The Game: Towson (4-3, 0-0 CAA) at Drexel (3-3, 0-0 CAA)
When: Sat., Mar. 16 – 12 p.m.
Where: Vidas Field – Philadelphia, Pa.
Broadcast: FloSports/NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio Broadcast: Towsontigers.com
Series: Towson leads 47-13
 
PHILADELPHIA – The Towson University men's lacrosse team will start Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play with a pair of road games, starting with a return trip to Philadelphia to play at Drexel on Saturday, March 16 at noon.
 
This contest will be broadcast online on FloSports as well as locally in the Philadelphia area on NBC Sports Philadelphia with Sam Kuperman, Kenny Snyder and Haiya Kofler on the call from Vidas Field.  In addition, Spiro Morekas and Glenn Smith will have the radio call on Towsontigers.com.
 
This is the league opener for both teams.  Towson, which is receiving votes in each the USILA Coaches Poll and Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, is coming off a 19-15 home defeat to then-#6/5 Virginia on Saturday to stand 4-3 overall.  Drexel fell to city rival Saint Joseph's 15-6 on Sunday to enter at 3-3 overall.
 
Towson leads the all-time series 47-13, but Drexel won the last meeting, a 12-11 win in overtime at Unitas.  Towson won the previous game in Philadelphia, a 13-12 victory on April 2, 2022.
 
Towson boasts connections with Drexel, with Tiger assistants Steve Grossi and Matt Musci each being Drexel alumni in 2009 and 2007 respectively.
 
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 502-382.
 
The Tigers are 352-276 since beginning DI play in 1980.  Last season, Shawn Nadelen earned his 100th victory as Towson head coach, holding a 106-85 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).
 
DEMAIO EARNS CAA OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the second time this season, Nick DeMaio was selected as the CAA Offensive Player of the Week after tallying up 13 points and three caused turnovers in two games.  This is his third career CAA weekly honor.
 
His key game was a nine-point performance, off four goals and five assists, in Towson's victory vs. UMBC.
 
CONSTANTINIDES ENTERS TOP-5 IN TOWSON HISTORY IN FACEOFFS
Towson's primary faceoff man his first two years, Matt Constantinides stands fourth in program history with 442 faceoff wins.  This includes 207 wins in 2023.
 
Constantinides needs 24 faceoff wins to tie for third in program history with Matt Eckerl, who had 466 wins from 2004-07.  Towson's all-time leader in faceoff wins is Alex Woodall, who had 583 from 2017-19.
 
He is also sixth in Towson history in ground balls, currently standing with 245.  He is eight away from tying for fifth all-time with Justin Berry, who had 253 ground balls from 1999-2001.
 
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 four 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)
 
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              17 (75P - 37G, 38A)
--Started: Mar. 11, 2023 at Virginia
Mikey Weisshaar       15 (50P - 36G, 14A)
--Started: Mar. 25, 2023 vs. Fairfield
Chop Gallagher         9 (17P - 10G, 7A)
--Started: Mar. 18, 2023 vs. Drexel
            (note: did not play April/May 2023)
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Drexel has been a participant in 10 of the last 11 CAA Tournaments.
 
The leading goal-scorer for Drexel is 2024 Preseason All-CAA midfielder Luke Tomak, who has 12 along with four assists in his junior year.  Sophomore attack Conor Hooley is the leading point-scorer with 11 goals and six assists.
 
Junior Drew McGill is the CAA leader in save percentage at 57.6%, having a 10.18 goals allowed average.  Sophomore close defender Sean Curcio is the team's leader in caused turnovers with seven.
 
Connor Beals was the 2023 MAAC Faceoff Specialist of the Year with Mount St. Mary's, winning 55.6% with 20 ground balls this season with the Dragons.
 
SERIES HISTORY - vs. DREXEL
Series record: Towson leads 47-13
    --Streak: Drexel has won the last one
    --in Towson: Towson leads 26-6
    --in Philadelphia: Towson leads 18-7
    --Neutral Sites: Towson leads 3-0
 
First Meeting: April 12, 1962 - Towson, Md.
--Drexel wins 14-7
 
Last Ten Meetings (latest to earliest):
Date                Location                      Result             
3/18/23            Towson, Md.               L, 11-12 (OT)
4/2/22              Philadelphia                W, 13-12
5/1/21              Towson, Md.               L, 11-12
3/6/21              Philadelphia                L, 10-12
5/4/19              Amherst, Mass.           W, 16-14
4/27/19            Philadelphia                W, 11-9
4/6/18              Towson, Md.               W, 17-9
5/4/17              Towson, Md.               W, 8-4
4/1/17              Philadelphia                W, 8-7
5/5/16              Towson, Md.               W, 10-6