Opening Faceoff
Towson hosts a crucial game on Saturday as the Tigers bookend the CAA regular season with Drexel, a familiar end-of-the-regular season foe.

In The National Rankings
Towson slipped from the "receiving votes" columns in both the USILA Coaches' Poll and the Insisde Lacrosse Media Poll this week. Drexel is ranked 11th by the Coaches' Poll and sits in 13th in the Media Poll.

The Senior Day Tigers
Towson enter's Saturday's game after falling to Delaware last weekend. Despite the loss, Towson has still won three of its last four games and sits at 4-2 at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium this season. Prior to the game, head coach Shawn Nadelen and his staff will honor 14 seniors. James Avanzato (15g, 20a) has grabbed control of the team lead in points with 35, while one of the aforementioned seniors, Brody McLean (26g, 5a) is second with 31 points. Andrew Milani (22g, 2a) and Ryan Swain (14g, 8a) ranked third and fourth, respectively. All five Towson poles have caused at least 10 turnovers this spring: Garrett Zungailia (15), Koby Smith (13), Mo Sillah (13), Colby Barsz (12) and Ethan Ticehurst (10). Zungailia leads with 39 ground balls, pacing Shane Brennan's 33. The starting netminder for all 13 games this year, Brennan has made 145 saves in his 770 minutes of action. Brennan enters with a 10.98 goals against average to date. He has seen 487 total shots and carries a 50.7 save percentage. Towson's man-down unit is one of the best in Division I, killing off 76.5 percent of its penalties. Of the 41 teams that have played at least 10 games this spring, Towson has had just 34 man-down situations, the 14th-fewest among those qualifying teams.

Scouting the Dragons
No. 11/No. 13 Drexel comes to town as one of the hottest teams in the country, winning six straight games, the fourth-longest streak in the country. The Dragons are 7-2 overall and 5-2 in CAA play this spring. Aidan Coll (24g, 10a) and Sean Donnelly (19g, 15a) are tied for the team lead in points with 34 apiece. Ryan Genord (17g, 9a) and Jack Mulcahy (12g, 9a) are each over 20 points this year. Rose Blumenthal has made nine starts in goal, logging 514 minutes. He has made 86 saves at a .475 percent rate and carries an 11.09 goals against average. Mark Hartmann (24-44) and Jimmeh Koita (93-184) have been the go-to faceoff specialists this year, winning 54.5 and 50.5 percent of their draws, respectively. Sean Quinn and George Grippo have been the top takeaway men with 17 caused turnovers for Quinn and 14 for Grippo.

Towson-Drexel History
It's a long, rough-and-tumble history between the Tigers and Dragons. The teams first met in 1962 and have played at least once a year, every year (minus the COVID-19 Spring) since 1996. The teams are familiar with one another, having already played this year; Towson was the Dragons' regular season opener. Towson has the good home vibes in the series, sitting at 26-4 in the previous 30 meetings in Tiger Town.

Towson-Drexel By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson 46-11
at Towson Towson 26-4
at Drexel Towson 17-7
at Neutral Sites Towson 3-0
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting  April 12, 1962 (Drexel 14-7)
Last Meeting March 6, 2021
Drexel 12, Towson 10
Streak Towson -1

Last Time Out vs. Drexel | March 6, 2021 | Philadelphia, Pa. | Vidas Field
A 9-7 lead after 45 minutes slipped through Towson's hands as the Tigers fell 12-10 at Vidas Field to open league play. The Tigers tied the game 10-10 with 9:15 to go in the fourth, but could not regain the lead. Towson had two extra-man chances late in the game but could not find the net. Andrew Milani chipped in a hat trick for the Tigers, while Austin Stewart (1g, 1a) and Brody McLean (2g) posted two points each. Shane Santora had a career-best day at the faceoff X, winning 20 of his 26 draws while Shane Brennan made a dozen saves. Sean Donnelly (4g, 3a) led the game with seven points, nudging past five from Ryan Genord (3g, 2a). Ross Blumenthal made another 12 saves in the game.

With a Win Saturday Towson Would...
- Mark a second-straight CAA season in which Towson beats Drexel to cap the regular season
- Improve Towson to 4-4 in the league standings, greatly helping postseason chances.
- Prevent Towson from dropping two games in the same season to Drexel for just the second time under head coach Shawn Nadelen.
- See Towson win its 47th game all-time against Drexel, the most wins over a single opponent in program history.
- Be Towson's second of three chances to collect a revenge win from earlier this season.
- Improve Towson to 5-2 against Drexel in the final CAA game of the year since joining the league for the 2002 campaign.
- See head coach Shawn Nadelen win the 90th game of his head coaching career, becoming the third coach in the team's Division I history to hit 90 wins.
- Improve Towson to 9-6 all-time against Drexel under Nadelen's guidance.

Long-Standing Rivals
- Saturday is the 58th meeting all-time between Towson and Drexel.
- With that meeting, it will continue to rank third 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: 65 | Drexel: 57 | Hofstra: 52 | UMBC: 50
- There are only two teams in program history Towson has played more than 60 times
- Towson vs. Delaware: 65 Meetings (Towson Leads 45-20)
- 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 4-2 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: Drexel (May 1).


Bookends
- For the first time in Towson's CAA history (2002), Towson will finish the regular season with the same team it opened league play with.
- Towson and Drexel have never played twice in the same CAA Regular Season
- Same for Towson's series against Hofstra and Delaware.


A Familiar Finishing Move
- Towson and Drexel are familiar foes, meeting for the 58th time in series history.
- In those 57 previous meetings, Drexel has served as Towson's CAA finale six times in 18 CAA seasons, dating back to the 2012 campaign.
- Towson is 4-2 all-time against Drexel in CAA regular season finales.
- Towson won the last such game 11-9 during the 2019 campaign.
- Drexel is Towson's most-common CAA regular season finale opponent.
Drexel: 6 | Hofstra: 4 | Saint Joseph's: 3 | Sacred Heart: 2 | Delaware/'Nova/Fairfield: 1

So, So Close.
- Towson has played tight games all spring, with six of the 13 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 Steve Grossi Reunion Tour
Hop in your van and get ready for a 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; There have been 41 different pairs of goal scorers and assisters this season.
J. Avanzato -> B. McLean: 9
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. Bender -> J. Gaskins: 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. 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, prior to the Delaware game (April 24)
- 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 4-4 in games against opponents it lost to earlier in the season.
- Towson is 1-1 in revenge games this season, besting #17 Hofstra in the second round but falling to Delaware in the second match of the year.
- 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.

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).

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: 56 (1, 2014)
Delaware: 43 (3, 2011)
UMass: 33 (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.