Opening Faceoff
When opening faceoff rolls around on Saturday,  it will be be 336 days, 2 hours and 7 minutes since Towson men's lacrosse last played in a competitive game. Towson and #6 Virginia meet for the first time since 2010 to snap that drought.

In The National Rankings
The Tigers received votes in the preseason USILA Coaches' Poll, but did not receives votes in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll Virginia is ranked fifth in the USILA Coaches' Poll and sixth in the preseason Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.

The Roadtrippin' Tigers
It has been a WHILE since Towson men's lacrosse played a game outside the Greater Baltimore area. The Tigers' last played outside the state of Maryland on May 4, 2019 in the CAA Championships in Amherst, Massachusetts. Towson returns five of its six top scorers, including Brody McLean (9g, 3a) and James Avanzato (6g, 3a), who finished first and third, respectively, in a COVID shortened-season. Austin Stewart (1g, 8a) is the top returning feeder. Defensively, Towson returns Preseason All-American Koby Smith (2g, 3a) at close defense, who add three caused turnovers and 11 ground balls. Juniors Garrett Zungailia and Mo Sillah caused seven turnovers apiece last spring, while also grabbing 12 ground balls each. Between the pipes is redshirt junior Shane Brennan. The New Yorker made 50 saves last year with a .510 save percentage. At the X, another Shane, this one a Santora, will lead Towson on Saturday. He went 21-of-46 with five ground balls. Throwback style midfielder Jake McLean will play a two-way role while Brandon Hund will get a heavy dose at defensive midfield.

Scouting the No. 5/No. 6 Cavaliers
A top-five Virginia team returns from a shortened season after going 4-2 in the first month and a half of 2020. The Cavaliers are the reigning national champions after claiming the title in 2019. Matt Moore (19g, 16a) returns for Virginia after leading the way last season. Sophomore Payton Cormier (12g, 7a) is the second leading returner. Senior Jared Conners (10ct, 28gb) returns on defense while junior faceoff specialist Petey LaSalla is back at the X (73-124, .589) after a 40 ground ball season. In net, senior Alex Rode is likely to get the nod after a 79-save, .552 save percentage season last spring. He allowed 64 goals in his 350 minutes, accounting for a 10.97 goals against average.

Towson-Virginia History
It's been over a decade since the Tigers and Cavaliers clashed, dating back to March 21, 2010 at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium. Virginia won 15-10 that afternoon, bringing its series record to 13-4. Towson is looking for its first win over the Cavaliers since the famed 1991 team topped UVa 14-13 on May 15, 1991 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Virginia has won the last 10 meetings. The two programs met every season from 2001 to 2010.

Towson-Virginia By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Virginia 13-4
at Towson Virginia 7-1
at Virginia Virginia 6-3
at Neutral Sites n/a
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting  April 29, 1972 (UVa 15, Towson 9)
Last Meeting March 21, 2010
#1 Virginia 15, Towson 10
Streak......................................................... Towson -10

Last Time Out vs. Virginia | March 21, 2010 | Towson, Md. | Johnny Unitas ® Stadium
Nearly 2,500 people at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium enjoyed a tight game between the Towson Tigers and the top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers. Towson led 4-2 after the first, but a six-goal second quarter put Virginia up 8-6 at the break. Virginia won 15-10 behind four goals from Chris Bocklet. Chrisitan Pastirik led the way for Towson with a hat trick, as did Matt Hughes. Travis Love made 13 saves, including seven in a busy third quarter. Adam Ghitelman made nine saves for  Virginia. Towson struggled to score on the EMO, potting one man-up goal on six chances.

With a Win Saturday Towson Would...
- Pick up its first win of the 2021 season.
- Snap a seven-game slide dating back to the 2019 season.
- Halt a 10-game slide against the Cavaliers.
- Be Towson's first win in a true road game since April 27, 2019 (11-9 at Drexel).
- See Towson win its fifth game all-time against a fifth-ranked opponent.

Versus the Champs
- Towson is not unfamiliar with taking on the reigning NCAA Division I Champion.
- Saturday's showdown will be the 21st time in program history the Tigers take on the previous champion.
- Towson has faced a reigning champion Virginia three times previously: 1973, 2004, 2007.
- Towson is 1-19 versus the reigning champions.
- The Tigers last met the reigning champion on May 15, 2016, topping No. 2 Denver 10-9 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament (on short rest after a play-in game, to boot).
- Saturday will be the fourth time Towson opens a season against the reigning champion: 1980 vs. Johns Hopkins, 1982 vs. North Carolina and 1983 vs. North Carolina.
- Six of those games have been decided by one goal, with three requiring overtime.

Preseason Accolades
Senior defenseman Koby Smith was honored several times during the preseason. He was selected as the CAA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and was a second team All-America pick by both the USILA and Inside Lacrosse. Additionally, Smith was selected to the Preseason All-CAA Team.

Eyes On
Senior defenseman and USILA All-American Koby Smith was one of 50 men's lacrosse players named to the 2020 Tewaaraton Trophy Watch list early last season. Smith was added to the Watch List in March last season as well. Now in his 10th season at the helm of the program, head coach Shawn Nadelen has had at least one player named to the first round of the Tewaaraton Watch List in every season: Koby Smith (2020), Zach Goodrich, Alex Woodall (2019), Goodrich (2018), Jack Adams, Ryan Drenner (2017), Tyler White (2016), Andrew Hodgson (2015), Thomas DeNapoli (2014), DeNapoli, Andrew Wascavage (2013) and Peter Mezzanotte (2012).

Ever See Half a Bird?
This season, the Tigers will enter in round-robin-and-a-half style conference schedule. Towson will play all five CAA opponents, while squaring off with long-time rivals Delaware, Drexel and Hofstra twice, once at home and once on the road. Towson will play eight league games this spring, three more than the normal five-game slate. Hofstra will host the 2021 CAA Men's Lacrosse Championship at Shuart Stadium in early May. The top four teams will vie for the league's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.

February Stars
The concept of February lacrosse is a newer development, much to the chagrin of fans. Towson's first-ever game in amethyst birth month was February 28, 1998, an 18-15 track meet against UMBC. All-time, the Tigers are 24-23 in the month of February. Under head coach Shawn Nadelen, the Tigers are 17-15 in February. Towson and Virginia have met just once in February, a 12-8 decision for UVa in Charlottesville on February 24, 2001.

On this Date: February 6
- Towson has never played a game on February 6.
- Saturday's game will be the earliest game on the calendar in program history.
- The previous earliest start for the Tigers was February 8, done three times (2013, 2014, 2020).

Versus: The ACC (Current Membership): 19-43
Duke: 7-4 | North Carolina: 5-16 | Notre Dame: 0-1 | Syracuse: 3-9 | Virginia: 4-13
- Saturday's game will be the 63rd all-time meeting between the Tigers and the current alignment of the ACC.\
- Towson is 19-43 all-time against the league.
-  2021 marks the fourth(*ish)-straight season the Tigers will lineup against an opponent from the ACC, dating back to the 2017 season when Towson topped No. 2 Syracuse 10-7 in the NCAA Quarterfinals. (*Towson was scheduled to play Duke on March 14, 2020 before the season was halted).
- That NCAA Tournament win was the last time Towson beat an ACC opponent (May 21, 2017).
- Head coach Shawn Nadelen is 1-4 against current ACC opponents.

All-Time vs. No. 5
- Saturday's tilt will be the 12th meeting all-time between Towson and an opponent ranked fifth in the USILA Coaches' Poll.
- Towson is 4-7 all-time against fifth-ranked foes.
- The Tigers have won two of their last three against number five, besting Johns Hopkins in 2015 and Loyola the following season.
- Towson has played No. 5 Virginia once, nipping the Cavaliers 14-13 in the opening round of the 1991 NCAA Tournament in Charlottesville.
- The Tigers last met number five on March 24, 2018, an 11-10 overtime loss at Denver.

The Top Third
- Towson University head coach Shawn Nadelen is in his 10th season at the helm of the program.
- Hired as the top man following the 2011 season, Nadelen is the 25th-longest tenured Division I head men's lacrosse in the country.
- Nadelen was one of four head coaches elevated during the 2011 offseason: Brian Brecht (Rutgers), Keegan Wilkinson (Marist) and Taylor Wray (Saint Joseph's).

On the Road Again (FINALLY)
- Towson will play outside of Greater Baltimore for the first time since May 4, 2019 in the CAA Championship game against Drexel.
- The Tigers played within 15 miles of homebase for the first month and a half of 2020.
- Towson won't play outside the state again until Feb. 27 at Richmond.

Towson Lacrosse x Lax Sports Network
- Towson men's lacrosse and Lax Sports Network will continue to enjoy the partnership the organizations have fostered over the years.
- This spring, Towson will appear on LSN four times as the CAA Game of the Week: Feb. 20 vs. Duke, March 13 vs. Hofstra, March 20 at Delaware, and March 27 vs. Loyola.
- The CAA Semifinals and Championship at Hofstra will also be carried on LSN.

The Gauntlet
- As of the preseason polls, the Tigers are slated to play five teams ranked in the USILA Coaches' Poll.
- 2021 Opponents Ranked (Preseason USILA): No. 1 Duke (Feb. 20), No. 5 Virginia (Feb. 6), Loyola (March 27), No. 14 UMass (April 17), Richmond (Feb. 27)
- The most ranked teams Towson has played in a single season was nine during the 2013 season (3-6), followed by eight in 2017 (4-4). Towson played seven ranked in 2019 (3-4) as well.
- Towson played four ranked opponents in six games during 2020: No. 11 Johns Hopkins, No. 12 Cornell, No. 12 Loyola, and No. 13 Georgetown.
- The Tigers played five single-digit ranked opponents during the 2019 season: No. 7 Johns Hopkins, No. 1 Loyola, No. 3 Cornell, No. 2 Duke, No. 6 Maryland.

The North Americans
Towson has representation from 13 different US states and two Canadian Provinces: California, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, British Columbia and Ontario.

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)

CB30 Award
In the summer of 2018, 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, Carson Gaeger will wear a CB30 badge on his jerseys to honor the late Carl Beernink. This annual award will be given to a Towson player who embodies the fighting spirit of Carl Beernink.

Cs the Day!
This season, head coach Shawn Nadelen and his staff announced three student-athletes that will serve as captains for the 2021 season.

Fifth-year senior midfielder Jake McLean and senior close defenseman Koby Smith will be captains for a second season. Sophomore Brandon Hund will be a captain for the first time in his career. He is the second-ever sophomore to be named captain for Towson.

Home is Where the Heart (and winning) Is
Johnny Unitas ® Stadium is a tough place to play for visiting opponents. 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 March 10, 2020)
Towson: 42-23
Hofstra: 39-26
UMass: 39-24
Fairfield: 36-27
Drexel: 34-19
Delaware: 28-32

Near. Far. Wherever You Are.
Playing for the home crowd is always a pleasure for any team. But the Tigers have had success on the road in the Shawn Nadelen Era as well. Since taking over the program in 2012, the Tigers have racked a 33-27 (.550) record in road games.

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 53-8 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 during the regular season. On 45 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 45-0 record.