The Game: Towson (1-4, 0-0 CAA) @ #1 Virginia (5-0, 0-0 ACC)
When: Sat., Mar. 11 – 4 p.m.
Where: Klöckner Stadium – Charlottesville, Va.
Broadcast: ACC Network
Radio Broadcast: Towsontigers.com
Series: Virginia leads 15-4 (Virginia has won last 12)
 
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – In its last game before the start of league play, the Towson University men's lacrosse team will take on the No. 1 team in the country, playing at Virginia on Saturday, March 11 at 4 p.m.
 
The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network, with Anish Shroff and Quint Kessenich on the call.  In addition, Spiro Morekas will have the radio call on Towsontigers.com.
 
CAA representative Towson has fallen in its last four games, all to teams ranked or receiving votes, the last an 8-4 defeat at UMBC on Sunday to be at 1-4 overall.  Virginia is undefeated at 5-0, coming off an 18-13 victory at #11/10 Johns Hopkins on Tuesday night.
 
Towson and Virginia are playing for the third straight season in a series which began in 1972.  Virginia has won the last 12 meetings, including an 18-9 win in Towson on Feb. 19, 2022.  Towson's last win vs. UVA came in the 1991 NCAA Tournament First Round, a 14-13 victory on May 15, 1991 under coach Carl Runk in Charlottesville.
 
UVA is #1 in each the USILA Coaches Poll and Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.  Towson is not receiving votes in either poll.  This is Towson's fifth straight game against a team either ranked or receiving votes.
 
This is the third straight year, and fourth in the last five, where Towson has played the No. 1 team in the country.  All-time, Towson is 3-26 against a team ranked at No. 1.
--Feb. 27, 2019: Towson 12, Loyola 10 – Towson, Md.
--Feb. 20, 2021: Duke 19, Towson 7 – Towson, Md.
--Feb. 19, 2022: Virginia 18, Towson 9 – Towson, Md.
 
TOWSON - 2022 CAA REGULAR SEASON CO-CHAMPION
In 2022, Towson was one of three teams who earned a share of the CAA regular season title with a 3-2 league record.  The Tigers shared the regular season title with Delaware and UMass.
 
FOUR TIGERS EARN PRESEASON ALL-CAA
Four Tigers earned 2023 Preseason All-CAA recognition in the preseason coaches poll: Colby Barsz, Kyle Berkeley, Matt Constantinides and Garrett Zungailia.
 
Barsz, a First Team All-CAA LSM last season, finished with 25 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers, including three games with multiple caused turnovers.
 
Berkeley earned Second Team All-CAA last year, leading all Towson midfielders in total points with 43 off 25 goals and 18 assists, adding 19 ground balls.
 
Constantinides was the lone faceoff man on the Preseason All-CAA Team.  Earning Second Team All-CAA and CAA All-Rookie Team last year, he had 147 faceoff victories and 86 ground balls in 2022.
 
A starter the past three seasons, Zungailia led all Towson non-faceoff players with 40 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers, being tied for fourth in the CAA in total caused turnovers last year.
 
NADELEN APPROACHING 100 VICTORIES
Towson head coach Shawn Nadelen is just three wins away from his 100th at the helm of the Tigers.  Currently in his 12th season, Nadelen has a 97-77 record as Towson head coach.
 
Nadelen is looking to become the second head coach in Towson history with 100 victories.
Head Coach                Record            Years at Towson
Carl Runk                    262-191           1968-98
Tony Seaman             99-93               1999-2011
Shawn Nadelen         97-77               2012-pres.
 
TOWSON PREDICTED TO FINISH SECOND IN CAA
Towson has been predicted to finish second in the CAA preseason coaches poll.  Towson received a first-place vote and 42 points overall, only trailing Delaware, the reigning league champion, with seven first-place votes and 49 total points.
2023 CAA Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
Team (1st)                  Points
1. Delaware (7)              49
2. Towson (1)                42
3. Drexel                        35
4. Stony Brook               32
5. Hofstra                       23
6. Fairfield                      22
7. Monmouth                  14
8. Hampton                     7
 
BATTLING IN THE NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Towson will have a difficult non-league slate this season, scheduled to play four non-CAA teams who are ranked in the top-20 of the preseason polls, including a rematch against Virginia, ranked #2 in the USILA Coaches Poll and #1 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.  In addition, Saint Joseph's, Denver and Richmond were all in the preseason top-20 of each poll while Loyola earned a top-12 ranking after the first week of play.
 
PROGRAM APPROACHING 500TH VICTORY
Towson, which established varsity men's lacrosse in 1959, is just eight wins away from 500 as a program.  Since the establishment under coach Billy Hooper in 1959, Towson has a program record of 493-374.  The Tigers are 343-257 since beginning DI play in 1980.
 
ACTIVE SCORING STREAKS (FIVE OR LONGER)
Player                                     Games (Points)
Kyle Berkeley                             13   (18G, 17A, 35P)
--Started: March 19, 2022 vs. Duke
Austin Stewart                             5    (4G, 6A, 10P)
--Started: Feb. 11, 2023 at Mount St. Mary's
 
MCDONOUGH TO PLAY FOR TEAM AUSTRALIA
Connor McDonough will be competing for Australia in the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship this summer in San Diego.  McDonough, a junior also formerly played for the U19 Australia Team.  His mother is from Perth while his grandparents still live in Perth.
 
Australia plays in the Blue Division along with Team USA, which will include Towson 2019 alum Zach Goodrich. The 2023 World Lacrosse Championship will be played from June 21 to July 1.
 
FOUR TIGERS SELECTED AS CAPTAINS
   Towson has picked four captains for the 2023 campaign.
Brandon Hund (Sr. A/M)
--Second-ever Tiger to be a three-time captain (Zach Goodrich '19)
Reagan McNemar (Sr. D)
--2022 Joseph Ferrante Memorial Scholarship recipient
Ryan Swain (Gr. M)
--2021 All-CAA First Team
Garrett Zungailia (Gr. D)
--2023 Preseason All-CAA Team
 
SIX TIGERS PLAYING AS GRADUATES
Six Tigers have their undergraduate degree entering the 2023 campaign, including five earning their degree at Towson.
Player                         Major
Kyle Berkeley            BS - Criminal Justice
John Kiracofe            BS - Communication & Media
     (degree earned at Michigan)
Alex Reid                   BS - Business Administration
Austin Stewart           BS - Communications Studies
Ryan Swain                BS - Business Administration
Garrett Zungailia       BS - Business Administration
 
As a team, Towson earned a 3.2 grade point average during the Fall 2022 semester.
 
VILLAGOMEZ - CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
With a five-goal performance at Mount St. Mary's in his first-ever collegiate game, Joaquin Villagomez was selected as the CAA Rookie of the Week on Feb. 13.
 
He was the first Tiger to have a five-goal road game since April 2019, adding a pair of ground balls.
 
FROM THE HOME STATE....
Of the 52-man Towson roster, 24 players reside in the home state of Maryland.  This includes seven players from Baltimore County/City: James Azbill (Catonsville), Ray Glass (Perry Hall), Brian Hoskins (Baldwin), Andy Joerres (Reisterstown), Andrew Milani (Catonsville), Alex Reid (Baltimore) and Garrett Zungailia (Timonium).
 
....AND THE WEST COAST
Four Towson players hail from the western side of North America, connecting a coastline from the Yukon Territory to Mexico.
--Austin Ducommun - New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
--Bode Maurer - Kirkland, Washington
--Chop Gallagher - Portland, Oregon
--Nick DeMaio - San Diego, California
 
TIGERS IN THE PROS
Towson alumni have made their mark in the professional lacrosse ranks this past season.
PLL - Premier Lacrosse League (PLL)
NLL - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
MLL - Major League Lacrosse (MLL, now defunct)
--Ryan Drenner '17 - Cannons, PLL
       --2019, 2021 and 2022 PLL All-Star
--Zach Goodrich '19 - Cannons, PLL
       --2021 PLL All-Star, 2020 MLL Defensive Player of the Year
--Koby Smith '22 - Atlas, PLL | Philadelphia Wings, NLL
    --Member of Atlas Sixes Team
--Alex Woodall '19 - Cannons, PLL
       --2019 MLL Rookie of the Year, All-Star
 
FEAR THE FRESHMEN
A couple of freshmen have started the year as major contributors for the team.
 
Joaquin Villagomez is a starter on the attack line, leading the team in goals with 11 and shots on goal with 18.
 
Mikey Weisshaar, the #13 recruit by Inside Lacrosse in the class of 2022, has started the last two games on the first midfield line.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Virginia, the 2019 and 2021 NCAA champion, has been the #1-ranked team in the country the past four weeks.
 
The team has the top-ranked scoring offense in the country at 20.4 goals per game.  Redshirt senior attack Xander Dickson has a team-best 21 goals, adding five assists.  Senior attack Payton Cormier missed Tuesday's game but still has 18 goals and six assists.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Matthew Nunes has started all five games in goal, having a 10.91 goals allowed average and a 50.5% save rate.  At 6-foot-5, redshirt senior Cade Saustad has nine caused turnovers and 11 ground balls.
 
At the faceoff-X, graduate student Petey LaSalla wins at a 61.9% rate, having 41 ground balls and six goals.
 
SERIES HISTORY - vs. VIRGINIA
Series record: Virginia leads 15-4
    --Streak: UVA has won last 12
    --at Towson: Virginia leads 8-1
    --in Charlottesville, Va.: Virginia leads 7-3
    --in Neutral Sites: N/A
 
First Meeting: Apr. 29, 1972
--Virginia 20-11 - Charlottesville, Va.
 
Last 10 Meetings (latest to earliest):
Date                Location                      Result             
2/19/22            Towson, Md.               L, 9-18
2/6/21              Charlottesville, Va.      L, 11-20
3/21/10            Towson, Md.               L, 10-15
3/14/09            Charlottesville, Va.      L, 2-11
3/15/08            Towson, Md.               L, 13-18
3/17/07            Charlottesville, Va.      L, 9-13
3/19/06            Towson, Md.               L, 7-14
3/19/05            Charlottesville, Va.      L, 3-14
3/21/04            Towson, Md.               L, 8-9 (OT)
3/16/03            Charlottesville, Va.      L, 2-10