The Game: Towson (2-1, 0-0 CAA) at Saint Joseph's (0-2, 0-0 A10)
When: Fri., Feb. 23 – 4 p.m.
Where: Sean Sweeney Field – Philadelphia, Pa.
Broadcast: ESPN+ ($)
Radio Broadcast: Towsontigers.com
Series: Series is tied 3-3
 
PHILADELPHIA – The Towson University men's lacrosse team will commence its first of two trips to Philadelphia on Friday, February 23, taking on Saint Joseph's at 4 p.m.
 
This contest will also be broadcast on ESPN+($), with Shane Taggert and Brendan McNicholas on the call live from Sean Sweeney Field.  Spiro Morekas and Glenn Smith have the radio call on towsontigers.com.
 
Each team is receiving votes in the USILA Coaches Poll.  Towson, from the Coastal Athletic Association, dominated Navy 17-5 on Saturday for its second straight win and a 2-1 record.  Saint Joseph's, from the Atlantic 10, is coming off a 19-10 defeat to #2 Duke to stand at 0-2 overall.  Saint Joseph's is playing its first home game of 2024.
 
This will be the seventh all-time meeting between Towson and Saint Joseph's, with the series being tied 3-3.  Saint Joseph's has won the last two games, including a 16-13 win in Towson on Feb. 18, 2023.  Towson last won on Feb. 13, 2021, an 8-7 overtime win at Unitas.
 
Towson will return to Philadelphia on Saturday, March 16 for the start of CAA play at Drexel.  The game at Saint Joseph's is Towson's only regular season non-conference game outside of the Greater Baltimore area.
 
BARSZ - CAA PRESEASON DEF. PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Colby Barsz was selected as the CAA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year by the league's head coaches.  He is the first Tiger to earn this honor since Koby Smith in 2021.
 
A two-time First Team All-CAA honoree, Barsz was tied for the team lead in caused turnovers last season with 18, adding 22 ground balls.
 
FOUR TIGERS EARN PRESEASON ALL-CAA
Four Tigers earned 2024 Preseason All-CAA recognition in the preseason coaches poll: Colby Barsz, Matt Constantinides, Nick DeMaio and Josh Webber.
 
Constantinides, a two-time All-CAA Second Team player, was the lone faceoff specialist on the 2024 Preseason All-CAA Team, winning 56.1% of faceoffs and scooping 116 ground balls.
 
DeMaio earned 2023 All-CAA Second Team last season as Towson's scoring leader off 29 goals and 21 assists.
 
Webber picked up 2023 All-CAA Second Team as a starter in the first midfield, tallying 12 goals, 12 assists, 19 ground balls and eight caused turnovers.
 
In addition, Mikey Weisshaar was Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention.  Weisshaar picked up 17 goals, eight assists and 15 ground balls last season.
 
TOWSON PREDICTED TO FINISH THIRD IN CAA
Towson has been predicted to finish third in the CAA preseason coaches poll.  Towson received 37 points overall, coming off a tie for second place in the conference last year after notching five league victories.
2024 CAA Men's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
Team (1st)                  Points
1. Delaware (5)              48
2. Stony Brook (2)         43
3. Towson                     37
4. Drexel                        31
5. Hofstra                       26
6. Fairfield                      19
7. Monmouth                  13
8. Hampton                     7
 
DEMAIO - USA LACROSSE DI PLAYER OF THE WEEK
With a nine-point performance in a victory over Navy, Nick DeMaio was honored as the USA Lacrosse DI Men's Player of the Week.
 
DeMaio finished with four goals and five assists.  He earned the first nine-point game for a Towson Tiger since 2019.
 
PROGRAM EARNS 500TH VICTORY
Towson, which established varsity men's lacrosse in 1959, earned its 500th victory as a program on Feb. 17 with a 17-5 win vs. Navy.  Since the establishment under coach Billy Hooper in 1959, Towson has a program record of 500-380.
 
The Tigers are 350-274 since beginning DI play in 1980.  Last season, Shawn Nadelen earned his 100th victory as Towson head coach, holding a 104-83 career record.
 
TOWSON DUO EARNS CAA WEEKLY AWARDS
Towson's dominant 17-5 win vs. Navy on Feb. 17 led to a pair of Tigers earning CAA weekly honors.
 
Nick DeMaio was CAA Offensive Player of the Week with nine points off four goals and five assists.  Luke Downs earned CAA Defensive Player of the Week with 11 saves and just five goals allowed in the victory in net.
 
CONSTANTINIDES ENTERS TOP-5 IN TOWSON HISTORY IN FACEOFFS
Towson's primary faceoff man his first two years, Matt Constantinides stands fifth in program history with 389 faceoff wins.  This includes 207 wins in 2023.
 
Constantinides needs 22 faceoff wins to tie for fourth in program history with Scott Mullins, who had 411 wins from 1983-86.  Towson's all-time leader in faceoff wins is Alex Woodall, who had 583 from 2017-19.
 
He is also tenth in Towson history in ground balls, currently standing with 217.  He is five away from ninth: Steve Wohltmann had 222 from 1996-99.
 
THREE TIGERS SELECTED AS CAPTAINS
Towson has picked three captains for the 2023 campaign.  All are captains for the first time.
Colby Barsz (Sr. D)
--Two-time All-CAA First Team on defense
Ray Glass (Sr. SSDM)
--2023 Joseph Ferrante Memorial Scholarship recipient
Josh Webber (Sr. M)
--2023 All-CAA Second Team midfielder
 
HONORING THE 1974 NATIONAL TITLE TEAM
2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1974 Towson State College national championship team in the College Division.
 
Captained by Jeff Clarke, Tom Moore and Wendell Thomas, the Tigers went 14-1 in 1974, defeating Hobart 18-17 in overtime in the Division II national title game.  Carl Runk earned DII Coach of the Year while Jim Darcangelo notched College Division Player of the Year while Wendell Thomas earned College Division Defenseman of the Year.
 
Towson will be honoring the 1974 national title team during the April 20 game vs. Monmouth.
 
FROM THE HOME STATE....
Of the 49-man Towson roster, 21 players reside in the home state of Maryland.  This includes seven players from Baltimore County: James Azbill (Catonsville), Matt Burnam (Nottingham), Ben Ellis (Towson) and Ray Glass (Perry Hall).
 
....AND FROM DIFFERENT TIME ZONES
Towson players are represented in all time zones of the contiguous United States.  Including Maryland, Towson has representatives from 17 different states and Canada.
--Central Time Zone: Elijah Smith (Nebraska), Conor Spagnolli (Texas)
--Mountain Time Zone: Ethan Pearson (Colorado)
--Pacific Time Zone: Taz Delaney (California), Nick DeMaio (California), Chop Gallagher (Oregon), Bode Maurer (Washington)
 
BRINGING BACK THE STAFF
For the third straight season, Towson keeps its coaching staff intact on the sideline.  Shawn Nadelen brings back Steve Grossi and Matt Musci as offensive and defensive coordinator respectively, plus elevated Andy Shilling from volunteer to full assistant coach.  Jordan Metzbower returns for her third year as director of lacrosse operations.
 
TIGERS IN THE PROS/NATIONAL TEAMS
Towson alumni have made their mark in the professional/national lacrosse ranks this past season.
PLL - Premier Lacrosse League (PLL)
--Ryan Drenner '17 - Cannons, PLL
       --2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 PLL All-Star
       --USA Men's Box National Team player pool
--Zach Goodrich '19 - Cannons, PLL/Team USA
       --2021 and 2023 PLL All-Star
       --Gold medal in 2023 World Championship w/ team USA
       --2020 MLL Defensive Player of the Year
--Fred Lee '08 - Team New Zealand
       --Started five games in 2023 World Championship
--Koby Smith '22 - Atlas, PLL
    --Member of Atlas Sixes Team
 
ACTIVE POINT STREAKS (FIVE GAMES OR LONGER)
Player                          Games (Points)
Nick DeMaio              13 (53P - 28G, 25A)
--Started: Mar. 11, 2023 at Virginia
Mikey Weisshaar       11 (32P - 20G, 12A)
--Started: Mar. 25, 2023 vs. Fairfield
Chop Gallagher         5 (10P - 6G, 4A)
--Started: Mar. 18, 2023 vs. Drexel
            (note: did not play April/May 2023)
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Saint Joseph's is the defending Atlantic 10 regular season champion.
 
The team's leading scorer is a graduate transfer from Lenoir-Rhyne: attack Toron Eccleston has seven goals and five ground balls.  2023 All-A10 First Team attack Carter Page has four goals and six ground balls through two games.
 
Standing in goal for the majority of minutes in the first two games is junior Shayne Ryan, 2023 A10 All-Rookie Team member, with a 16.51 goals allowed average and 33.3% save rate.  Junior Levi Verch, 2023 A10 Second Team close defender, is third in DI in caused turnovers per game, having six caused turnovers and 13 ground balls.
 
A Maryland graduate transfer, Gavin Tygh is the primary faceoff man, winning 38.5% with nine ground balls.
 
SERIES HISTORY - vs. SAINT JOSEPH'S
Series record: Tied 3-3
    --Streak: Saint Joseph's has won last two
    --in Towson: Towson leads 3-1
    --in Philadelphia: Saint Joseph's leads 2-0
 
First Meeting: April 30, 2011 - Towson, Md.
--Towson wins 15-2
 
Last Six Meetings (latest to earliest):
Date                Location                      Result             
2/18/23            Towson, Md.               L, 13-16
3/11/22            Philadelphia, Pa.         L, 8-11
2/13/21            Towson, Md.               W, 8-7 (OT)
4/27/13            Towson, Md.               W, 13-6
4/28/12            Philadelphia, Pa.         L, 3-6
4/30/11            Towson, Md.               W, 15-2