Opening Faceoff
Saturday begins the 61st season of varsity men's lacrosse at Towson University, including the Tigers' 40th season at the NCAA Division I level. This weekend marks the second-straight season in which Towson will open the year with its Charles Street rival. This marks the second time in program history Towson has opened back-to-back seasons with Johns Hopkins since the 1976 and 1977 campaigns.

In The National Rankings
Towson received votes in both the USILA Coaches' Preseason Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Media Poll. The Blue Jays were ranked seventh in both major polls. Hopkins was also ranked seventh in the US Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Poll.

The Home-Opening Tigers
For the first time since 2016, the Towson Tigers will open a campaign from the friendly confines of Johnny Unitas ® Stadium. Coming off the program's fourth-straight appearance in the CAA Championship game, Towson will look to improve on last season, bolstered by a strong corps of veteran returners. Midfielders Timmy Monahan (15g, 13a) and Grant Maloof (20g, 5a) are the top threats returning on offense, with Brendan Sunday (17g, 6a) back to run the attack. An athletic team, the Tigers will look to capitalize on the game's new shot clock and get an old-school feel with two-way middies, including junior Jake McLean (5g, 3a). At the X, a trimmed-down Alex Woodall will build on a career-best season after going .609 (168-276) including 101 ground balls. Defensively, Towson returns starters Chad Patterson (14ct, 18gb) and Gray Bodden (9ct, 22gb) with Koby Smith (13ct, 54gb) likely dropping to close defense. 

Scouting the Seventh-Ranked Blue Jays
A high-powered offense a year ago, the Blue Jays return one of their top-three scorers in Kyle Marr (41g, 17a) this season. Marr led Hopkins in goals, assists, points and extra-man goals a year ago. Cole Williams (35g, 14a) returns as well after ranking fourth in points with 49. One of two question marks for Hopkins this season will be at the X after losing Hunter Moreland to graduation. Kyle Prouty (21-64) was the only other Blue Jay to win draws last season. Jared Reinson, an LSM, took seven faceoffs last season. Another open spot on the Blue Jays depth chart is in the cage. Last season, Brock Turnbaugh played in all but five minutes. Hopkins returns sophomore Ryan Darby, who made one save in five minutes of work. Defensively, Patrick Foley (14ct, 30gb) is back while Danny Jones (14ct, 10gb) is the anchor on the defensive midfield as a shortie.

Towson-Hopkins History
Saturday will be the 47th meeting all-time between the schools separated by four miles of Charles Street. Hopkins has controlled the series with a 41-5 overall record, but the Tigers have defended home turf, winning each of the last two contests at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium. Last season, No. 11 Johns Hopkins used a big first quarter for a 14-6 win at Homewood Field. The two teams have not played a one-goal game since an overtime showdown during the 2009 season.

Towson-Johns Hopkins By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Hopkins 41-5
at Towson Hopkins 20-3
at Hopkins Hopkins 21-2
at Neutral Sites Towson 1-0
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting March 27, 1976 - JHU 15, Towson 8
Last Meeting  Feb. 10, 2018 
#11 Hopkins 14, No. 14 Towson 6
Streak Hopkins +1

Last Time Out vs. Hopkins | Feb. 10, 2018 | Baltimore, Md. | Homewood Field
Host Johns Hopkins opened last year's meeting with a 5-0 first quarter en route to a 14-6 win at Homewood Field. The Blue Jays out-scored Towson 11-2 in the first half before the Tigers settled in the final 30 minutes to out-score Johns Hopkins 4-3 in the third and fourth quarters. The Tigers had six different goal scorers on a rainy night in Baltimore. Towson split time in goal with current Tiger Shane Brennan making his first collegiate start for 30 minutes. Alex Woodall won 16 of the game's 24 faceoffs along with five ground balls.

With a Win Saturday Towson Would...
- Win its season opener for the first time since the 2017 campaign, a 13-5 win at Mount St. Mary's.
- Win its third straight over Hopkins at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium.
- Collect its first win on Feb. 9.
- Win its 30th season-opening game and improve to 30-32 in lidlifters.
- Win the program's 23rd home opener and improve to 23-17 in home openers during the Division I Era (1980)
- Win back-to-back home openers for the first time since winning three straight from 2014-16.
- Improve to 6-2 in season openers under head coach Shawn Nadelen.
- Run its home opening record to 6-2 under Nadelen.

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.

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.

Preseason Honors
Three Tigers were named to the All-CAA Preseason Team. 

Senior defensive midfielder Zach Goodrich was voted as a Co-Preseason Player of the Year and earned All-CAA Preseason honors. 

Sophomore Koby Smith was selected to the preseason team as a longstick midfielder, though he may see time at close defense.

Senior Alex Woodall earned a spot on the Preseason Team as the league's top faceoff specialist.

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".

Home Cooking
As the 2019 season gets underway, the Tigers have some home cooking to look forward to. The Tigers capped 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: 39-18
Hofstra: 34-22
Drexel: 30-18
UMass: 30-20
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.

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, four 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 10 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 (2, 2018)
Fairfield: 11 (0) 

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

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 last 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 64-10 in that same time after a 9-8 overtime win over Delaware in the CAA Semifinals. On 39 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 39-0 record.