Opening Faceoff
One final step outside the conference schedule awaits the Towson University men's lacrosse team as the Tigers gear up for a local rivalry game with Loyola University Maryland. It will be a homecoming for the Tigers as Towson has not played at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium in over a month.

In The National Rankings
Towson did not receive votes in the major polls this week. The Greyhounds were slotted 12th in both the USILA Coaches' Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Loyola was listed 13th in the US Lacrosse Magazine Top 20.

The Homecoming Tigers
A four-game road swing comes to an end as the Tigers return to Johnny Unitas ® Stadium for the first time in a month. Towson went 1-3 on the road during that span. Fortuntely for the Tigers, five of their next seven games will be at the friendly confines of The U, where Towson is 1-1 this spring. There's a new points leader for Towson as James Avanzato (12g, 10a) had a seven-point showing at No. 16 Delaware last weekend. Brody McLean (16g, 4a) is second while steady scorer Andrew Milani (17g) is third. Shane Santora continues to improve at the faceoff X, winning 50 percent of his draws last weekend, improving to 58-130 on the season (.446) along with 18 ground balls. Defensively, Mo Sillah is Towson's top takeaway man, causing 11 turnovers paired with a dozen ground balls. Rangy Garrett Zungailia has nine caused turnovers as well. Towson's power play was stymied last weekend, but still clicks at a 35 percent rate while the man-down unit has allowed just four goals in 2021. Shane Brennan has made 83 saves between the pipes and is just under 50 percent in saves this season.

Scouting the Crosstowning Greyhounds
Loyola makes the five mile trip from the Ridley Athletic Complex to Johnny Unitas ® Stadium for Saturday's shown. The Greyhounds are 4-2 overall after dispatching Bucknell 24-10 last weekend. Three Greyhounds are north of 20 points, paced by 30 from Aidan Olmstead (12g, 18a), followed by Kevin Lindley (22g, 1a) and Evan James (14g, 6a). Bailey Savio has been the primary faceoff specialist, winning 51.9 percent of his chances (56-108). Sam Shafer has been the go-to in net, making 48 saves in 323 minutes of work, doing so at a 49.5 percent rate. He carries a 9.09 goals against average.

Towson-Loyola History
One of the longest running series in program history, Towson and Loyola meet for the 64th time this Saturday. With five miles between schools, Towson and Loyola have played at least once a season every year since 1959, minus the 1980 campaign. Loyola leads the all-time standings at 34-29, but the Tigers won the last clash at Unitas ® Stadium, a 12-10 Towson win over then-No. 1 Loyola. The Tigers are 15-16 all-time at home against Loyola and average 10.29 goals per game against their Charlestown rivals.

Towson-Loyola By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record  Loyola 34-29
at Towson Loyola 15-16
at Loyola Loyola 13-17
at Neutral Sites Even 1-1
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting  April 25, 1959 (Loyola 8-6)
Last Meeting Feb. 26, 2020
#12 Loyola 15, Towson 6
Streak Towson -1

Last Time Out vs. Loyola | Feb. 26, 2020 | Baltimore, Md. | Ridley Athletic Complex
A tight, two-goal game through 45 minutes was disrupted by a 7-1 fourth quarter from the Greyhounds in a night time meeting between the long-time rivals. Towson was led by three assists from Austin Stewart and another three points on two goals and one helper from Brody McLean. The Tigers were without the services of close defenseman Koby Smith, who missed the game with a lower body injury. Aidan Olmstead led the game for Loyola with five points (1g, 4a) while Kevin Lindley tagged Towson for four goals. Shane Brennan made 16 saves for Towson against nine from Loyola starter Sam Shafer.

With a Win Saturday Towson Would...
- Snap a three-game slide on the road.
- See Towson win its 30th game all-time against Loyola.
- Push Towson's winning streak at home against Loyola to two.
    Towson has not won back-to-back home games against Loyola since winning nine- straight home games from 1970-1987.
- Improve Towson to 2-1 at home this spring.
- Be Towson's first win over a ranked opponent since a 14-12 decision at #20 Delaware on April 20, 2019.
- See the Tigers first home win over a ranked opponent since beating No. 1 Loyola on Feb. 27, 2019.

Long-Standing Rivals
- Saturday will be the 64th meeting all-time between Towson and Loyola.
- With that meeting, it will tie Towson's series with Delaware for the most games played.
- There are only two teams in program history Towson has played more than 60 times
- Towson vs. Delaware: 64 Meetings (Towson Leads 45-19)
- Towson vs. Loyola: 63 Meetings (Loyola Leads 34-29)
- The Charles Street rivalry is about as even as can be.
- Towson has out-scored Loyola 648-645 all-time. Both teams average about 10 goals per.

FINALLY BACK HOME
- The Tigers return to the friendly confines of Johnny Unitas ® Stadium for the first time since Feb. 20, 2021 when Towson hosted No. 1 Duke.
- Towson is 1-1 at home this season.
- The Tigers sit at 40-24 all-time at home under the guidance of head coach Shawn Nadelen.

Toques Off
- Fifth-year senior Brody McLean scored a hat trick in back-to-back games for the Tigers to open the 2021 campaign.
- He was the first Tiger to score hat tricks in back-to-back games to open the season since he himself did it to open the 2019 season.
- McLean now has three hat tricks in six games for the Tigers, adding the 10th of his career at Mount St. Mary's.

The Steve Grossi Reunion Tour
Hop in your van and get ready for a tour. Last Saturday kicked off a four-part series of the Steve Grossi Reunion Tour. This spring, the Tigers will take on three institutions assistant coach Steve Grossi has a connection with. The first stop was the home opener against Saint Joseph's, where Grossi was the defensive coordinator for three seasons (2013-15). Next up was a trip to the University of Richmond, where Grossi was a defensive coach and recruiting coordinator for two seasons (2017-18). In league play, Towson will take on Grossi's alma mater, Drexel, twice: March 6 in Philadelphia and May 1 at Unitas ® Stadium.

The Tigers are currently 1-2 on the Steve Grossi Reunion Tour. Topping Saint Joseph's 8-7 in overtime before falling 11-10 at No. 18 Richmond and 12-10 at Drexel.

The Buddy System
So far this season, Towson's feeders have been all over the field; Only two pairs have assisted each other more than once. James Avanzato has assisted Brody McLean three times, including two at Mount St. Mary's (Feb. 24). Likewise, Ryan Swain has fed Brody McLean three times. Swain is the only player with multiple assists to multiple goal scorers.
J. Avanzato -> B. McLean: 5
R. Swain -> B. McLean: 3 | C. Wasserman -> J. Avanzato: 3 | R. Swain -> A. Milani: 3
A. Stewart -> A. Milani: 3
J. Avanzato -> R. Swain: 2 | J. Avanzato -> A. Milani: 2
J. McLean -> J. Avanzato: 1 | J. McLean -> B. McLean: 1 | B. McLean -> J. Avanzato: 1
B. McLean -> A. Milani | R. Gaeger -> B. McLean: 1 | B. McLean -> A. Beacham: 1
C. Gallagher -> B. McLean: 1 | C. Wasserman -> G. Ey: 1 | A. Beacham -> B. McLean: 1
A. Ducommun -> A. Milani: 1 | J. Bender -> J. Gaskins: 1 | J. Gaskins -> A. Milani: 1
B. McLean -> J. McLean: 1 | A. Stewart -> J. Avanzato: 1 | A. Stewart -> C. Wasserman: 1
C. Wasserman -> A. Milani: 1 | B. Hund -> B. McLean: 1
T. Montgomery -> C. Gaeger: 1 | J. Avanzato -> A. Stewart

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).

The Gauntlet
- Year in and year out Towson constructs one of the toughest Division I schedules.
- In this week's major polls, six 2021 opponents are ranked inside the top 20
- #2/#2 Duke | #9/#9 Virginia | #12/#12 Loyola | #13/#13 UMass | #14/#14 Delaware | #20/#20 Richmond
- Hofstra and Drexel received votes in the polls this week.
- 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.

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.

On this Date: March 27
- Towson will play its 12th game all-time on March 27
- The Tigers are 6-5 on this date.
- Towson sits at 4-2 at home on March 27
- Head coach Shawn Nadelen has never coached a game on Maarch 27
- Towson and Loyola have met previously on March 27, a 7-6 Loyola win in Baltimore.

All-Time vs No. 12
- Towson will make its 11th appearance all-time against a team ranked 12th in that week's USILA Coaches' Poll.
- The Tigers are 2-8 all-time against a 12th-ranked team.
- Towson plays 12th-ranked Loyola for a third time in series history and for a second-straight season.
- Towson's last win over a 12th-ranked team was a 12-10 victory over Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament
- Towson's only home win over a 12th-ranked team was a 9-8 decision over Hofstra on April 23, 1983.