Opening Faceoff
The final road trip of the 2021 regular season sees the Tigers head to the northern climes of the CAA for a clash of the league titans Saturday afternoon at Garber Field as the Tigers take on UMass.

In The National Rankings
Towson received votes in the USILA Coaches Poll this week, but did not earn mention in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. UMass received votes in both major polls this week.

The One Last Road Trippin' Tigers
The Tigers have been on a roll as of late, picking up wins in three of their last four contests, including back-to-back wins in the CAA. On Tuesday with short rest, the Tigers pushed past No. 17 Hofstra for a second-straight league win at home. Fifth-year senior Brody McLean (24g, 5a) leads the Tigers' points column after a four-goal outburst against Hofstra. James Avanzato (13g, 14a) has been a balanced and steady presence on offense while Andrew Milani (21g, 2a) has been a solid scoring threat for Towson. Ryan Swain (10g, 8a) leads Towson's midfield efforts with Austin Stewart (6g, 7a) close behind. The Tigers boast four defensive players with double digit caused turnovers, paced by 14 from Garrett Zungailia. Mo Sillah, an LSM, has forced 13 while Koby Smith and Colby Barsz have 10 each. The Tiger defense forces 8.27 opponent turnovers per out this spring. Towson's man-down defense continues to be one of the best in Division I, killing off 75 of its penalties, including a 6-of-8 kill rate on Tuesday. Shane Brennan added 14 saves on Tuesday, bringing his season total to 125. His goals against average has dropped to 10.93 after holding Hofstra to just eight goals in both meetings this season.

Scouting the Minutemen
Despite a late start this spring, UMass sits at 3-3 overall and 3-2 in the CAA, dropping its last two league meetings 12-11 to Drexel and Hofstra. Devin Spencer (5g, 14a) leads UMass with 19 points and sits atop the assist charts. Gabriel Procyk (14g, 3a) is second on the team with 17 points, trailed by one point from Billy Philpott (11g, 5a). Matt Knote has played all 360 minutes in net this spring, making 76 saves at a .547 rate. He carries a 10.50 goals against average onto Garber Field tomorrow. Zach Hochman has taken the majority of faceoffs, winning 62 of his 127 draws (.488) with 44 ground balls to his credit.

Towson-UMass History
The only programs to win the CAA Tournament in the last half decade, the Towson-UMass series is a furiously contested game every season. The Tigers hold a 9-7 edge, though UMass has won the last three meetings. The Minutemen are 4-3 all-time against Towson at Garber Field in a series that dates back to 1963. The Tigers are hunting their first win over UMass in Amherst since an 11-8 victory on April 9, 2016. Including Saturday's brawl, three of the last four meetings will have taken place at Garber Field.

Towson-UMass By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson 9-7
at Towson Towson 5-3
at UMass UMass 4-3
at Neutral Sites Towson 1-0
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting  March 28, 1963 (UMass 7-3)
Last Meeting April 13, 2019
UMass 14, #8 Towson 10
Streak Towson -3

Last Time Out vs. UMass | April 13, 2019 | Towson, Md. | Johnny Unitas ^® Stadium
A hot start for one side and a hot finish for the other was the storyline in the last meeting between Towson and UMass. The visiting Minutemen grabbed a 10-2 lead at halftime while Towson mounted a furious comeback bid, scoring seven times in the fourth quarter. UMass held out for a 14-10 win at Unitas ® Stadium. Brendan Sunday turned in a five-point, four-goal, one assist performance for the Tigers. The Tigers struggled to find the back of the net, putting 27 shots on goal, 17 of which were stopped by UMass netminder Sean Sconone. Chris Connolly led UMass with four points, including three assists.

With a Win Saturday Towson Would...
- Win three-straight CAA games for the first time since opening the 2017 league schedule with three straight over Drexel, UMass and Delaware.
- See Towson win its 10th game all-time against UMass.
- Level the Tigers all-time record at Garber Field to 4-4.
- Be Towson's first win at Garber Field since April 2016.
- Snap a four-game road skid for the Tigers. Towson has not won a game away from Unitas since besting Mount St. Mary's 11-5 on Feb. 24.
- Be Towson's first true road game on the weekend since April 27, 2019, an 11-9 win at Drexel.

Long-Standing Rivals
- Tuesday was the 52nd meeting all-time between Towson and Hofstra.
- With that meeting, it will continue to rank among the most games played in a series.
- Towson has five opponents it has played at least 50 times in program history
Loyola: 64 | Delaware: 64 | Drexel: 57 | Hofstra: 52 | UMBC: 50
- 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: 64 Meetings (Loyola Leads 34-30)

The Home Stretch
- After playing six of its first nine games on the road, the Tigers will cap the regular season with two of the next three at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium.
- Towson is 4-1 at home this spring, but 1-5 on the road. The Tigers' home loss was against No. 1 Duke back on Feb. 20.
- Every remaining home game will be the second meeting of the season against a league foe: Delaware (April 24) and Drexel (May 1).

So, So Close.
- Towson has played tight games all spring, with six of the 10 games decided by one goal.
- The Tigers are 3-3 in one goal affairs; and two wins have come during overtime (vs. Saint Joseph's, vs. No. 12 Loyola).
- Towson's six one-goal games are tied for the most one-goal games in the Shawn Nadelen Era (2012). Towson went 3-3 in one-goalers during the 18-game 2015 season.
- The Tigers are 25-19 all-time under Nadelen in one-goal showdowns.

The Buddy System
So far this season, Towson's feeders have been all over the field; There have been 40 different pairs of goal scorers and assisters this season.
J. Avanzato -> B. McLean: 7
R. Swain -> A. Milani: 4
R. Swain -> B. McLean: 4 | C. Wasserman -> J. Avanzato: 3
A. Stewart -> A. Milani: 3 | J. Avanzato -> A. Milani: 3
J. Avanzato -> R. Swain: 2 | A. Milani -> J. McLean: 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 | A. Stewart -> R. Swain: 1
T. Montgomery -> C. Gaeger: 1 | J. Avanzato -> A. Stewart | A. Stewart -> T. Montgomery: 1
E. Ticehurst -> B. McLean: 1 | B. McLean -> T. Montgomery: 1
T. Montgomery -> R. Swain: 1 | A. Reid -> R. Swain: 1 | J. Avanzato -> A. Reid: 1
D. Martin -> E. Ticehurst | C. Gaeger -> A. Milani | A. Reid -> A. Stewart: 1 | A. Reid -> B. McLean: 1
T. Montgomery -> A. Milani: 1 | C. Gaeger -> J. McLean: 1

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).

It's Free Real Estate
Last weekend, Towson played its third overtime game of the year, beating No. 12 Loyola 7-6 with 2:41 seconds elapsed in bonus lacrosse.
- The Tigers are 2-1 in overtime games this season, improving to 7-6 under the command of head coach Shawn Nadelen.
- Towson's three overtime games this season are tied for the most in the Shawn Nadelen Era (2012) (and third time if you want to include the triple-overtime game against Navy in 2015).
- Since elevating to Division I, Towson has played three or more overtimes in three seasons
1989: 2-1 | 2013: 2-1 | 2021: 2-1
- Towson played back-to-back overtime games for the first time in program history with the games at Delaware (March 20) and Loyola (March 27).

The Gauntlet
- Year in and year out Towson constructs one of the toughest Division I schedules.
- In this week's major polls, seven 2021 opponents are ranked inside the top 20
#3/#4 Duke | #4/#3 Virginia | #13/#17 Richmond | #14/#13 Drexel | #15/#15 Loyola
#16/#16 Delaware | #17/#15 Hofstra
- UMass received votes in both 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.

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: 69 (8, 2019)
Hofstra: 64 (2, 2008)
Drexel: 54 (1, 2014)
Delaware: 41 (3, 2011)
UMass: 32 (2, 2012, 2018)
Fairfield: 11 (0)

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 56-8 in games when Towson scores double digits. When Towson's defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 74-12 in that same time after a 10-8 win over Hofstra (April 13). On 47 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 47-0 record.