Opening Faceoff
It was a quick road trip for the Towson University men's lacrosse team as the Tigers made the four-mile trek down to Ridley Athletic Complex on Wednesday, coming away with an 11-8 win over host Loyola University Maryland.
In The National Rankings
Towson did not receive votes in either major poll this week, nor did UMBC.
The Once More at Home Tigers
It's the last game at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium for the Tigers before hitting the road for over a month. Towson won't be home again until April 9 to take on UMass, playing four road games in that time.
Towson's offense continues to produce, racking 11 goals Wednesday at Loyola. Two balanced players lead Towson's scoring: Kyle Berkeley (11g, 8a) and James Avanzato (10g, 9a) each have 19 points. Nick DeMaio (15g, 2a) has produced 17 points while Luke Shilling (5g, 6a) has 11 points in three games.
At close defense, Koby Smith (7ct) and Reagan McNemar (7ct) have forced opponents into mistakes while Garrett Zungailia cleans up with 14 ground balls.
Shane Brennan has made 65 saves this season while carrying a 12.71 goals against average. He has faced 227 total shots, making saves at a .504 rate and is second on the team with 15 ground balls.
Matt Constantinides has come on strong at the X lately, winning 37 of his 85 attempts with a team-best 17 ground balls. Shane Santora (23-53) has battled for a share of the starting role.
Scouting the Visiting Retrievers
UMBC makes the cross-county trip on Saturday with a 1-1 overall record, topping #19 Drexel 12-8 at home but falling 9-8 at Mount St. Mary's last weekend.
Brett Baucia (5g, 1a) leads UMBC's goal and point efforts. Mike Doughty (4g) and Jack Thomas (2g, 2a) have four points apiece.
Five Retrievers have forced turnovers, including a pair from Colin Kasner.
Zach Dudley has been the go-to faceoff specialist for UMBC, winning 24 of his 41 chances (.585) with a team-best 14 ground balls.
Tommy Lingner has made 22 saves in 120 minutes of work, sporting an 8.03 goals against average. He has a .579 save percentage.
Towson-UMBC History
Saturday will be the 51st meeting all-time between Towson and UMBC. The Tigers lead the series with a 34-16 edge, though UMBC won the last meeting. The teams have met every year since 1970 sans 1986, 2019, and 2021. Towson has won the last five meetings at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium and sports an 18-6 overall record on home turf. Towson won the last home meeting 8-6 on March 3, 2018.
Towson-UMBC By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson 34-16
at Towson 18-6
at UMBC Towson 15-10
at Neutral Sites Towson 1-0
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting April 11, 1970
Towson 10, UMBC 7
Last Meeting March 3, 2020
UMBC 10, Towson 5
Streak UMBC +1
Last Time Out vs. UMBC | March 3, 2020 | Catonsville, Md. | UMBC Stadium
Holding a 5-3 lead early in the third quarter, Towson's lead slipped away as UMBC surged on a 7-0 run over the last 17 minutes to take a 10-5 win at UMBC Stadium. Austin Stewart notched two assists for the Tigers while Brody McLean tallied two goals. Grant Maloof, Tim Montgomery and Logan Zimnoch all scored once. James Avanzato and Brandon Hund had one assist each. Shane Brennan made a career-best 18 saves in the night game. Trevor Patschorke led the game with four goals as Steve Zichelli tallied three points on two goals and an assist. Alex Poma won 13 of the games 18 faceoffs.
With a Win Saturday Towson Would...
- Win back-to-back games for the first time this season
- Be victorious in back-to-back games for the first time since three-straight in April 2021.
- Win its sixth-straight game at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium over UMBC
- Improve to 3-1 against in-state opponents this season.
- Start the month of March off at 2-0 for the first time since the 2018 campaign with wins over UMBC and at No. 13 Ohio State in overtime.
- Be the 92nd career win for head coach Shawn Nadelen.
Capitol Lacrosse Classic
- Announced on Friday afternoon, Towson and Duke will play at 6 p.m. at the Capitol Lacrosse Classic.
- The Tigers and Blue Devils meet at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. as part of a triple-header day.
- Towson's game will be the third of the afternoon, leading off with Hampden-Sydney and Catholic University, followed by a rematch of last season's NCAA Championship game between No. 1 Maryland and No. 2 Virginia.
- Towson and Duke will meet neutral site for the first time since the first round of the 2001 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament, a 12-10 Towson win at UMBC Stadium.
- Tickets went on sale March 3
Offense is Clicking
- Towson's offense is clicking along in 2022.
- The Tigers have scored 60 goals in the first four games of the year, averaging 12.00 per.
- It is Towson's highest goal total through the first five games since the 2019 season when the Tigers landed 70 goals in the first four games.
- When Towson scores at least 50 goals in the first five games under head coach Shawn Nadelen, the Tigers have won the CAA Tournament in three of the three qualifying seasons (2019 - 70; 2017 - 52; 2016 - 54)
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 91 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 Four USILA/Dynamic Coaches Poll.
- No. 2 Virginia (L, 9-18), No. 10 Duke (March 19), No. 14 Johns Hopkins (L, 12-18), No. 17 Delaware (April 16), No. 19 Richmond (L, 15-16 (3OT)), rv Saint Joseph's (March 12), rv Loyola (W, 11-8), rv UMass (April 9).
- Four of first five foes on tap this spring were all mentioned in the poll: No. 13 Johns Hopkins, No. 2 Virginia, rv Richmond and No. 20 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: March 5
- March means lacrosse (it is a spring sport after all!).
- Saturday will be Towson's fifth game all-time on March 5.
- The Tigers are a clean 4-0 all-time on this date.
- Towson is 1-0 at home on March 5, including a 14-6 win over UMBC on March 5
- Towson is 1-0 all-time against UMBC on March 5.
- Towson is 1-0 all-time on March 5 under Shawn Nadelen. It's the same UMBC game that's been mentioned three times.
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 2 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.
- Last Saturday's game was the sixth-straight home game for the Tigers, dating back to the 2021 season. Towson is 1-5 in that span.
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 March 2, 2022)
Towson: 47-29 | Hofstra: 47-32 | UMass: 42-26 | Drexel: 41-20 | Fairfield: 39-31 Delaware: 35-33
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 58-8 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 Wednesday.
- On 49 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 49-0 record.
