The Game: No. 15 Towson (10-3, 6-0 CAA) @ No. 18 Delaware (8-3, 6-0 CAA)
When: Fri., Apr. 26 – 7 p.m.
Where: Delaware Stadium – Newark, Del.
Broadcast: LacrosseTV/FloSports ($)
Radio Broadcast: Towsontigers.com
Series: Towson leads 45-23
 
NEWARK, Del. – The 2024 Coastal Athletic Assocation regular season title is on the line as the Towson University men's lacrosse team takes on Delaware in the league slate finale on Friday, April 26th at 7 p.m.
 
This contest will be broadcast on LacrosseTV with Jon Kociban and Marcus Holman on the call.  In addition Spiro Morekas and Glenn Smith with have the radio call on towsontigers.com.
 
Each team has won all six league games thus far.  Towson has won six straight, coming off a 17-2 home win vs. Monmouth, to be 10-3 overall.  Delaware is on a five-game win streak, defeating Drexel 13-6 on Saturday to stand 8-3 overall.
 
Towson has been nationally ranked the last four weeks, standing at No. 15 in the USILA Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.  Delaware is at No. 18 in each of the polls.
 
Towson leads the all-time series vs. Delaware 45-23.  The two split in 2023: Towson won in the regular season at home 15-10 on April 29, then Delaware won at home in the CAA semifinal round 11-8 on May 4.
 
The winner of this game wins the 2024 CAA regular season title and will be the 1-seed for the upcoming CAA Tournament.  The loser will be the 2-seed.
 
TOWSON - NATIONALLY RANKED
Towson stands at No. 15 in the USILA Coaches Poll and #15 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.  Towson's rankings on April 1 were its first national rankings since 2020.
 
Towson is the highest ranked CAA team in the top-20 and stands with victories over Saint Joseph's (#13/#16) and Navy (receiving votes).
 
WEISSHAAR - IL MIDSEASON ALL-AMERICAN
On March 29, Mikey Weisshaar was honored as an Inside Lacrosse Second Team Midseason All-American.  He is the first Tiger to land on the publication's Midseason All-America list since Koby Smith in 2021.
 
The sophomore midfielder is Towson's leading goal-scorer with 35, adding 17 assists for 52 points in 13 games.
 
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 508-382.
 
Last season, Shawn Nadelen earned his 100th victory as Towson head coach, holding a 112-85 career record.
 
CONSTANTINIDES ENTERS TOP-2 IN TOWSON HISTORY IN FACEOFFS
Towson's primary faceoff man his first three years, junior Matt Constantinides stands third in program history with 511 faceoff wins.  This includes 207 wins in 2023.
 
Constantinides needs 72 faceoff wins to tie for first in program history with Alex Woodall, who had 583 wins from 2017-19.  Constantinides passed Justin Berry, who had 507 faceoff victories from 1998-01, vs. Monmouth on April 20.
 
He is also fourth in Towson history in ground balls, currently standing with 277.  He is six away from tying for third all-time with Dan Cocchi, who had 283 ground balls from 2000-03.
 
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 honored the 1974 national title team during the April 20 game vs. Monmouth.
 
FROM THE HOME STATE....
Of the 48-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: 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              23 (99P - 46G, 53A)
--Started: Mar. 11, 2023 at Virginia
Mikey Weisshaar       21 (72P - 49G, 23A)
--Started: Mar. 25, 2023 vs. Fairfield
Chop Gallagher         15 (36P - 17G, 19A)
--Started: Mar. 18, 2023 vs. Drexel
            (note: did not play April/May 2023)
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Delaware, which is leaving the league after the 2024-25 academic year, is the two-time defending CAA Tournament champion.
 
2024 CAA Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year JP Ward, a senior attack, is second in the CAA with 4.73 points a game, totaling 23 goals and 29 assists.  Graduate student attack Mike Robinson is the team's leader in goals with 32, adding 14 assists.
 
Anchoring the third-ranked scoring defense in DI, senior goalkeeper Kevin Ellington is first in DI with a 61.5% save rate, having a 8.74 goals allowed average.  Graduate student Tate Wasson stands with 17 ground balls and eight caused turnovers.
 
Junior OJ Morris, in his second season at Delaware after transferring in from Seton Hill, wins 58% of faceoffs, adding 53 ground balls.
 
SERIES HISTORY - vs. DELAWARE
Series record: Towson leads 45-23
    --Streak: Delaware has won last one
    --in Towson: Towson leads 22-9
    --in Newark, Del.: Towson leads 21-13
    --Neutral Sites: Towson leads 2-1
 
First Meeting: May 16, 1961 - Newark, Del.
--Delaware wins 6-3
 
Last Meeting (latest to earliest):
Date                Location                      Result             
5/4/23              Newark, Del.               L, 8-11
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
 
NADELEN NAMED HEAD COACH OF U20 MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
Towson head coach Shawn Nadelen has been selected as the head coach of the United States Men's U20 National Team.  Nadelen will prepare the U.S. U20 Team for the upcoming 2025 World Lacrosse Men's U20 Championship in South Korea.
 
He was part of the U.S. Senior National Team which won the gold medal in the 2010 FIL World Lacrossse Championships in England with a 12-10 victory over Canada in the title game.
 
Nadelen becomes the second Towson men's lacrosse head coach to lead one of the U.S. National Teams.  Tony Seaman, Towson head coach from 1999 to 2011, was the head coach of the U.S. Men's Senior National Team for the 1994 World Lacrosse Championship.
 
STRONG SEASON
Towson is having one of its strongest seasons in several years.
    --At 10-3, Towson has earned its winningest season since 2019, when the Tigers went 11-5.
    --Towson is 6-0 in the CAA for the first time since 2004, when the Tigers were a perfect 5-0 in the CAA.
    --Towson's 3-1 start to the year was the best since 2019, when the Tigers started the year 5-0.
 
SAME STARTERS
Towson has remained consistent with its starting lineup during the season, having the same 10 starters in 12 of its 13 games this year.
 
The lone exception: Matt Nilan started ahead of Luke Downs in goal in Towson's win at Fairfield on March 23.
 
Including the starting 10, the first two midfield lines, the two primary faceoff men, the four primary SSDMs, the two primary LSMs and the starting goalkeeper, Towson plays all returners from 2023 and no freshmen/redshirt freshmen.