Opening Faceoff
Back-to-back home games to round out the 2021 regular season kick off on Saturday as the Tigers take on No. 13 Delaware for the second time this season. Towson is looking to avenge an overtime loss a month ago in Newark.

In The National Rankings
After winning their third straight, the Tigers are near the top of the "receiving votes" columns of both the USILA Coaches' Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Delaware is slotted 13th in both polls this week.

The Stay at Home Tigers
The Tigers roll into Saturday's penultimate regular season game with a three-game winning streak, capturing all three victories in a seven-day stretch. Most recently, Towson knocked off UMass 9-6 on the road. Goal-scorer become feeder James Avanzato (13g, 18a) leads Towson's versatile offense with 31 points. Brody McLean (24g, 5a) is close behind with 29 points while Andrew Milani (22g, 2a) and Ryan Swain (13g, 8a) are in the 20-point club. Swain is the leader from the midfield in both goals and assists, ranking second on the team in the latter category. After struggling early in the season, Towson's defense has been in lock-down mode lately, holding four of its last five opponents to single figures, including both of last week's foes, Hofstra and UMass. Four Tiger defenders have forced at least 10 turnovers this season, paced by 15 from Garrett Zungailia and 13 from Mo Sillah. Colby Barsz and Koby Smith have 11 apiece while Ethan Ticehurst has 10. Shane Brennan, the CAA Player of the Week, has been standing on his head lately, making at least 10 saves in the last four games, turn aside 27 opponent scoring chances last week alone. Towson's man-down unit continues to be one of Division I's best, killing 75.8 percent of the fouls

Scouting the Blue Hens
No. 13 Delaware makes the return trip to Johnny Unitas ® Stadium with an 8-2 overall mark and a 5-1 CAA record. Delaware won its last game, a wild 14-13 overtime affair on Long Island against Hofstra. Two Blue Hens, Mike Robinson (36g, 7a) and Charlie Kitchen (22g, 21a), have 43 points each. Tye Kurtz (23g, 17a) is also at the 40-point threshold. Jake Hervada (62-127) has the top faceoff percentage for Delaware at .488, while Roland Hockenbery (43-100) is second at 43.0 percent. Matt Kilkeary has played all but five minutes for Delaware this spring, making 121 saves in his 600 minutes. He carries a 10.49 goals against average and a .535 save percentage. He has faced 384 total shots this spring, third-most in the CAA.

Towson-Delaware History
Round two of one of the longest rivalries in Towson's history is set for Saturday. Towson leads the all-time series 45-19, despite dropping the first clash in March. Towson has never lost to Delaware twice in the same season in a series that dates back to the 1961 campaign. Towson carries a 22-8 mark at home against the Blue Hens and the Tigers have won eight of the last 10 meetings. All-time Towson has racked 690 goals against Delaware, averaging 10.78 markers an outing.

Towson-Delaware By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson 45-19
at Towson Towson 22-8
at Delaware Towson 21-11
at Neutral Sites Towson 2-0
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting  May 16, 1961 (Delaware 6-3)
Last Meeting March 20, 2021
Delaware 13, Towson 12 (OT)
Streak Towson -1

Last Time Out vs. Delaware | March 20, 2021 | Newark, Delaware | Delaware Stadium
It was a wild finish to the first meeting of the regular season between the Tigers and the Blue Hens. Towson held a 12-9 lead with eight minutes to play, but Delaware scored three times in the final five minutes to force overtime. The Blue Hens scored with just seconds remaining on the shot clock in their first overtime possession. Towson had a balanced scoring effort, led by an Andrew Milani hat trick while Brody McLean, Ryan Swain and James Avanzato all scored twice. Delaware had three hat tricks from Charlie Kitchen, Mike Robinson and Cam Acchione. Shane Brennan made a dozen saves for Towson while Delaware's Matt Kilkeary stopped 11 Towson shots. Faceoffs were an even 14-28 split, but Delaware won five of the last seven draws in the game.

With a Win Saturday Towson Would...
- Win four-straight CAA games for the first time since in the Shawn Nadelen Era (2012).
- Be Towson's fourth-straight league win for the first time since the 2010 campaign, besting Delaware, #7 UMass, #7 Drexel and Penn State in succession.
- Continue Towson's run of never dropping two games in the same season to Delaware.
- See Towson win its 46th game all-time against Delaware, tied for the most wins over a single opponent in program history (46-11 vs. Drexel).
- Be Towson's second of three chances to collect a revenge win from earlier this season.

Long-Standing Rivals
- Saturday is the 65th meeting all-time between Towson and Delaware.
- 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 the final pair at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium.
- Towson is 4-1 at home this spring, but 2-5 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 41 different pairs of goal scorers and assisters this season.
J. Avanzato -> B. McLean: 7
R. Swain -> A. Milani: 4 | R. Swain -> B. McLean: 4 | J. Avanzato -> A. Milani: 4
C. Wasserman -> J. Avanzato: 3 | A. Stewart -> A. Milani: 3 | J. Avanzato -> R. Swain: 3
J. Avanzato -> A. Stewart: 3
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 | 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 | J. McLean -> T. Montgomery: 1

Friendships are the Best Ships
- Per research compiled by Inside Lacrosse's Terry Foy, Towson has assisted on 57.0 percent of its goals this season.
- The Tigers have thrown 65 assists on 114 goals this spring.
- Towson has the 28th-highest goals-assisted ratio in Division I this season.
- As the above note states, it has been tough to keep track of Towson's feeders, with 41 different assist-goal combinations this season.

A Dish Best Served Cold
- After dropping its first game of the season to an opponent, the Tigers have responded well
- Since Shawn Nadelen took over the program in 2012, Towson is 4-3 in games against opponents it lost to earlier in the season.
- Towson is 1-0 in revenge games this season, besting #17 Hofstra 10-8 last week after falling to the 12th-ranked Pride on April 3.
- Towson's best revenge season was 2013 when the Tigers beat Drexel and Penn State in the CAA Tournament to capture the program's first title under Nadelen.
- The Tigers have two more chances this regular season for revenge: Saturday vs. Delaware and next weekend against Drexel.

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/#3 Duke | #5/#5 Virginia | #12/#12 Drexel | #13/#13 Delaware
#14/#15 Richmond | #19/rv Loyola | #20/#20 Hofstra
- Loyola received votes from the media this week.
-Saint Joseph's picked up votes in both polls.
- Towson played four ranked opponents in six games during 2020: No. 11 Johns Hopkins, No. 12 Cornell, No. 12 Loyola, and No. 13 Georgetown.
- Saturday will be the sixth time this season the Tigers will face an opponent ranked by the USILA Coaches' Poll (#5 UVa, #1 Duke, #18 Richmond, #12 Loyola, #17 Hofstra, #13 Delaware)
- 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 Great 8
In 2019, Towson University men's lacrosse captured its eighth CAA championship and fifth since Shawn Nadelen took over the program in 2012. The Tigers have hoisted the trophy in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019. The rest of the current CAA alignment have combined to win the championships eight times. There have been 18 CAA Tournaments since the league began sponsoring men's lacrosse in 2001. Towson has captured nearly half of those titles.

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 70 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: 70 (8, 2019)
Hofstra: 64 (2, 2008)
Drexel: 55 (1, 2014)
Delaware: 42 (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 75-12 in that same time after a 9-6 slugfest win at UMass (April 17)). On 47 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 47-0 record.