Opening Faceoff
It's the second game this week for the Towson University men's lacrosse program as the Tigers take on top-ranked Virginia at home for the first time since the 2010 campaign. Towson was last seen besting Mount St. Mary's 13-8 for its first win of the 2022 campaign.
In The National Rankings
Towson did not receive votes in either major poll this week. Virginia was ranked first in the USILA Coaches' Poll and was voted second in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll
The Homestanding Tigers
It's been a busy month at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium for the Tigers as Towson prepares to host its third game in the first two weeks of the year.
Towson is 1-1 on the season after topping Mount St. Mary's 13-8 Tuesday afternoon.
The Tigers' new-look offense is led through the midfield by Kyle Berkeley (5g, 4a) while James Avanzato (3g, 4a) leads the feeding efforts. Nick DeMaio (6g) and Andrew Milani (4g, 2a) have six points each.
On defense, Koby Smith (3ct) and Reagan McNemar (3ct) are the top takeaway men, allowing Garrett Zungailia (8gb) and Sam Morin (8gb) to lead Towson off the turf.
Towson is still retooling its faceoff unit, switching between Shane Santora (11-25) and Matt Constantinides (9-26).
Shane Brennan has been the stalwart in goal, logging 113 minutes, stopping 25 opponent attempts at a .521 rate. He dropped his goals against average by six points to a 12.17.
Scouting the No. 1 Cavaliers
The two-time defending champion Virginia Cavaliers bring a 2-0 record with them to Towson, edging High Point 11-10 on Sunday at Klöckner Stadium.
UVa's high-octane offense, which averages 16 goals a game this year, is paced by 13 points from Connor Shellenberger (3g, 10a). Matt Moore (4g, 3a) is the next-closest with seven points which Xander Dickson (6g) leads in the goal count.
Virginia has allowed 21 goals this year, backed by 24 saves from starting netminder Matthew Nunes, who carries a 9.97 goals against average and a .571 save percentage in his 108 minutes of action.
Faceoff specialist Petey LaSalla has controlled the X this season, winning 26 of his 39 draws at a .667 rate, collecting 16 ground balls along the way.
Towson-Virginia History
Towson and Virginia will meet for the 19th time on Saturday and at Unitas ® Stadium for the first time since 2010. The Cavaliers won last spring's meeting at Klöckner Stadium 20-11. All-time, Virginia leads the series 14-4. Towson is looking for its first win over Virginia since the first round of the 1991 NCAA Tournament, a 14-13 win for the No. 10 Tigers.
Towson-Virginia By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Virginia 14-4
at Towson Virginia 7-1
at Virginia Virginia 7-3
at Neutral Sites n/a
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting April 29, 1972
Virginia 15, Towson 9
Last Meeting Feb. 6, 2021
#5 Virginia 20, Towson 11
Streak......................................................... Virginia +11
Last Time Out vs. Virginia | Feb. 6, 2021 | Charlottesville, Va. | Klöckner Stadium
Tied 4-4 after the first 15 minutes, Virginia used two seven-goal quarters to put space between it and Towson. The Tigers out-scored Virginia 4-2 in the fourth quarter to close the gap. Brody McLean (3g, 2a) led Towson with five points as Towson day-tripped to Charlottesville. James Avanzato (3g) added a hat trick. Connor Shellenberger (4g, 3a) and Payton Cormier (6g 1a) led the game with seven points apiece. Shane Brennan made 12 saves in net for the Tigers while Alex Rode stopped eight Towson attempts but surrendered eight goals. Bobby Gavin played the final 11 minutes for UVa.
With a Win Saturday Towson Would...
- Top Virginia for the first time since the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1991.
- End an 11-game slide against the Cavaliers
- Best a team ranked first in the USILA Coaches poll for the first time since besting No. 1 Loyola 12-10 on Feb. 27, 2019.
- Be Towson's second win over a top-ranked opponent in the last three tries.
- See the Tigers win back-to-back games for the first time since winning three straight in the heart of 2021 CAA action.
- Be the 91st career win for head coach Shawn Nadelen.
Offense is Clicking
- Towson's offense is clicking along in 2022.
- The Tigers have scored 25 goals in the first two games of the year, averaging 12.5 per.
- It is Towson's highest goal total through the first two games since the 2019 season when the Tigers landed 29 goals in the first two games.
- When Towson scores at least 20 goals in the first two games under head coach Shawn Nadelen, the Tigers have won the CAA Tournament on three out of four qualifying seasons (2016 - 20, 2017 - 24, 2019 - 29).
- The only miss was 2018 after scoring 21 in the first pair of contests.
Climbing the Coaching Charts
- Towson head coach Shawn Nadelen is now in his 11th season at the helm after being elevated to that position for the 2012 season.
- To date, Nadelen has posted 90 career wins and is nearing the century mark.
- Nadelen is third on Towson's all-time wins list: Carl Runk (262), Tony Seaman (99).
Shorty's Like a Melody
- With 9:37 to play in the first quarter against No. 16 Johns Hopkins, Nick DeMaio scored the Tigers' first short-handed goal since the 2015 season.
- Defenseman Koby Smith had the assist on the play.
- It was the first short-handed goal since Dan Carder scored a shorty at Navy in a double-overtime loss in Annapolis.
- That goal came on March 3, 2015, less than a month after longstick midfielder Pat Conroy also scored a shorty against Loyola.
- It had been 100 games since the Tigers scored a short-handed goal.
- DeMaio is the first offensive player in the Shawn Nadelen Era to score a short
Short-Handed Goal Scorers in Shawn Nadelen Era
- Nick DeMaio vs. No. 16 Johns Hopkins - 1st - 9:37 - Assist: Koby Smith
- Dan Carder at Navy - 3rd - 11:45 - Unassisted
- Pat Conroy vs. No. 8 Loyola - 4th - 0:17 - Assist: Joe Seider
Key Rule Change
- Entering this spring, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Committee approved a shot-clock reset rule.
- A shot-clock reset under 60 seconds will reset the shot clock back to 60 seconds.
- A shot-clock reset between 60-80 seconds will reset the shot clock back to 80 seconds.
- Once play is stopped in flag down, slow whistle scenarios and the shot clock is at or below 60 seconds while possession remains in the offensive half of the field, the shot clock will reset to 60 seconds.
- When play is stopped for a defensive injury and the shot clock is above 60 seconds, the reset will be 80 seconds. If the shot clock is at or below 60 seconds in the offensive half of the field, it will be reset to 60 seconds.
The Gauntlet
- Stop us if you've heard this before, but Towson has one of the toughest schedules in DI.
- Towson will face nine opponents listed in the Week Two USILA/Dynamic Coaches Poll.
- No. 1 Virginia, No. 7 Duke, No. 11 Denver, No. 14 Loyola, No. 15 Johns Hopkins (L, 12-18), No. 17 Delaware, rv Drexel, rv Hofstra rv UMass.
- The only opponents that did not receive votes in Week Two are Mount St. Mary's, UMBC, Saint Joseph's and Fairfield.
- Four of first five foes on tap this spring were all mentioned in the poll: No. 15 Johns Hopkins, No. 1 Virginia, rv Richmond and No. 14 Loyola.
- Towson will face three of the first four at home before a quick trip to Cold Spring Lane on March 2.
On this Date: February 19
- Towson will play just its third-ever game on February 19.
- The Tigers are 0-2 on this date.
- Towson lost its first Feb. 19 against Johns Hopkins early in 2011.
- The Tigers dropped a Feb. 19 decision against Loyola back in 2014.
- Towson and Virginia have never met on Feb. 19.
- Shawn Nadelen is 0-1 on this date.
All-Time Versus No. 1
- Towson is 3-25 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the USILA Coaches' Poll.
- Towson dropped its last meeting against a top-ranked team, a 19-7 decision last spring against Duke on Feb. 20.
- The Tigers' last win over number one was a 12-10 decision against Loyola on Feb. 27, 2019.
- Towson has played a No. 1 Virginia team three times, falling in all three showdowns (10-2, 2003; 11-2 2009; 15-10 2010).
- Head coach Shawn Nadelen is 1-2 all-time against top-ranked foes.
Transfer Station
- Towson bolstered its roster this off-season with a number of transfer.
- Offensively, the Tigers added Nick DeMaio (Maryland), Kyle Berkeley (Maryland), Luke Shilling (Johns Hopkins) and Sam Weisshaar (Anne Arundel Community College). On defense, Peyton Winters (Harford Community College) adds depth to a veteran backline.
- Those five transfers join a pair of established Transfer Tigers: James Avanzato (Maryland) and Austin Stewart (Denver).
The Top Third
- Towson University head coach Shawn Nadelen is in his 11th season at the helm of the program.
- Hired as the top man following the 2011 season, Nadelen is the 24th-longest tenured Division I head men's lacrosse in the country.
- Nadelen was one of four head coaches elevated during the 2011 offseason: Brian Brecht (Rutgers), Keegan Wilkinson (Marist) and Taylor Wray (Saint Joseph's).
Greater Baltimore is Lovely this Time of Year
- Hope you like the view from Johnny Unitas ® Stadium.
- The Tigers will be at home for the first four games of the 2022 season.
- Towson doesn't leave The U until a March 5 trip all the way over to Loyola University Maryland (a whopping four miles).
- The Tigers don't leave the state of Maryland until a March 12 trip to Saint Joseph's.
- Towson's longest trip of the regular season is a jaunt to Denver on March 26.
Towson Lacrosse x Lax Sports Network
- Towson men's lacrosse and Lax Sports Network will continue to enjoy the partnership the organizations have fostered over the years.
- This spring, Towson will appear on LSN four times as the CAA Game of the Week: Feb. 11 vs. Johns Hopkins, Feb. 19 vs. Virginia, April 23 at Fairfield, April 30 vs. Hofstra.
The North Americans
Towson has representation from 17 different states and one Canadian province: Maryland (21), New York (5), New Jersey (3), California (2), Florida (2), North Carolina (2), Pennsylvania (2), Virginia (2), Connecticut (1), Colorado (1), Georgia (1), Kentucky (1), Michigan (1), Ohio (1), Oregon (1), Texas (1), Washington (1), British Columbia, Canada (1).
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, five 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: 65 (2, 2008)
Drexel: 56 (2, 2021)
Delaware: 44 (3, 2011)
UMass: 33 (2, 2012, 2018)
Fairfield: 11 (0)
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, Garrett Zungailia will wear a CB30 badge in place of his captain's C to honor the late Carl Beernink. This annual award will be given to a Towson player who embodies the fighting spirit of Carl Beernink.
Previous CB30 Award Winners
2019 - Zach Goodrich
2020 - Koby Smith
2021 - Carson Gaeger
Wearing the C
This season, head coach Shawn Nadelen and his staff announced five student-athletes that will serve as captains for the 2022 season.
This year's captains are: Shane Brennan, Brandon Hund, Koby Smith, Ryan Swain and Garrett Zungailia.
Brennan, Hund, Smith and Swain will wear captains' Cs on their jerseys while Zungailia will have the CB30 badge in lieu of the captain's letter.
Home Cooking
Johnny Unitas ® Stadium is a tough place to play for visiting opponents. Since head
coach Shawn Nadelen took over the program in 2012, no current member of the CAA
has won more home games than the Tigers.
Team: Home Record Since 2012 (as of February 15, 2022)
Towson: 47-27
Hofstra: 46-30
UMass: 41-26
Drexel: 40-20
Fairfield: 38-31
Delaware: 34-33
Near. Far. Wherever You Are.
Playing for the home crowd is always a pleasure for any team. But the Tigers have had success on the road in the Shawn Nadelen Era as well. Since taking over the program in 2012, the Tigers have racked a 35-31 (.530) record in road games.
How Big is a Tiger?
- Not only has the roster size gotten larger this year, but the student-athletes that comprise have gotten bigger as well.
- Since Shawn Nadelen took over the program in 2012, the Tigers have gotten bigger and heavier.
- As researched by former Media Relations Interns Zoë Winslow and Ashley Cottrell, below are the average heights (in inches) and weights (in pounds) for the last 11 Towson University men's lacrosse teams.
2012: 71.2 / 182.3
2013: 71.4 / 182.3
2014: 71.5 / 182.7
2015: 71.5 / 184.2
2016: 71.4 / 183.9
2017: 72.0 / 187.9
2018: 72.0 / 187.2
2019: 72.4 / 190.3
2020: 72.2 / 187.7
2021: 71.89 / 185.1
2022: 72.1 / 184.3
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 57-8 in games when Towson scores double digits.
- When Towson's defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 76-12 in that same time after topping Mount St. Mary's 13-8 earlier this week.
- On 48 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 48-0 record.
