Opening Faceoff
Thursday begins the journey to the 2019 CAA Championship for the Towson University men's lacrosse program as the Tigers rematch with the Blue Hens of Delaware for a second-straight year in the semifinals in Amherst.

In The National Rankings
After collecting a gutsy 11-9 win on the road last weekend at Drexel, the Tigers moved up in two of the national polls, elevating to 12th in both the USILA Coaches' Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. The US Lacrosse Division I Top 20 held the Tigers at the 14th spot for a second-straight week.

The Second-Seeded Tigers
For a second-straight season, the Towson University men's lacrosse team earned the second seed in the CAA Tournament, spliting the regular season title with UMass. The Minutemen grabbed the top seed by virtue of a tiebreaker. Towson's offense is paced by Co-Offensive Player of the Year Brendan Sunday (39-19-58) who is poised to become the first 60-point getter for Towson since the 2013 campaign. Brody McLean (28-6-34) and Timmy Monahan (20-14-34) are second in points, followed by Luke Fromert (19-10-29) in a breakout season. CAA Second Teamer Grant Maloof (18-9-27) is close to hitting the 30-point barrier as well. On defense, Towson boasts three All-CAA selections in first team picks Koby Smith (15 CT) and Zach Goodrich (15 CT) and second teamer Gray Bodden (14 CT). In cage, Towson is backed by reigning CAA Player of the Week Tyler Canto, who made 17 saves at Drexel to bring his season total to 147. He has a 54.2 save percentage and a goals against average of 10.41. At the X, sturdy backup Jack McNallen has won 28 of his 54 draws, coupled with 14 ground balls and three goals on three shots.

Scouting the Third-Seeded Blue Hens
Delaware enters as the number three seed in the CAA Tournament, finishing the regular season with a 3-2 mark in league play and a 10-4 overall record. The Blue Hens' offense is led by Co-Offensive Player of the Year Charlie Kitchen (35-25-60) and Rookie of the Year Tye Kurtz (31-18-49). Joe Eisele (30-6-36) and Dean DiSimone (24-11-35) are over the 30-point plateau as well. In net, second team goalie Matt DeLuca has made 188 saves at a 59.3 percent clip and carries a goals against average of 9.28. Delaware has struggled at the X this season, paced by a 42.1 winning percentage from Joe Lenskold (99-235). He leads with 44 ground balls, two ahead of first team pick Austin Haynes is second in ground balls with 42 while forcing a team-best 22 turnovers.

Towson-Delaware History
Thursday's showdown will be the 62nd meeting all-time between the Tigers and the Blue Hens, dating back to the 1961 season. Towson owns an all-time series record of 43-18, including a 14-12 win earlier this season at Delaware Stadium. This marks the second-straight season Towson meets the Blue Hens in the CAA Semifinals, the first time the programs meet in the postseason in back-to-back years since three straight from 2005-07. Towson has won each of the last four meetings against the Blue Hens and sit at 3-0 against head coach Ben DeLuca.

Towson-Delaware By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson 43-18
at Towson Towson 20-6
at Delaware Towson 15-7
at Neutral Sites Towson 1-0
at Unknown Sites Towson 7-5
First Meeting  1961 (Delaware 6-3)
Last Meeting April 20, 2019
No. 13 Towson 14, No. 20 Delaware 12
Streak......................................................... Towson +4

Last Time Out vs. Delaware | April 20, 2019 | Newark, Del. | Delaware Stadium
A mid-game surge put the game out of reach as Towson out-scored the Blue Hens 11-4 in the second and third quarters. Towson climbed out of a 5-2 deficit in the first quarter, aided by a four-for-four afternoon on the extra-man. Grant Maloof exploded for a six-point day with five goals and one assist while eventual Co-Player of the Year Brendan Sunday had five points on four goals and one assist. Jack McNallen came in for faceoff relief and went 14-of-23 with nine ground balls. Delaware was led by Dean DiSimone with four goals. Netminder Matt DeLuca was held well below his season average with just eight saves for the Blue Hens.

With a Win Thursday Towson Would...
- Improve to 44-10 all-time against Delaware, the second-most wins for Towson over a single team.
- Advance to its fifth-straight CAA Championship game and sixth overall under head coach Shawn Nadelen.
- Run Towson's winning streak over the Blue Hens to five.
- Be Towson's fifth-straight CAA Semifinal win.
- Bring its neutral record to 2-1 this season and first neutral win since March 8.
- Hand Shawn Nadelen the 82nd win of his career.

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".

Lock it Up. No YOU Lock it up.
With Towson's 14-12 win over No. 20 Delaware last weekend, the Tigers secured a berth in the upcoming CAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament, hosted by the regular season champion. The CAA Semifinals are set for May 2 while the title game with an automatic qualifier on the line is slated for May 4.

The field for the upcoming tournament has been set, featuring Towson, Delaware, Drexel and UMass. Fairfield and Hofstra have been eliminated from the postseason. This weekend's games will determine the seeding for the championship.

Towson, Delaware and UMass are all 3-1 in the CAA this season. Delaware and UMass play Friday afternoon while Towson plays Drexel on Saturday. The Tigers can still host the CAA Championships with a win on Saturday, coupled by a Delaware win Friday afternoon.

Since head coach Shawn Nadelen took over the program for the 2012 season, Towson is the only team in league to qualify for every CAA Tournament in that span. Since the first CAA Tournament in 2003, Towson has missed the playoffs twice, 2008 and 2011.

Premier Lacrosse League Draft Results
In the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday, the upstart Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) aired its 2019 College Draft on NBC Sports. Two Tigers heard their names called early in the 24-slot draft.

Senior defensive midfielder and two-time All-American Zach Goodrich was selected third overall by the Chrome Lacrosse Club by legendary head coach Dom Starsia. It was the second time this spring Goodrich was drafted third overall by a professional team after he was selected by the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse.

Classmate and All-American Alex Woodall (Annapolis) was selected fourth overall by the Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club, picked by Jim Stagnitta. He would join 2017 teammate Ryan Drenner (Westminster) on a roster that is heavy with talent from the state of Maryland. Woodall was also the first overall selection in the MLL Draft by the now-shuttered Ohio Machine.

One of the Active Greats
Senior faceoff specialist Alex Woodall currently ranks second among active NCAA Division I lacrosse players with 673 career faceoff wins. He trails only Yale's TD Ierlan (918). Woodall surpassed Justin Berry for the program's all-time career faceoff wins in the Tigers' win over Hofstra, winning the 508th of his Black & Gold career. Berry and Woodall are the only players in program history to win at least 500 career faceoffs. Woodall, who became just the second player in program history with at least 200 faceoff wins in a season, has a chance at the program's single-season faceoff wins mark of 257, set by Justin Berry in 2001.

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 66 total wins in the CAA, six 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 seven occasions.

Team: Wins (CAA Titles, Last)
Towson: 67 (7, 2017)
Hofstra: 61 (2, 2008)
Drexel: 51 (1, 2014)
Delaware: 37 (3, 2011)
UMass: 29 (2, 2012, 2018)
Fairfield: 11 (0)

Watch Me Now
The Tewaaraton Foundation announced its first round of additions to its watch list for the prestigious Tewaaraton Award. Two Tigers were added to the list and served as the only additional student-athletes from the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Sophomore close defenseman Koby Smith was added along with senior attackman Brendan Sunday. The pair join seniors Zach Goodrich (SSDM) and Alex Woodall (FOGO) on the previously announced watch list.

Turnovers: Great for Dessert, Not for Lacrosse
It's really tough to score without the ball. Unfortunately for the Tigers this season, turnovers have been an issue. Towson cleaned up its ball control in the first three quarters against Hofstra, but eight miscues in the fourth quarter allowed the Pride to creep back into the game.

Since Towson came under the guidance of head coach Shawn Nadelen in 2012, Towson is 77-42 when turning the ball over fewer than 20 times, but sit at 3-7 in that span when finishing with at least 20 turnovers. Towson is 7-0 this year with fewer than 20 turnovers, but 1-3 on the year when turning it over more than 20 times.

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.

Strength of Schedule
Towson cannot be accused of ducking top opponents this season. Through last weekend's games, the Tigers have one of the most difficult schedules, per the NCAA Statistics report. Towson's past opposition has a combined winning percentage of .628 (91-54), which ranks 5th among Division I programs. Towson's entire 2019 slate is currently 101-68 through April 25, a .598 winning percentage that ranks seventh in Division I.

X Marks the Spot
Alex Woodall has won double-digit draws in 15 of his last 16 games. He went 5-for-5 at Delaware before suffering an upper body injury early in the first quarter. Over that stretch, he has won 268 of his 360 draws, a remarkable 74.4 winning percentage at the X. Woodall has grabbed 180 ground balls in that span. 

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, Marylander has made a lasting impact already with his 561 faceoffs in the Black & Gold. He currently ranks first all-time in program history, collecting the 508th win of his career against Hofstra and surpassing Justin Berry who won 507 faceoffs from 1998-2001.

All-Time Faceoff Leader Board
1. 561 Alex Woodall 2017-Pres. (Career at Towson)
2. 507 Justin Berry 1998-01
3. 466 Matt Eckerl 2004-07
4. 411 Scott Mullins 1983-86
5. 375 Mark Goers 1993-95

Home Cooking
As the 2019 season got underway, the Tigers have some home cooking to look forward to.  After picking up a 10-9 win over Hofstra in the CAA opener, the Tigers continued their winning ways at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium. 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 (as of April 27)
Towson: 42-20
Hofstra: 36-25
UMass: 36-22
Fairfield: 32-27
Drexel: 32-19
Delaware: 26-31 

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

One and Done
Since head coach Shawn Nadelen took over the program in 2012, the Tigers have found themselves in some tight contests. The March 30 game against Hofstra marked the 32nd time Towson was involved in a one-goal game. And the Tigers have flexed their clutch muscles in those games, sitting at 22-10 in games decided by one goal after a 10-9 win Hofstra 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. 

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 52-7 in games when Towson scores double digits. When Towson's defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 70-11 in that same time after an 11-9 win at Drexel. On 45 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 45-0 record.