The Game: Towson (3-1, 0-0 CAA) at Loyola (1-3, 0-0 Patriot League)
When: Tues., Feb. 27 – 6 p.m.
Where: Ridley Athletic Complex – Baltimore, Md.
Broadcast: ESPN+ ($)
Radio Broadcast: Towsontigers.com
Series: Loyola leads 35-31
 
BALTIMORE – The Towson University men's lacrosse team will finish out February with a battle against Baltimore rival Loyola on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. at the Ridley Athletic Complex.
 
This contest will also be broadcast on ESPN+($), with Glenn Clark on the call live from the Ridley Athletic Complex.  Spiro Morekas and Glenn Smith have the radio call on towsontigers.com.
 
Each team is receiving votes in the USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.  Towson, from the Coastal Athletic Association, is on a three-game winning streak after a 15-7 victory at Saint Joseph's on Friday to stand 3-1 overall.  Loyola, from the Patriot League, has fallen in its last three games, the last a 13-5 defeat at home to then-#17 Rutgers, to be 1-3 overall.
 
Towson and Loyola have played at least once in all but one year since 1959, with 1980 being the lone exception. Loyola leads the all-time series 35-31, winning last year 12-11 in overtime on Mar. 1, 2023.  Towson won the last meeting at Ridley, an 11-8 win on Mar. 2, 2022.
 
Towson is back home for its next two games, taking on UMBC on March 2 and Virginia on March 9 at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.
 
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 501-380.
 
The Tigers are 351-274 since beginning DI play in 1980.  Last season, Shawn Nadelen earned his 100th victory as Towson head coach, holding a 105-83 career record.
 
BEST START SINCE 2019
Beginning 3-1 on the year, Towson is having its best start to a season since 2019, when the Tigers began the year 5-0.
 
Under head coach Shawn Nadelen, Towson began the season 3-1 or 4-0 in 2015 (3-1), 2016 (4-0), 2017 (3-1) and 2019 (4-0).
 
DOWNS REPEATS AS CAA DEF. PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Luke Downs repeated as CAA Defensive Player of the Week after a dominant performance in Towson's win at Saint Joseph's.  He is just the second player to earn back-to-back CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors since the award was established in 2023.
 
Downs finished with a 65% save rate on 13 saves and seven goals allowed, adding five ground balls in the victory in goal.
 
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 402 faceoff wins.  This includes 207 wins in 2023.
 
Constantinides needs nine 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 ninth in Towson history in ground balls, currently standing with 225.  He is three away from tying for seventh all-time with Tim Lucky and Tony Millon.
 
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              14 (55P - 30G, 25A)
--Started: Mar. 11, 2023 at Virginia
Mikey Weisshaar       12 (37P - 24G, 13A)
--Started: Mar. 25, 2023 vs. Fairfield
Chop Gallagher         6 (11P - 7G, 4A)
--Started: Mar. 18, 2023 vs. Drexel
            (note: did not play April/May 2023)
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
All four of Loyola's games thus far have come against ranked opponents.
 
Leading the offense at attack is graduate student Evan James, a 2023 Inside Lacrosse All-America Honorable Mention, who has eight goals, five assists and nine ground balls.  Classmate Adam Poitras, also a 2023 Inside Lacrosse All-American, stands with seven goals, three assists and eight ground balls.
 
In his second year starting in goal, senior Luke Staudt, 2023 Inside Lacrosse All-America Honorable Mention, has a 12.77 goals allowed average and 53.1% save rate.  Rutgers transfer Remi Reynolds starts at close defense, currently having nine ground balls and four caused turnovers.
 
Playing his fifth season for Loyola, graduate student Eric Pacheco is the primary faceoff win, winning 39.4% with eight ground balls.
 
SERIES HISTORY - vs. LOYOLA
Series record: Loyola leads 35-31
    --Streak: Loyola has won last one
    --in Towson: Loyola leads 17-15
    --in Baltimore: Loyola leads 17-15
    --Neutral Sites: Tied 1-1
 
First Meeting: April 25, 1959 - Towson, Md.
--Loyola wins 8-6
 
Last Ten Meetings (latest to earliest):
Date                Location                      Result             
3/1/23              Towson, Md.               L, 11-12 (OT)
3/2/22              Baltimore                    W, 11-8
3/27/21            Towson, Md.               W, 7-6 (OT)
2/26/20            Baltimore                    L, 6-15
2/27/19            Towson, Md.               W, 12-10
2/28/18            Baltimore                    L, 8-12
3/1/17              Towson, Md.               L, 7-11
5/22/16            Columbus, Ohio           L, 8-10
3/2/16              Baltimore                    W, 10-8
2/18/15            Towson, Md.               L, 11-15