The Game: Towson (6-8, 5-2 CAA) vs. No. 19/rv Delaware (10-4, 6-1 CAA)
When: Thurs., May 4 – 5:30 p.m.
Where: Delaware Stadium – Newark, Del.
Broadcast: LacrosseTV
Radio Broadcast: Towsontigers.com
Series: Towson leads 45-22
 
NEWARK, Del. – The 4-seed Towson University men's lacrosse team will open the 2023 CAA Tournament with a rematch against 1-seed and tournament host Delaware on Thursday, May 4th at 5:30 p.m. in Newark.
 
This contest will also be broadcast online on LacrosseTV, with Travis Eldridge and Marcus Holman on the call.  Spiro Morekas and Glenn Smith will also have the radio call on towsontigers.com live from Delaware Stadium.
 
These two faced each other in Towson last Saturday, with the Tigers defeating the then #15/13 Delaware 15-10.  Towson went to 6-8 overall and 5-2 in the CAA while Delaware, now #19 in the USILA Coaches Poll and receiving votes in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, stands at 10-4 overall and 6-1 in the CAA.
 
In a series which began in 1961, Towson leads the all-time record 45-22.  This is a rematch of the 2022 CAA title game in Philadelphia, when then 1-seed Delaware defeated then 2-seed Towson 11-6.
 
The winner of this game will face the victor of 2-seed Drexel and 3-seed Stony Brook in Newark on Saturday, May 6 at 3:30 p.m.
 
TOWSON - TIES FOR SECOND PLACE IN THE CAA
With the regular season finale victory over Delaware, Towson finished in a three-way tie for second place in the CAA with Drexel and Stony Brook at 5-2, just one game behind 6-1 Delaware.
 
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 EARNS 100th VICTORY
On April 15th, Shawn Nadelen earned his 100th victory at the helm of the Tigers.  Currently in his 12th season, Nadelen has a 102-81 record as Towson head coach.
 
Nadelen is the second head coach in Towson history with 100 victories.
 
Head Coach                Record            Years at Towson
Carl Runk                    262-191           1968-98
Shawn Nadelen         102-81             2012-pres.
Tony Seaman             99-93               1999-2011
 
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 in the top-3 of the USILA Coaches Poll and in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.  In addition, Delaware, Saint Joseph's, Denver and Richmond were all in the preseason top-20 of each poll while Loyola stood in the top-10 when Towson played back in March.
 
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 498-378.
 
The Tigers are 348-272 since beginning DI play in 1980.
 
ZUNGAILIA EARNS CAA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Following Towson's victory vs. Delaware on April 29, Garrett Zungailia was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week.
 
The graduate student from Timonium finished with three caused turnovers and three ground balls and held Tye Kurtz, then the top goal-scorer in the CAA, to no goals.
 
This is the third CAA Defensive Player of the Week award for Towson, with goalkeeper Evan Long having the other two.
 
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.
 
CONSTANTINIDES ENTERS TOP-10 IN TOWSON HISTORY IN FACEOFFS
Towson's primary faceoff man the past two years, Matt Constantinides stands eighth in program history with 343 faceoff wins.  This includes 196 wins this year.
 
Constantinides needs 14 faceoff wins to tie for seventh in program history with Ben DeFelice, who had 357 wins from 2001-04.  Towson's all-time leader in faceoff wins is Alex Woodall, who had 583 from 2017-19.
 
MORIN - USILA DI TEAM OF THE WEEK
LSM Sam Morin helped Towson nearly complete a big comeback vs. Drexel, scoring the final two goals in the final minute of regulation to complete a hat trick, adding two caused turnovers in the game on March 18.
 
His performance earned him as one of 10 players on the USILA DI Team of the Week.
 
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
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
    Delaware is hosting the CAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
 
    Redshirt senior Tye Kurtz is the CAA's leading point scorer with 70 off 46 goals and 24 assists.  Junior attack JP Ward has 38 assists to lead the league, adding 29 goals for 67 points, second in the CAA.
 
    Delaware has more CAA leaders on defense, including graduate student goalkeeper Matt Kilkeary, who has leads the lead with a 9.28 goals allowed average, adding a 52.4% save rate.  Owen Grant stands second in the league with 32 caused turnovers, adding 41 ground balls and six goals.
 
    The primary player at the faceoff-X is senior Roland Hockenbery, who wins 50.4% for 61 ground balls.
 
SERIES HISTORY - vs. DELAWARE
Series record: Towson leads 45-22
    --Streak: Towson has won last one
    --in Towson: Towson leads 22-9
    --in Newark, Del.: Towson leads 21-12
    --Neutral Sites: Towson leads 2-1
    --in the CAA Tournament: Delaware leads 4-3
 
First Meeting: May 16, 1961
--Delaware 6-3 - Newark, Del.
 
Last 10 Meetings (latest to earliest):
Date                Location                      Result             
4/29/23            Towson, Md.               W, 15-10
5/7/22              Philadelphia, Pa.         L, 6-11
4/16/22            Newark, Del.               L, 10-11
4/24/21            Towson, Md.               L, 8-16
3/20/21            Newark, Del.               L, 12-13 (OT)
5/2/19              Amherst, Mass.           W, 18-11
4/20/19            Newark, Del.               W, 14-12
5/3/18              Amherst, Mass.           W, 9-8 (OT)
4/21/18            Towson, Md.               W, 13-7
4/15/17            Newark, Del.               W, 10-6