The Game: No. 15 Towson (11-3, 7-0 CAA) vs. Drexel (6-8, 3-4 CAA)
When: Thurs., May 2 – 4 p.m.
Where: Johnny Unitas® Stadium – Towson, Md.
Broadcast: LacrosseTV/FloSports ($)
Radio Broadcast: Towsontigers.com
Series: Towson leads 48-13
Tickets: https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/caamlaxchampionship
 
TOWSON, Md. – The No. 15 Towson men's lacrosse team is set to kick off the CAA Tournament semifinal round on Thursday, May 2, hosting 4-seed Drexel at 4 p.m.
 
To purchase tickets or if you have any questions regarding tickets, visit https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/caamlaxchampionship or call the Towson Athletics ticket office at 410-704-4501.
 
This contest will be broadcast on LacrosseTV with Taylor Stolworthy and Marcus Holman on the call.  In addition, Spiro Morekas and Glenn Smith with have the radio call on towsontigers.com live from Johnny Unitas® Stadium.
 
Towson earned the CAA regular season title with a perfect 7-0 league slate, coming off an 11-10 win at #18 Delaware to be 11-3 overall.  Drexel, notching the 4-seed with the tiebreaker over Hofstra, won at Monmouth 6-4 on Friday to be 6-8 overall and 3-4 in the CAA.
 
Towson has been nationally ranked the last five weeks, standing at #15 in the USILA Coaches Poll and #15 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
 
In the regular season, Towson won at Drexel 16-11 on March 16 to take a 48-13 lead in the all-time series.  These two last met in the CAA Tournament in 2019, with Towson winning 16-14 in the title game in Amherst, Massachusetts.
 
The winner of this game takes on the victor of 2-seed Delaware and 3-seed Fairfield on Saturday, May 4 at 3:30 p.m. for the CAA title game.
 
TOWSON - CAA REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION
Going undefeated in league play at 7-0, Towson is the 2024 CAA regular season champion.  Towson earns the program's 10th CAA regular season title since 2004 and fifth under head coach Shawn Nadelen.
 
It is the first time Towson has earned an undefeated CAA season since 2004 when the Tigers finished 5-0.  Towson notches the first undefeated CAA regular season since UMass was 6-0 in 2018.
 
Towson had been predicted to finish third in the CAA in the preseason coaches poll behind Delaware and Stony Brook.
 
TOWSON - NATIONALLY RANKED
Towson stands at #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 as the Tigers have been ranked for five straight weeks.
 
Towson is the highest ranked CAA team in the top-20 and stands with victories over Saint Joseph's (#13/#16), Delaware (receiving votes) and Navy (receiving votes).
 
All three of Towson's losses have come against ranked opponents: Johns Hopkins, Virginia and Loyola.
 
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 midfielder is Towson's leading goal-scorer with 36, adding 17 assists for 53 points in 14 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.
 
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 509-382.
 
Last season, Shawn Nadelen earned his 100th victory as Towson head coach, holding a 113-85 career record.
 
VILLAGOMEZ - CAA OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
With a five-point performance in Towson's win at Delaware, Joaquin Villagomez was selected as the CAA Offensive Player of the Week.  The sophomore attack finished with three goals and two assists.
 
Four different Tigers have earned at least one CAA Offensive Player of the Week award this year: Nick DeMaio, Chop Gallagher, Joaquin Villagomez and Josh Webber.
 
CONSTANTINIDES ENTERS TOP-2 IN TOWSON HISTORY IN FACEOFFS
Towson's primary faceoff man his first three years, junior Matt Constantinides stands second in program history with 522 faceoff wins.  This includes 207 wins in 2023.
 
Constantinides needs 61 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 280.  He is three 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 will be honoring 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              24 (103P - 49G, 54A)
--Started: Mar. 11, 2023 at Virginia
Mikey Weisshaar       22 (73P - 50G, 23A)
--Started: Mar. 25, 2023 vs. Fairfield
Chop Gallagher         16 (38P - 18G, 20A)
--Started: Mar. 18, 2023 vs. Drexel
            (note: did not play April/May 2023)
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Drexel is competing in its fifth consecutive CAA Tournament, including winning the league title in 2021.
 
A pair of juniors are the leading goal-scorers: attack Max Semple has a team-best 30 goals while midfielder Luke Tomak has 25.  Moving into the starting lineup the last six games, redshirt freshman Gavin Kelly is the team leader in assists with 16, adding 14 goals.
 
Junior Drew McGill has started every game in goal for the Dragons, having a 53.5% save rate and an 11.78 goals allowed average.  Sophomore Luke Carden and freshman Pat Lyman at close defense have 15 and 13 caused turnovers respectively.
 
A graduate transfer from Mount St. Mary's, Connor Beals wins 53.7% of faceoffs, having 60 ground balls.
 
SERIES HISTORY - vs. DREXEL
Series record: Towson leads 48-13
    --Streak: Towson has won last one
    --in Towson: Towson leads 26-6
    --in Philadelphia, Pa.: Towson leads 19-7
    --Neutral Sites: Towson leads 3-0
    --In the CAA Tournament: Towson leads 7-1       
First Meeting: April 12, 1962 - Towson, Md.
--Drexel wins 14-7
 
Last 10 Meetings (latest to earliest):
Date                Location                      Result             
3/16/24            Philadelphia, Pa.         W, 16-11
3/18/23            Towson, Md.               L, 11-12 (OT)
4/2/22              Philadelphia, Pa.         W, 13-12
5/1/21              Towson, Md.               L, 11-12
3/6/21              Philadelphia, Pa.        L, 10-12
5/4/19              Amherst, Mass.           W, 16-14
4/27/19            Philadelphia, Pa.         W, 11-9
4/6/18              Towson, Md.               W, 17-9
5/4/17              Towson, Md.               W, 8-4
4/1/17              Philadelphia, Pa.         W, 8-7
 
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 11-3, Towson has earned its winningest season since 2017, when the Tigers went 12-5.  The Tigers were 11-5 in 2019.
--Towson was perfect in CAA play for the first time since 2004, when the Tigers were 5-0 in league play.
--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 13 of its 14 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.