Opening Faceoff
It's the final road trip of the regular season for the Towson University men's lacrosse team as the Tigers hit the northern climes of the CAA to take on Fairfield in a potential first-place battle at Rafferty Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
In The National Rankings
Neither team was mentioned in the USILA Coaches' Poll nor the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
The Final Road Trippin' Tigers
One more road trip for the Tigers in the regular season; by Saturday night, Towson will have played six of its last seven games away from Johnny Unitas ® Stadium.
Balance has been key for Towson's top scorers; James Avanzato (24g, 21a) leads the team with 45 points from the attack while Kyle Berkeley (18g, 14a) has 32 from the midfield. Nick DeMaio (25g, 4a) has been Towson's top finisher with a team-best 25 goals. Linemate Luke Shilling (15g, 13a) has 28 points to his credit as well.
Shane Brennan has played all 180 minutes in goal during CAA play, making 45 saves in that stretch. Brennan has a 10.67 goals against average in league play.
The home-coming Matt Constantinides, who hails from New Fairfield, Connecticut, has been in control at the X during CAA games, winning 57.9 percent of his draws with 31 grounders.
Koby Smith, back in the lineup this Saturday, and Garrett Zungailia have each caused 13 turnovers while defensive midfielder Reece Potter and Reagan McNemar have 11 and 10, respectively.
Scouting the Stags
A revitalized Fairfield team enters Saturday's tilt with a 7-5 overall mark and sitting 2-1 in the league. Fairfield topped UMass 16-13 last weekend.
Six Stags have north of 25 points this year, paced by Taylor Stough (37g, 9a). Jack McKenna (36g, 3a) and Mike Drake (24g, 14a) are nearing the 40-point threshold.
James Corasaniti has played in the CAA games for Fairfield. This season, he has 117 saves and 106 goals allowed, a .525 save percentage. He carries a goals against average of 12.94 and a 6-2 record.
Frankie Labetti has been the go-to at the faceoff X, winning 160 of his 298 draws with 92 ground balls to his name. Ryan Hamburger has been a venerable backup with 29 wins on 68 chances (.426).
Towson-Fairfield History
It's a brief history between the Tigers and the Stags; the teams first met in 2015 when Fairfield joined the CAA. Towson leads the all-time series 6-1, with the lone blemish coming in a 9-8 decision at Fairfield. Towson has won the last three meetings, including a 12-11 win at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium last season. Four games have been one-goal affairs.
Towson-Fairfield By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads 6-1
at Towson Towson 4-0
at Fairfield Towson 2-1
at Neutral Sites n/a
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting April 11, 2015
#16 Towson 8, #20 Fairfield 7
Last Meeting April 10, 2021
Towson 12, Fairfield 11
Streak Towson +3
Last Time Out vs. Fairfield | April 10, 2021 | Towson Md. | Johnny Unitas ® Stadium
Down 10-6 with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter, Towson stormed back to win 12-11 over visiting Fairfield, braced by a six-goal run in a 10-minute span. A trio of Tigers logged three points: Andrew Milani (2g, 1a), Alex Reid (2g, 1a) and James Avanzato (3a). Avanzato assisted on Towson's final two goals of the game to surge to the win column. Shane Brennan made 10 saves in the win. Dylan Beckwith led the game for Fairfield with five points on four goals and one assist. Three other Stags scored three points. Dylan Smith won 17 of the game's 26 draws.
With a Win Saturday Towson Would...
- Improve to 3-1 in the league for the first time since 2019.
- Extending the team's winning streak over Fairfield to four in a row since 2018.
- Be Towson's first road win since beating Drexel 13-12 in Philadelphia earlier this month.
- See the Tigers improve to 3-1 all-time against Fairfield at Rafferty Stadium.
- Improve Towson to 5-1 all-time at Rafferty Stadium, coupled with a CAA semifinal and championship win at the venue in 2015.
- Improve head coach Shawn Nadelen to 7-1 all-time against the Stags.
- Be the 95th career win for head coach Shawn Nadelen.
Statement from Towson Men's Lacrosse
- Towson University head men's lacrosse coach will miss Saturday's game due to COVID Protocol.
- Assistant Coach Matt Musci will serve as acting head coach for Saturday's game.
CAA Issues One-Game Suspensions
- The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) has issued one-game suspensions to two Towson men's lacrosse student-athletes following two separate incidents during last Saturday's contest between Towson University and the University of Delaware.
- Towson senior Ryan Swain has been suspended for an unsportsmanlike act that occurred late in the fourth quarter of the game against the Blue Hens.
- Towson senior Drew Martin was given a suspension for participation in an altercation that occurred after the game had concluded.
- Both suspensions will be served this Saturday when Towson visits Fairfield.
The Long and Winding Road...
- Last week, Towson ended a four-game road swing, which kicked off on March 11 at Saint Joseph's and ended right back in Philadelphia on April 2 at Drexel.
- The Tigers went 1-3 in that stretch, including a 1-2 mark in true road games.
- The four-game road swing tied the longest road trip in the Shawn Nadelen Era (2012)
- Towson also played four-straight games in 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021 and now 2022.
- In three of those four previous seasons, Towson has won the CAA Championship.
...That Leads to Your Door
- Towson opened the season with a four-game homestand, taking on No. 16 Johns Hopkins, Mount St. Mary's, No. 1 Virginia and rv Richmond.
- The Tigers had five of their first games of the 2022 season at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium.
- Before the April 9 12-9 win over #20 UMass, Towson had not played at home since an 11-10 win over crosstown rival UMBC on March 5.
- It was roughly 3,017,100 seconds between the finishing whistle of the UMBC game and Saturday's opening faceoff. Or 50,285 minutes if you prefer that unit of time. Or 838 hours.
On This Date: April 23
- Towson is 7-6 all-time when playing on April 23, dating back to a 6-4 win at Washington & Lee in 1966.
- However, the Tigers are 2-4 on the road on this date.
- Towson is 1-0 all-time against Fairfield on April 23 and hold the same mark in the Shawn Nadelen Era (2012) as No. 10 Towson bested Fairfield 18-11 in 2016 at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium.
- The Tigers have not played on this date since.
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 94 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 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).
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.
Class of the CAA
Since joining the CAA for the 2002 season, no program in league history has enjoye more success than Towson University. The Tigers have racked up 72 total wins in the CAA; Hofstra is the next-closest team. 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: 72 (8, 2019) | Hofstra: 66 (2, 2008) | Drexel: 58 (2, 2021) | Delaware: 45 (3, 2011) | UMass: 34 (2, 2018) | Fairfield: 13 (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, Towson leads the way with 49 home wins in that span.
Team: Home Record Since 2012 (as of April 16, 2022)
Towson: 49-29 | Hofstra: 48-34 | UMass: 46-27 | Drexel: 43-21 | Fairfield: 40-33 | Delaware: 37-34
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 37-37 (.500) record in road games.
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 60-8 in games when Towson scores double digits.
- When Towson's defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 78-12 in that same time after topping #20 UMass 12-9 at home on April 9, 2022.
- On 50 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 50-0 record.
