: 18 | Redshirt Freshmen: 3
Sophomores: 11 | Redshirt Sophomores: 1
Juniors: 11 | Redshirt Juniors: 2
Seniors: 7 | Redshirt Seniors: 1

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 37-17 all-time at Minnegan Field, including a 4-2 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 43-7 in games when Towson scores double digits. When Towson's defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 63-10 in that same time after an 8-7 win over Fairfield this season. On 39 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 39-0 record.