Opening Faceoff
The Tigers play their penultimate road game of the regular season and get a sneak peek at the venue, James M. Shuart Stadium, for the 2021 CAA Men's Lacrosse Championships in early May.
In The National Rankings
After several weeks without mention in the polls, Towson returned to the receiving votes column this week in both the USILA Coaches' Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Hofstra also received votes in the Coaches' Poll and was slotted 15th in the Media rankings.
The Battle-Tested Tigers
Towson is certainly battle tested this season, coming off a 7-6 overtime win over No. 12 Loyola last weekend, the third overtime game for the Tigers this season. James Avanzato (13g, 10a) is a balanced Tiger and leads with 23 points. Brody McLean (16g, 4a) missed last weekend with an upper body injury ranked second for the Tigers. Pure goal scorer Andrew Milani (15g) is third in team points. Redshirt junior Tim Montgomery is coming off his first career hat trick and potted the game-winner over the Greyhounds. Towson's defense has been formidable over the last several games, including limiting a high-powered Loyola to just six goals. Mo Sillah (11ct) and Garrett Zungailia (10ct) are the top takeaway men. Zungailia also leads Towson with 23 ground balls. Koby Smith (6ct) is Towson's top defender and has settled in with just 90 seconds in penalties this season. At the faceoff X, the Tigers have been up and down of late. Shane Santora is 62-145 on the year, going at a .428 percent clip. In cage, Shane Brennan has made 91 saves in his 474 minutes of action with a .497 save percentage. He made several key stops down the stretch and in tight to seal the win over Loyola.
Scouting the Longtime Rival Pride
Hofstra is coming off a 16-10 loss against No. 13 UMass in the midweek, dropping to 1-1 in the CAA and 4-2 overall. Senior Ryan Tierney (30g, 8a) runs the offense with a team-best 38 points. Justin Lynskey (14g, 11a) has a balanced 25 points while Alex Concannon (15g, 6a) is a third player north of 20 points. Brian Herber has been the go-to faceoff specialist, winning .640 percent of his draws with a team-best 46 ground balls. Hofstra has split time in net between Mac Gates (241min) and Bobby Casey (120min), who has played both league games to date. He has 18 saves to his ledger but has allowed 23 goals and carries an 11.50 goals against average. The Pride are 2-2 at home this spring.
Towson-Hofstra History
It's another Towson series that dates back nearly to the program's beginning; Towson and Hofstra first met on the lacrosse field in 1961, Towson's third varsity season. The Pride lead the series 27-23 all-time, but Towson has won three of the last four showdowns. The teams are an even 5-5 over the last 10 meetings as well. No. 10 Towson won the last meeting at Unitas ® Stadium by a 10-9 count, but dropped the last meeting on Long Island 9-3. Despite the age of the series, the two teams have not met in over two years, following the cancellation of the back half of 2020.
Towson-Hofstra By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Hofstra 27-23
at Towson Towson 15-9
at Hofstra Hofstra 17-8
at Neutral Sites Hofstra 1-0
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting May 10, 1961 (HOF 14, TOW 2)
Last Meeting March 30, 2019
#10 Towson 10, Hofstra 9
Streak Towson +1
Last Time Out vs. Hofstra | March 30, 2019 | Towson, Md. | Johnny Unitas ® Stadium
Trailing 7-5 at halftime No. 10 Towson mounted a furious comeback to get by CAA rival Hofstra with a 10-9 decision. The Tigers out-scored the Pride 5-2 over the final 30 minutes, aided by a five-goal run to start the second half. Grant Maloof and Brody McLean each turned in hat tricks, while the former added an assist for a four-point day. Tyler Canto struggled in net early, allowing six goals on eight shots on net. Shane Brennan played the final 34 minutes, making four saves and allowing just three goals for the win. Ryan Tierney led Hofstra with four goals, but scored just once in the second half.
With a Win Saturday Towson Would...
- Snap a three-game slide on the road.
- See Towson win its 24th game all-time against Hofstra.
- Be Towson's first win at Shuart Stadium since an 8-7 decision in 2016.
- Improve Towson to 2-4 on the road this spring.
- Be Towson's first CAA win of the year and first since dispatching Drexel 11-9 on April 27, 2019
Long-Standing Rivals
- Saturday will be the 51st 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: 50 | 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)
FINALLY BACK HOME
- Last weekend, the Tigers returned to the friendly confines of Johnny Unitas ® Stadium for the first time since Feb. 20, 2021 when Towson hosted No. 1 Duke.
- Towson is 2-1 at home this season.
- The Tigers sit at 41-24 all-time at home under the guidance of head coach Shawn Nadelen.
- The Tigers play four of their next six games at home.
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 | A. Stewart -> T. Montgomery
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).
Flair for the Dramatic x2
Redshirt freshman Andrew Milani has a flair for the dramatic as he chose overtime to score his first collegiate game-winning goal. With 2:34 left in overtime against Saint Joseph's on February 13, Milani drove the alley, rolled back and threw a low shot on goal and scored five-hole for an 8-7 win. Per Milani, that was his first overtime game-winning goal since March 14, 2018 in his junior campaign at nearby St. Paul's School with an 11-10 on the road at Norfolk Academy in Virginia.
Redshirt junior Tim Montgomery added his first career game-winning goal in dramtic fashion, besting No. 12 Loyola in overtime. Montgomery slipped under his defender and got to the crease before five-holing the game-winner, his third of the day and his first career hat trick.
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 ovetime 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
- #1/#1 Duke | #5#6 Virginia | #12/#12 Delaware | #13/#17 Richmond |
#15/#18 Loyola | rv/#15 Hofstra | #18/#19 UMass
- Hofstra and Drexel received votes in the USILA Coaches' poll 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.
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.
On this Date: April 3
- The Tigers will play their 11th all-time game on April 3.
- Towson is 6-4 on this date.
- The Tigers are 2-4 on the road on April 3, however.
- Towson has never played on April 3 under head coach Shawn Nadelen.
- Towson and Hofstra have never played on this date.
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.
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: 62 (2, 2008)
Drexel: 52 (1, 2014)
Delaware: 40 (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 54-8 in games when Towson scores double digits. When Towson's defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 73-11 in that same time after a 7-6 overtime decision over No. 12 Loyola (March 27). On 46 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 46-0 record.
