Opening Faceoff
The Tigers return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons and fifth under eight-year head coach Shawn Nadelen, earning the national number six seed and the right to host the first round.

In The National Rankings
After claiming the program's eight CAA Championship, the Tigers climbed back into the top 10 of the national polls this week. In the USILA Coaches' Poll, Towson vaulted up to the number eight slot while jumping to the seven hole in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. The guest Terrapins were ranked sixth by the coaches and 11th in the Media Poll.

The Sixth-Seeded Tigers
Rolling into the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers are clicking away, winning four straight and hanging some impressive scores on the board, including a CAA Tournament-record 34 goals in two games. Senior Brendan Sunday (45-24-69) leads the offense in all three categories while Timmy Monahan (26-18-44) and Brody McLean (35-6-41) have surged lately. Luke Fromert (27-10-37) continues his breakout season with one of the best scoring percentages in the country (.491) and leads Towson with six man-up goals. Grant Maloof (22-11-33) jumped over the 30-point barrier with a four-goal burst in the CAA Championship. At the X, Jack McNallen has been a solid backup for the injured Alex Woodall, winning 65 of his 118 draws (.551), including a CAA Tournament and school record 27 in the league semifinals. Koby Smith has been a weapon on defense all year, causing 19 turnovers while Zach Goodrich has forced 17, two shy of a career-best. In goal, Tyler Canto has logged 834 minutes, making 172 saves, stopping 17 Drexel shots en route to All-Tournament honors. He has a GAA of 10.72 to date.

Scouting the Traveling Terrapins
Maryland enters the NCAA Tournament on a two-game schneid, dropping back-to-back games to Johns Hopkins in the regular season finale and the Big Ten Tournament. Maryland's offense is a two-headed monster with Logan Wisnauskas (39-32-71) and Jared Bernhardt (45-25-70) leading the way. Anthony DeMaio (22-18-40) is third with 40 points. The Terps' man-up unit has scored 10 times this season, backed by three goals from DeMaio. Defensively, Nick Brozowski leads with nine caused turnovers while Chris Corley has forced eight. Netminder Danny Dolan has made 167 saves but has allowed 154 goals for a 52.0 save percentage. He carries a 10.41 goals against average. At the X, Austin Henningsen sets the pace with a 60.3 winning percentage, winning 143 of his 237 chances. He leads with 64 ground balls.

Towson-Maryland History
A quick trip of 45 miles separate the Tigers and the Terrapins, but the programs have not faced one another since the 2011 season. The Terps lead the all-time series 28-5, winning the last 10 meetings. However, Towson won the last postseason meeting with a 12-11 decision in the NCAA Quarterfinals during the Tigers' 2001 run to Championship Weekend. The Tigers are looking for their first-ever win over Maryland at home since the series first began on April 3, 1971.

Towson-Maryland By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Maryland 28-5
at Towson Maryland 16-0
at Maryland Maryland 12-4
at Neutral Sites Towson 1-0
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting  April 3, 1971 (UMD 22, TU 6)
Last Meeting March 12, 2011
No. 8 Maryland 8, Towson 4
Streak......................................................... Towson -10

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".

Why is it Johnny Unitas ® Stadium?
Sunday's game will be held on Minnegan Field at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium. The Minnegan Field name is straight forward: Donald "Doc" Minnegan was a long-time coach and administrator in the Towson athletic department.

But why is it called Johnny Unitas ® Stadium? Johnny Unitas had a deep connection with the University. The former Baltimore Colts legend was the parent of three Towson students. 

Several weeks prior to his untimely passing, "Johnny U" began serving as community liaison for Tiger Athletics. His role was to assist in obtaining a naming rights partner for the University's new stadium. The legendary Golden Arm died suddenly, less than a week after tossing his last pass to commemorate the opening of Towson's new stadium at ceremonies on September 5, 2002.

High spirits returned when Sandy Unitas chose to assume her husband's role with Towson. With Johnny's two youngest children as Towson students, Sandy sought to memorialize her husband's legacy on campus by having the stadium named Johnny Unitas® Stadium.

Last Time Out vs. Maryland | March 12, 2011 | Towson, Md. | Johnny Unitas ® Stadium
It was a back-and-forth battle at The U in the last meeting between the Tigers and the Terps. Maryland held a 3-2 lead after a 15-minute stretch that included two lead changes and a tie. The guests scored three times in the second for a 6-2 halftime lead before Towson pulled back within two with back-to-back goals in the third quarter while keeping the Terps off the board in that frame. Neither team scored through the first two-thirds of the final quarter before No. 8 Maryland struck twice in the final four minutes for an 8-6 final. Towson had four different goal scorers while Andrew Hodgson and Pat Britton added assists for a two-point day apiece in the midfield. Maryland had a four-point day from Travis Reed as Niko Amato stopped eight Tiger shots.

With a Win Sunday Towson Would...
- Halt a 10-game skid against the Terrapins, dating back to a 12-11 win in the NCAA Quarterfinals on May 20, 2011 in College Park.
- Advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the third time in last four seasons (2016, 2017).
- Collect its first home win over Maryland in 17 tries.
- Improve to 6-0 in home NCAA Tournament games under head coach Shawn Nadelen.
- Raise its record to 17-7 in elimination games under Nadelen.
- See Towson lift its home record to 4-2 this season.
- Be Shawn Nadelen's first career win over Maryland head coach John Tillman.
- Hand Nadelen the 84th win of his career.

What Do We Say to the God of Death?
Not Today.
Since Shawn Nadelen took over the program for the 2012 season, the Tigers are 16-7 in elimination games between the CAA and NCAA Tournaments. The Tigers are a perfect 5-0 in elimination games at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium under Nadelen.

WE'RE BACK
For the first time since the 2005 campaign, the Tigers return to Johnny Unitas ® Stadium for a first round game. In Division I NCAA Tournament games, the Tigers are 3-3 all-time at Unitas ® Stadium, winners of their last two NCAA showdowns at home. The Tigers topped High Point 10-8 in a 2015 preliminary round game, followed the next season with an 18-5 preliminary round win over Hobart.

The Real Hot Bed
There are several areas around the northeast that are considered traditional lacrosse hotbeds: Maryland, Long Island, Central and Western New York. And while the game is expanding across the country (which is a GREAT thing!) the Greater Baltimore area is the capital of the lacrosse world right now. A quarter of the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament field is situated either in Baltimore County (Towson, UMBC) or Baltimore City (Johns Hopkins, Loyola). Additionally, Terrapins' home base is obviously within the state, landing five teams from the state of Maryland. 

Prior to Wednesday's preliminary round game, the State of Maryland leads the field this year with five tournament teams, followed by New York (Army West Point, Marist, Syracuse), and Pennsylvania (Robert Morris, Penn, Penn State) with three. The Commonwealth of Virginia has a pair (Richmond, Virginia). Connecticut has one (Yale), as does The District of Columbia (Georgetown), North Carolina (Duke) and Indiana (Notre Dame).

Merge Left Onto I-70
Brendan Sunday is one point shy of hitting the 70 point plateau. He leads Towson with 45 points and 24 assists. Should he score or assist any goal on Sunday, he will become the Tigers' first 70 point getter since Brad Reppert in 2001. Sunday's 69 points are currently tied for sixth-most in a single season with Kyle Campbell, who also had 69 points with the famed 2001 team that reached the NCAA Semifinals. Sunday is eight goals shy of Campbell's single-season record of 53, set in 2001.

The Real Flagship
The University of Maryland may be the flagship school for the University System of Maryland, but it's the Towson University Tigers who boast more players from the Old Line State. The Tigers roster of 50 has 32 players from the State of Maryland while the Terrapins sport just 14.

You Look Familiar...
While the Tigers and Terrapins haven't squared off since the 2011 season, there is one Towson student-athlete who has suited up for both squads. Senior midfielder Timmy Monahan played his first two seasons at the University of Maryland before transferring to Towson University for the 2018 and 2019 campaigns. While with Maryland, Monahan played in 19 games, scoring three times along with one assist. He appeared in nine games for the Terps, who went on to win the 2017 National Championship.

All In the Family
Maryland's assistant coach J.L. Reppert might be an offensive talent whisperer, but perhaps he learned a thing or two from his younger brother, Brad, who played collegiate lacrosse at Towson University. Reppert the Younger is one of the Tigers' all-time career points and goals leaders, finishing with 157 points on 92 goals and 65 assists. His 70 points in 2001 stands as the fifth-most for a single season in program history.

Come See Us!
Through last weekend's games, the Tigers rank seventh in Division I in terms of average attendance, with over 2,000 guests per game. Towson's cumulative home attendance this season has been 10,038, which ranks 15th in Division I, with only five games played at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium to date. This season, over 20,100 souls have seen the Black & Gold take the field, including home games, road contests and a trio of neutral-site tilts. The regular season home finale attendance of 2,314 was the 19th largest crowd for a Towson men's lacrosse game at Unitas ® Stadium since the Tigers joined the CAA for the 2002 season.

Need a New Record Book
After the Tigers' 18-11 win over third-seeded Delaware and 16-14 win over fourth-seeded Drexel, the CAA record book is going to need some updates.

- Brendan Sunday's five assists vs. Delaware tied a CAA Championship record.
- Brendan Sunday's eight points vs. Delaware tied a CAA Championship record.
- Towson's 18 goals vs. Delaware tied a CAA Championship record.
- Towson's 28 team faceoffs won vs. Delaware set a CAA Championship record.
- Towson's 87.5 faceoff winning percent vs. Delaware tied a CAA Championship record.
- Jack McNallen's 27 faceoff wins vs. Delaware tied a CAA single game record.
- Towson's combined 34 goals in the CAA Tournament are a Championship record.

Additionally, Jack McNallen reset the progam's single-game wins record with his 27 wins, surpassing Justin Berry's 25. 

The Great 8
Last weekend, Towson University men's lacrosse captured its eighth CAA championship and fifth since Shawn Nadelen took over the program in 2012. The Tigers have hoisted the trophy in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and now 2019. The rest of the current CAA alignment have combined to win the championships eight times. There have been 18 CAA Tournaments since the league began sponsoring men's lacrosse in 2001. Towson has captured nearly half of those titles.

He Was a Tiger First
There is little doubt of the impact that legendary head coach, the late great Dick Edell, had on the game of lacrosse. Inducted into nearly every Hall of Fame imaginable, Edell patrolled the sidelines for the University of Maryland Terrapins from 1984 until 2001. But his collegiate career began right here at Towson University as an All-American midfielder under the guidance of the Tigers' longtime head coach Carl Runk. The Big Man graduated from Towson in 1967 and went on to coach the Tigers' freshman team in 1969 and 1970 before moving to coach at nearby Calvert Hall College High School. Edell would later go on to coach the University of Baltimore and Army West Point before finishing his career at Maryland. Edell past away a year ago on May 2, 2018.

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 67 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 11 times, bringing home the trophy on a league-record eight occasions.

Team: Wins (CAA Titles, Last)
Towson: 67 (8, 2019)
Hofstra: 61 (2, 2008)
Drexel: 51 (1, 2014)
Delaware: 37 (3, 2011)
UMass: 29 (2, 2012, 2018)
Fairfield: 11 (0)

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 78-42 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 9-1 this year with fewer than 20 turnovers, but 1-3 on the year when turning it over more than 20 times.

2019 MLL Draft Results
Three Towson University Tigers were selected in this year's Major League Lacrosse Draft, hosted at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina. Faceoff specialist Alex Woodall was the first overall draft pick as the Ohio Machine claimed him to begin the event. Defensive midfielder Zach Goodrich was selected third overall as the Boston Cannons claimed the two-time All-American. Breakout attackman Brendan Sunday was snagged 13th overall by the Atlanta Blaze.

Rank and File
March 23 was the Tigers' sixth contest this season against an opponent ranked in the USILA Division I polls. The Tigers are currently 3-3 against the top 20. The Tigers have not beaten four ranked teams in a single season since the 2017 campaign when Towson went 4-4 versus ranked opponents, collecting wins over No. 6 Johns Hopkins (13-8), No. 9 Hofstra (10-8), No. 13 Penn State (12-8, NCAA First Round) and No. 2 Syracuse (10-7, NCAA Quarterfinals).

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 .635 (120-69), which ranks third among Division I programs. Towson's entire 2019 slate is currently 127-75 through May 4, a .629 winning percentage that ranks fourth in Division I.

More Strength
As proof of the previous note, the Tigers have played at least four teams that have reached their respective conference championship games. Title game opponents for Towson include: Drexel (CAA), Denver (BIG EAST), Georgetown (BIG EAST) and Johns Hopkins (Big Ten). Additionally, the Tigers scrimmaged Virginia (ACC) in the preseason as the Cavaliers defeated Notre Dame in the title game.

I Love Goooooooooooold
There has been little doubt that the Tigers have been a force when donning the gold throwback jerseys this season and the numbers don't lie. Towson has worn the porthole throwbacks four times to date, scoring 53 goals in those contests, averaging 13.25 goals per gold-jerseyed game. In the black jerseys, Towson has scored 86 goals across six games, averaging 12.29. In the traditional home whites, Towson has posted 35 goals at an 11.6 goals per game clip.

Towson is wearing its gold throwbacks for the upcoming CAA Championship game on Saturday against fourth-seeded Drexel.

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

All-Time vs. Number One
The February 27 showdown with Loyola was the 27th meeting all-time in the Division I Era (1980) against a team ranked first in the USILA Coaches' Poll. Towson had not played the number one team in the country since the 2012 CAA Semifinals against UMass in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Tigers, in their first season under Shawn Nadelen, fell 10-3 on the road against a loaded Minutemen squad that featured Doc Schneider in goal and Will Manny at attack.

The Tigers squared off with a Loyola squad ranked first on three previous occasions. Towson is 2-1 in those match ups, win 12-10 in the most recent tussle on Feb. 27, 2019 and now has two home wins over No. 1 Loyola, including an 8-7 overtime thriller on April 4, 1992.

Towson is now 3-24 all-time against number one teams. The first win over number one in program history served as the Tigers' first-ever win over Johns Hopkins, a 9-8 overtime win on May 6, 1989.

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.