Opening Faceoff
The Tigers hit the road for the first time in 2019 as Towson makes its way to Emmitsburg, Maryland to continue its long-standing series with Mount St. Mary's. It is the first of four-straight games for the Tigers against the greater DMV.

In The National Rankings
After knocking off seventh-ranked Johns Hopkins on Saturday, the Tigers vaulted into the national polls' top 10s. The Tigers were ranked 10th in the USILA Coaches Poll, seventh in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and ninth in the US Lacrosse Magazine Top 20. Towson is the highest-ranked team in the CAA. Mount St. Mary's was not mentioned in any of the three polls released this week.

The Road-Tripping Tigers
After opening the 2019 campaign at home, the Tigers kick off a two-game road swing this Saturday. Towson had the chance to practice travelling two weeks ago with a scrimmage at Virginia. Last weekend, Towson combined stout defense and potent offense to best Johns Hopkins 17-8. Brenan Sunday leads the Tigers in goals (6) and points (8) and is tied with faceoff guru Alex Woodall in assists (2). Brody McLean (3g) was one of 11 Tigers to to contribute points on Saturday. Grant Maloof (2g) and defenseman Koby Smith (2g) scored as well. Defensively, the Tigers shut down Hopkins' potentially potent offense and caused 11 of the Blue Jays' 18 turnovers. Defenseman Gray Bodden caused a career-best four of those miscues. In goal, Tyler Canto made 10 saves and saw 34 total shots from Hopkins. At the X, Woodall started strong, winning 21 of his 28 draws, collecting a career-best 17 ground balls and adding three points on one goal and two assists. Towson will need to clean up its clear game after gaining the zone just 80 percent of the time.

Scouting the Homestanding Mountaineers
Mount St. Mary's enters Friday's game with an 0-1 record after falling 11-8 against CAA foe Delaware last weekend. Senior Jack Mangan leads the Mount offense with three points on two goals and one assist. Senior Chris DiPretoro (2g) and sophomore Luke Frankeny (2g) are tied for second with two points apiece. Frankeny leads in shots with 10. Sam Stephan took all 22 draws for The Mount, winning eight of those efforts. He also leads Mount St. Mary's with eight ground balls, followed by goalie Dylan Furnback with six. In net, Furnback played all 60 minutes against the Blue Hens, making 12 saves (.522). Mangan leads Mount St. Mary's with four caused turnovers while Joshua Davies, Bryan McIntosh and Sam Portillo have two caused turnovers each.

Towson-Mount St. Mary's History
With 53 miles between Johnny Unitas ® Stadium and Waldron Family Stadium, Friday's matchup will be the 15th meeting all-time between the Tigers and The Mount. Towson leads the all-time series with a 13-1 mark dating back to 1970. The lone blemish is the result of an ineligible player early in the series. Since then, Towson has reeled off 12-straight wins over the Mountaineers, including an offensive, 15-13 slugfest last year at Unitas ® Stadium. The Tigers hold a 6-0 all-time record against Mount St. Mary's in games contested in Emmitsburg.

Towson-Mount St. Mary's By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson 13-1
at Towson Towson 6-1
at Mount St. Mary's 6-0
at Neutral Sites n/a
at Unknown Sites Towson 1-0
First Meeting 1970
Last Meeting  Feb. 17, 2018 
#18 Towson 15, Mount St. Mary's 13
Streak Towson +12

Last Time Out vs. Mount St. Mary's | Feb. 17, 2018 | Towson, Md. | Johnny Unitas ® Stadium
Two Tigers put up hat tricks against Mount St. Mary's in the Tigers' home opener last season, including a trio from Brendan Sunday. Grant Maloof tagged The Mount for two goals on three shots, including an extra-man tally late in the second quarter. The Tigers scored seven goals in the second frame to put in a seven-goal lead at the break, but The Mount rallied in the fourth quarter to out-score Towson 5-2 in the final period to pull within striking distance. The two-goal difference was the closest between the two teams in Towson's Division I Era (1980).

With a Win Friday Towson Would...
- Win its 13th straight game over Mount St. Mary's dating back to 1976.
- Open a season with a 2-0 mark for the first time since 2017.
- Improve to a combined 25-15 against the other seven schools in the Greater DMV.
- Be head coach Shawn Nadelen's 74th career win at the helm of the Towson program.
- Be Towson's first-ever win on Feb. 15. The Tigers are 1-0 after a 2014 loss at Johns Hopkins. 

CB30 Award
Over the summer, Towson Lacrosse great Carl Beernink passed away. An integral part of the program's rise to dominance in the 1990s, Carl was a leader and inspiration to the program both on and off the field. This season, Zach Goodrich will wear a CB30 patch in place of his captain's C to honor the late Carl Beernink. This annual award will be given to a Towson player who embodies the fighting spirit of Carl Beernink.

Throwing it Back
For two games this season, the Towson University men's lacrosse team will wear throwback porthole-style jerseys, including Saturday's season opener against Johns Hopkins. The second game will be Saturday, March 30 against Hofstra.

The kit harkens back to the program's golden years in the early 90s, including a run to the national championship game in 1991. The gold jerseys feature the word Towson across the chest with black and white pipping on the neck and sleeves. The CAA logo is emblazoned on the left sleeve while the American flag is on the back shoulder panel.

Towson's Cascade S helmets feature decals akin to the bucket-helmet style helmets worn back in the day. Included in the decals on the back panel are laces, a nod to the tie-back style of the helmets from yesteryear. On the side of the helmets is an old school Towson logo, similar to the style worn in the 1990s.

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".

Climbing the Charts
Senior faceoff specialist Alex Woodall is in his third season with the program after transfering from High Point University following his rookie season. The Annapolis, Maryland has made a lasting impact already with his 377 faceoffs in the Black & Gold. He currently ranks fourth all-time in program history, surpassing Mark Goers (375) over the weekend. Up next on the list is Scott Mullins, who won 411 draws from 1983-86. Towson Hall of Famer Justin Berry holds the program record with 507 from 1998-2001.

All-Time Faceoff Leader Board
1. 507 Justin Berry 1998-01
2. 466 Matt Eckerl 2004-07
3. 411 Scott Mullins 1983-86
4. 377 Alex Woodall 2017-Pres.
5. 375 Mark Goers 1993-95

Rack 'em Up
In the Tigers' season opener, Towson hung 17 goals against No. 7 Johns Hopkins. It was the most goals scored by the Tigers against the Blue Jays in series history. Noted by Spiro Morekas, it was also the most goals scored by the Tigers in a season opener since tagging UMBC for 18 to open the 1998 season. It marked the second time in the last four games at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium the Tigers scored 17 goals after besting CAA rival Drexel 17-9 on April 6, 2018.

X Marks the Spot
With his dominate performace at the X against Hopkins, going 21-of-28, senior faceoff expert Alex Woodall has won double-digit draws in each of this last five games. Over that stretch, he has won 84 of his 113 draws, a remarkable 74.3 winning percentage at the X. Woodall has grabbed 55 ground balls in that span.

Sunday on a Saturday
Brendan Sunday had himself a nice little Saturday against Johns Hopkins as he scored a "sock trick" with six goals. He added two assists for a tidy little eight-point afternoon. He became the first Towson player to score six goals in a game since Jon Mazza notched the equal number against Mount St. Mary's in 2017. He is the first Tiger to score six goals at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium since Jonathan Engelke hit for eight against Villanova on April 3, 2004, a 20-11 Tiger victory.

We Have the Need for Speed
Six times in the win over Johns Hopkins, the Tigers scored within one minute of the game's previous goal. Three times the Tigers did it off a Hopkins goal to eliminate the threat of a scoring run. 

The Alex Woodall to Brendan Sunday goal in the fourth quarter tied the NCAA record for fastest goals between opponents as the duo combined three seconds after Hopkins' goal at 7:35.

Wearing the C
This season, head coach Shawn Nadelen and his staff announced four student-athletes that will serve as captains for the 2019 season.

Senior defensive midfielder Zach Goodrich is the program's first-ever three-time captain.

Senior attackman Brendan Sunday will be a first-time captain.

Senior defensive midfielder Jimmie Wilkerson will be a first-time captain.

Senior faceoff specialist Alex Woodall will be a first-time captain.

Sunday, Wilkerson and Woodall will wear captains' Cs on their jerseys while Goodrich will have the CB30 patch in lieu of the captains letter.

Weekly Honors: Week of Feb. 11
Saturday was a Great Day to Be a Tiger (#IAGDTABT) which made it a Great Week to Be a Tiger. 

Two Tigers won weekly honors. Below is a list of the student-athletes and their honors.
Alex Woodall: USILA Team of the Week, CAA Player of the Week
Tyler Canto: NewDay USA Male Student-Athlete of the Week on TowsonTigers.com.

Towson vs. The DMV
Competition among the eight Division I Men's Lacrosse teams in the Greater DMV is always fierce. Since head coach Shawn Nadelen took over the program in 2012, the Tigers are 24-15 against a combination of Maryland, Loyola, Hopkins, Georgetown, UMBC, Navy and Mount St. Mary's. 

Team Record Winning Percentage
Maryland 20-6 .769
Loyola 23-8 .740
Johns Hopkins 26-14 .650
Towson 24-15 .615
Georgetown 9-14 .390
UMBC 5-19 .208
Navy 5-20 .200
The Mount 3-19 .136

Home Cooking
As the 2019 season got underway, the Tigers have some home cooking to look forward to. The Tigers opened the 2019 home slate with a dominating 17-8 win over No. 7 Johns Hopkins on Feb. 9 after capping last year's 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. 

Team: Home Record Since 2012
Towson: 40-18
Hofstra: 34-22
Drexel: 30-18
UMass: 30-21
Fairfield: 30-22
Delaware: 23-31

Community Service National Champions
In the fall 2018 semester the Towson University athletic teams completed the most community service hours among all schools in the NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Competition. Tiger student-athletes and staff completed 5,583 hours of community service from September to November in the Greater Baltimore Area. Towson's national championship in community service will be celebrated at the February 14th men's basketball game against Delaware.

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 former 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
2019: 72.4 / 190.3

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 44-7 in games when Towson scores double digits. When Towson's defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 65-10 in that same time after a 17-8 season-opening win over No. 7 Johns Hopkins. On 40 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 40-0 record.