Opening Faceoff
The Tigers make their way to the Mile High City for the first time since the 2018 season as Towson gets ready for a tussle at University of Denver on Saturday at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

In The National Rankings
Towson did not receive votes in the polls this week. Denver was ranked 18th in both the USILA Coaches' Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.

The Rocky Mountain Tigers
Towson and Denver meet for the first time since 2019 (though the series has been scheduled for more (see: Pandemic, Global)).

The Tigers are coming off a neutral site loss against No. 12 Duke (14-7) on Saturday at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

James Avanzato (14g, 15a) leads a balanced Towson offense that has 57 assists on 86 total goals (2:1 unassisted-to-assisted). Finisher Nick DeMaio (21g, 3a) leads the goal count while Kyle Berkeley (12g, 10a) leads from the midfield.

Koby Smith (11ct) and Reagan McNemar (9ct) have combined for 20 caused turnovers while linemate Garrett Zungailia has added eight. Defensive midfielder Reece Potter has 22 ground balls while faceoff specialist Matt Constantinides leads with 24.

Towson has looked to Evan Long to start its last two games. Long has made 21 saves and was spelled against Duke by Luke Downs, who made nine stops against the Blue Devils. Shane Brennan is week-to-week with an upperbody injury.

Scouting the No. 18 Pioneers
Denver returns to Barton Lacrosse Stadium after a 14-12 win on the road at No. 7 Ohio State last weekend.

JJ Sillstrop (22g, 14a) leads the team in all three scoring categories, including a team-best 36 points. Jack Hannah (16g, 7a) is second with 23 points while Ted Sullivan (16g, 6a) is third with 22 points.

Malik Sparrow has caused 14 turnovers this year, the only Pioneer in double figures. Jake Edinger is second with eight.

Alec Strathakis is the top faceoff specialist for Denver, winning 129 of his 224 draws (.576) with a team-best 61 ground balls.

Goaltending is up for grabs for Denver; Jack Thompson has started six games with 68 saves. Cole French has two starts with 22 saves in 130 minutes of work.

Towson-Denver History
Saturday will be the seventh meeting all-time between the Tigers and the Pioneers. The series is an even split, with either side winning three games. The Tigers won the first three showdowns, but the Pioneers have won the last three. Five of the six previous meetings have been decided by two goals or less.

Towson-Denver By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Tied 3-3
at Towson Denver 2-1
at Denver Towson 2-1
at Neutral Sites n/a
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting March 19, 2000
Towson 16, Denver 9 (Towson, Md.)
Last Meeting March 23, 2019
#13 Denver 7, #7 Towson 6
Streak Denver +3

Last Time Out vs. Denver | March 23, 2019 | Towson, Md. | Johnny Unitas ® Stadium
After an even 4-4 halftime score, it came down to the fourth quarter between the No. 7 Tigers and the 13th-ranked Pioneers. Towson went up 6-4 after 45 minutes, but the visiting Pioneers scored three times in the fourth to take a 7-6 win at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium. Koby Smith is the only Tiger pointer scorer remaining from that contest, logging a the Tigers' first goal. The graduated Tyler Canto made 11 saves for Towson. Denver's Ted Sullivan led the game with four points on three goals and an assist, the Pioneers' only helper of the day.

With a Win Saturday Towson Would...
- Snap a three-game slide to the Pioneers, dating back to a 10-9 win at Barton Lacrosse Stadium in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
- See Towson get its first win at Denver since that 2016 tournament victory.
- Halt a two-game slide for the Tigers.
- Be Towson's second win in a true road game of the season. Towson is 1-1 in true road games this season, collecting a win at Loyola but falling at Saint Joseph's.
- Be the 93rd career win for head coach Shawn Nadelen.

Connections Run Deep
- Despite thousands of miles from Towson, Maryland to Denver. Colorado, the ties between the Tigers and the Centennial State run deep.
- Towson boasts one student-athlete from Colorado: junior transfer Peyton Winters, who calls Littleton, Colorado home.
- Director of Lacrosse Operations Jordan Metzbower is a 2021 University of Denver graduate who served as a student manager with the Pioneers.
- Strength and Conditioning coach Aaron Droege worked with the Pioneers for the 2017 season, earning a master's degree from the University aiding the team to a Final Four berth.
- Student-athletes Drew Martin and Reagan McNemar began their college careers at the United States Air Force Academy before transfering to Towson.
- Towson head coach Shawn Nadelen was an assistant coach under Bill Tierney for the 2002 season while the legendary coach was at Princeton University.

Relearning Bernoulli's Principle
- It's been awhile since the Towson University men's lacrosse team has boarded a flight to get to an away game.
- The Tigers last flew to return home from a March 16, 2019 game at Duke, a run of 1,097 days between flights (March 16, 2019-March 24, 2022).
- Towson flew to North Carolina twice that season, first for the Crown Lacrosse Classic in Charlotte, then back to Durham the following week.

It's a Record
- In the Tigers' outing at Saint Joseph's on March 11, Towson set an NCAA record for fastest goals scored by the same team.
- First Jonathan Bender scored on a crease dunk pass from Chop Gallagher. Bender drew a dead-ball penalty with 2.9 seconds to play in the fourth quarter.
- With no faceoff following the Bender goal, James Avanzato picked the ball up at the whistle, stepping in a scored from 40 yards out, closer to midfield than the restraining box.
- Avanzato's goal stopped the clock with 0.7 seconds on the board.
- All told, just 2.2 seconds of game time passed between goals.
- The previous NCAA mark was three seconds, held by several team/mates.

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 92 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 eight opponents listed in the Week Seven USILA/Dynamic Coaches Poll.
- No. 2 Virginia (L, 9-18), No. 10 Duke (L, 7-14), No. 18 Denver (March 26), No. 20 Delaware (April 16), rv Loyola (W, 11-8), rv Saint Joseph's (L, 8-11), rv Richmond (L, 15-16 3OT), rv Johns Hopkins (L, 12-18).
- Four of first five foes on tap this spring were all mentioned in the poll at the time: No. 13 Johns Hopkins, No. 2 Virginia, rv Richmond and No. 20 Loyola.
- Towson faced three of the first four at home before a quick trip to Cold Spring Lane on March 2.

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 did not leave The U until a March 2 trip all the way over to Loyola University Maryland (a whopping four miles).
- The Tigers did leave the state of Maryland until a March 11 trip to Saint Joseph's.
- Towson's longest trip of the regular season is a jaunt to Denver on March 26.
- Towson's Feb. 26 game against Richmond was the sixth-straight home game for the Tigers, dating back to the 2021 season. Towson went 1-5 in that span.

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, Towson and Hofstra are tied for the league lead with 48.

Team: Home Record Since 2012 (as of March 23, 2022)
Towson: 48-29 | Hofstra: 48-33 | UMass: 45-26
Drexel: 42-20 | Fairfield: 39-33 | Delaware: 36-33

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 36-32 (.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 59-8 in games when Towson scores double digits.
- When Towson's defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 77-12 in that same time after topping rv Loyola 11-8 at Ridley on March 2.
- On 49 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 49-0 record.