The Game: Towson (6-3, 2-0 CAA) vs. Stony Brook (3-6, 1-1 CAA)
When: Sat., Mar. 30 – 12 p.m.
Where: Johnny Unitas® Stadium – Towson, Md.
Broadcast: FloSports ($)
Radio Broadcast: Towsontigers.com
Series: Tied 2-2
Tickets: https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/mlaxsinglegames
Promotion: Free Coca-Cola tumbler for first 500 fans
 
TOWSON, Md. – Game three in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play will be the first home league contest of the year as the Towson University men's lacrosse team hosts Stony Brook on Saturday, March 30 at noon.
 
To purchase season tickets or if you have any questions regarding tickets, visit https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/ or call the Towson Athletics ticket office at 410-704-4501.  The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free Coca-Cola branded tumbler.
 
This contest will be broadcast on FloSports($), with Spiro Morekas and Glenn Smith on the call.  They will also have the radio call on towsontigers.com live from Johnny Unitas® Stadium.
 
Towson stands tied for first place in the CAA at 2-0 and 6-3 overall after a 12-10 road win over Fairfield.  The Tigers are receiving votes in the USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.  Stony Brook has fallen in its last three games, coming off an 11-6 loss vs. Monmouth, to be 3-6 overall and 1-1 in the CAA.
 
This is the fifth all-time meeting between the two teams with a 2-2 tied series.  Stony Brook won last year 13-12 on Long Island, then the first meeting since 2012.  Stony Brook head coach Anthony Gilardi spent eight years as an assistant coach under Shawn Nadelen at Towson.
 
This is part of a doubleheader with the Towson women's lacrosse team, which plays Hofstra at 3 p.m. at Unitas.
 
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 2/20
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 543-382.
 
The Tigers are 354-276 since beginning DI play in 1980.  Last season, Shawn Nadelen earned his 100th victory as Towson head coach, holding a 108-85 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).
 
MORIN NAMED TO USILA DI TEAM OF THE WEEK
Sam Morin's strong defensive performance in a victory at Fairfield on March 23 placed him on the USILA DI Team of the Week.
 
Morin earned career-highs with three caused turnovers and seven ground balls, helping a Towson defense hold Fairfield to two second half goals during a driving rainstorm.
 
CONSTANTINIDES ENTERS TOP-5 IN TOWSON HISTORY IN FACEOFFS
Towson's primary faceoff man his first two years, Matt Constantinides stands third in program history with 470 faceoff wins.  This includes 207 wins in 2023.
 
Constantinides needs 37 faceoff wins to tie for second in program history with Justin Berry, who had 507 wins from 1999-2001.  Towson's all-time leader in faceoff wins is Alex Woodall, who had 583 from 2017-19.
 
He is also fifth in Towson history in ground balls, currently standing with 258.  He is 16 away from tying for fourth all-time with Mark Goers, who had 274 ground balls from 1993-95.
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 (10 GAMES OR LONGER)
Player                          Games (Points)
Nick DeMaio              19 (80P - 38G, 44A)
--Started: Mar. 11, 2023 at Virginia
Mikey Weisshaar       17 (57P - 40G, 17A)
--Started: Mar. 25, 2023 vs. Fairfield
Chop Gallagher         11 (24P - 13G, 11A)
--Started: Mar. 18, 2023 vs. Drexel
            (note: did not play April/May 2023)
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Stony Brook is playing in its first away game since March 5 and third away game overall.
 
The CAA Co-Preseason Player of the Year, graduate student attack Dylan Pallonetti is the league's leader in goals with 28, adding eight assists.  Classmate Nick Dupuls is the CAA leader in assists with 32, adding 14 goals for a team-best 46 points. 
 
The Seawolves have rotated primarily through two goalkeepers: sophomore Tommy Wilk has a 54.6% save rate and a 10.89 goals allowed average while junior Jamison MacLachlan saves 43.8% of shots for a 13.76 goals allowed average. Graduate student close defender Michael Sabella is the team's leader in caused turnovers with 12, adding 17 ground balls.
 
True freshman Chris Esposito has taken nearly three-fourths of the team's faceoffs, winning 47.8% for 32 ground balls.
 
SERIES HISTORY - vs. STONY BROOK
Series record: Tied 2-2
    --Streak: Stony Brook has won last one
    --in Towson: Towson leads 1-0
    --in Stony Brook, N.Y.: SBU leads 2-1
    --Neutral Sites: N/A
 
First Meeting: March 6, 2010 - Stony Brook, N.Y.
--Stony Brook wins 14-11
 
Last Four Meetings (latest to earliest):
Date                Location                      Result             
4/1/23              Stony Brook, N.Y.       L, 12-13
3/17/12            Stony Brook, N.Y.       W, 10-9 (2OT)
3/19/11            Towson, Md.               W, 9-8
3/6/10              Stony Brook, N.Y.       L, 11-14