Opening Faceoff
Towson makes its fifth-straight appearance in the CAA Tournament Championship game, getting past third-seeded Delaware with a monstrous 18-11 output on Thursday night at Garber Field.

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
Records fell all over the field Thursday night, including the program's record for goals in a CAA Tournament game. Towson is led by CAA Co-Player of the Year Brendan Sunday (42-24-66) who became the Tigers' first 60-point getter since the 2013 campaign. Brody McLean (32-6-38) and Timmy Monahan (24-14-38) are tied for second in points while Luke Fromert (23-10-33) joined the 30-point club with four goals in the CAA Semifinals against Delaware. Grant Maloof (19-10-29) continues his torrid scoring pace and will look to hit that plateau on Saturday. Towson's venerable defense is backed by CAA First Team selection Koby Smith and his 18 caused turnovers. Tewaaraton Nominee Zach Goodrich is second with 15 while second team pick Gray Bodden (14) and Chad Patterson (13) have double digits. Thursday was a coming out party for faceoff man Jack McNallen, who set multiple records with a 27-of-31 night with 17 ground balls. He has won 55 of his 85 chances this season (.647) and has 31 ground balls to his credit. Tyler Canto has stopping 155 opponent shots to date at a 53.4 percent clip. He carries a 10.47 GAA.

Scouting the Fourth-Seeded Dragons
Drexel makes its first appearance in the CAA Championship game since the 2014 campaign by way of a 15-12 win over top-seeded UMass Thursday afternoon. Matthew Varian (29-31-60) leads the charge on offense with Reid Bowering (44-8-52) close behind. The Dragons' man-up unit is deadly with 37 EMO goals to date, paced by 10 from Bowering and seven from Varian. Sean Quinn leads the defense with 23 caused turnovers while Will Stabbert (15) and Matt Klinges (11) are second and third, respectively. In net, Ross Blumenthal has been the go-to with 590 minutes played and 101 saves. He has a 10.87 goals against average and a .486 save percentage. He has seen 352 total shots in 2019.

Towson-Drexel History
Death, taxes and a Towson-Drexel game in the CAA Tournament are the only sure things in life. Saturday's showdown will be the sixth postseason meeting between the programs since Shawn Nadelen took over in 2012. The teams have met previously in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and now 2019. The Tigers lead the all-time series 44-10 after topping the Dragons 11-9 in Philadelphia a week ago. The Tigers have reeled off seven-straight wins over the Dragons, dating back to the 2015 regular season. The Tigers are 8-5 against Drexel under Nadelen and are on the longest winning streak against Drexel since 10 in a row from 1999-2007.

Towson-Drexel By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson 45-10
at Towson Towson 20-3
at Drexel Towson 13-5
at Neutral Sites Towson 2-0
at Unknown Sites Towson 10-2
First Meeting  1962 (Drexel 14, Towson 7)
Last Meeting April 27, 2019
No. 13 Towson 11, Drexel 9
Streak......................................................... Towson +7

Last Time Out vs. Drexel | April 27, 2019 | Philadelphia, Pa. | Vidas Field
Remember that scene in Rocky while the titular character and Apollo Creed just slugged it out in a montage for a while? That was what the Towson-Drexel match looked like earlier this season. The host Dragons held a 5-4 lead at the break before Towson out-scored Drexel 7-4 over the final 30 minutes for an 11-9 win. Timmy Monahan turned in four goals for the Tigers while Brendan Sunday had a split two-goal, two assist day. Tyler Canto made 17 saves in net. Matthew Varian led the day for Drexel with seven points on two goals and five feeds. Reid Bowering accounted for a hat trick as well.

With a Win Saturday Towson Would...
- Improve to 46-10 all-time against Drexel and mark an eight-game winning streak.
- Win its eighth CAA Championship and fourth in the last five seasons and fifth under head coach Shawn Nadelen (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017).
- Earn the league's automatic qualifying bid to the upcoming NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament.
- Bring its neutral record to 3-1 this season and second-straight neutral win.
- Hand Shawn Nadelen the 83rd win of his career.

Come See Us!
Through last weekend's games, the Tigers rank sixth 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 11 in Division I, with only five games played at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium to date. This season, nearly 20,000 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.

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".

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

- Brendan Sunday's five assists tied a CAA Championship record.
- Brendan Sunday's eight points tied a CAA Championship record.
- Towson's 18 goals tied a CAA Championship record.
- Towson's 28 team faceoffs won set a CAA Championship record.
- Towson's 87.5 faceoff winning percent tied a CAA Championship record.
- Jack McNallen's 27 faceoff wins tie a CAA single game record.

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

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 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)

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.

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 2, a .629 winning percentage that ranks fourth in Division I.

More Strength
As proof of the previous note, the Tiges have played at least four teams that have reached their respect conference championship games, with another two potentially reaching Friday night. Title game opponents for Towson include: Drexel (CAA), Denver (BIG EAST), Georgetown (BIG EAST) and Johns Hopkins (Big Ten) with Loyola (Patriot) and Cornell (Ivy) playing Friday night. Additionally, the Tigers scrimmaged Virginia (ACC) in the preseason as the Cavaliers battle Notre Dame in the title game on Saturday.

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.

Topping 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

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.