TIGER ATHLETICS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2016
Team Records: No. 11 Towson (4-0 Overall) vs. UMBC (0-2 Overall)
Towson Leads the Series 31-15
Last time these two teams met was at UMBC Stadium on March 7, 2015 when #14 Towson defeated UMBC 11-7
Opening Faceoff
Towson returns home after a one-game road swing down Charles Street to Loyola. The Tigers halted an eight-game skid against the Greyhounds, ranked fifth in the country this week. Towson got five points from Joe Seider (4g, 1a) while Ryan Drenner dished out three assists.
In The National Rankings
Once again, Towson jumped up in all three major polls. The Tigers are now No. 11 in both the Nike/USILA Coaches Poll and the Cascade/Maverik Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. The No. 11 ranking is the Tigers’ best under fifth-year head coach Shawn Nadelen. The previous mark was No. 12 last season in mid-April. Towson was ranked No. 12 in this week’s Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Poll.
Updating the 2016 Tigers
Who to cover on the Tigers’ offense? Two Towson players, Ryan Drenner (8g, 8a) and Joe Seider (10g, 2a), are in double figure points, while Mike Lynch and Spencer Parks have four goals and two helpers each. Three Tigers have five points as another five players have at least one point. Towson’s defense has been lights out in 2016, holding all four opponents to single digits. Redshirt senior Tyler White has made 42 saves so far, doing so at a 66.7 percent clip, third best in the country. White also carries the nation’s fourth-best goals against average (5.28) while backing the third-best scoring defense in the land (5.50 goals allowed per game). Towson commits the second-fewest turnovers per game nationally, with just 10.25 on average. Faceoffs continue to be a strong point for Towson at 56.9 percent in 2016.
Scouting The Retrievers
UMBC has been idle since last Friday when the Retrievers suffered a 12-7 loss at Ohio State. Two UMBC players, Max Maxwell and Billy Nolan, have four points each. Maxwell has two goals with two assists, with Nolan notching three tallies and one assist. Pat Brennan and has three points (1g, 2a), as does Jack Gannon (2g, 1a). In goal, Connor Gordan has racked up 20 saves at a 51.3 percent clip. He has allowed 19 goals and has a 9.50 goals against average in his two full games. UMBC has struggled at the X in 2016, winning 15 of the 39 draws (30.0 percent). The Retrievers have hit on four of their eight man-up chances to date.
Towson-UMBC History
The series between the two Division I programs located in Baltimore County is long, dating back to the 1970 season. Saturday’s meeting with be the 47th all-time meeting between the Tigers and UMBC. Towson leads the series 31-15, including four straight victories. The Tigers have won the last three meetings at Unitas Stadium. UMBC’s last win in Towson came on April 1, 2009 in a 9-6 affair. Towson took a 10-8 win on March 19, 2014 in the last meeting at Unitas Stadium. The Tigers captured an 11-7 win at UMBC Stadium last season. Towson has held UMBC to single digits in the last three meetings
Towson-UMBC By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson 31-15
at Towson Towson 13-7
at UMBC 14-8
at Neutral Sites Towson 1-0
at Unknown Sites Towson 3-0
First Meeting 1970 – Towson 10, UMBC 7
Last Meeting March 7, 2015
#14 Towson 11, UMBC 7
Streak Towson +4
Last Time Out vs. UMBC
The Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first 15 minutes, thanks to two goals in the first six minutes from the since-graduated Andrew Hodgson, backed by one goal each from Joe Seider and Spencer Parks. UMBC rattled off three-straight to make it a one-goal game early in the second, but the Tigers scored seven of the game’s next 11 goals to add insurance room. Hodgson finished with four goals as Parks added a hat trick as well. Seider and Ryan Drenner had two goals and one assist each. The Towson starters accounted for all 11 goals in the game. Tyler White made four saves. Alec Burckley had a breakout performance, winning 15 of his 21 draws and snaring nine groundballs.
Careers Against UMBC
Eighteen current Tigers have suited up against UMBC during their time for the Black & Gold. Joe Seider has three goals, all last season against the Retrievers, while linemate Ryan Drenner has five career points (3g, 2a). Mike Lynch scored once as a freshman in 2014 as senior Ben McCarty had one goal in 2013 and 2014. Spencer Parks put up three points (2g, 1a) in his first appearance as a Tiger against UMBC last year. In the 2013 game, Brian Bolewicki scored once on one shot. Tyler White has a career goals against average of 7.50 against UMBC, holding the Retrievers to single digits in each of his two outings. He has stopped 16 total shots in two years, including 12 in the 2014 clash. Alec Burckley has one career game against UMBC, going 15-of-21 at the X last season. LSM Pat Conroy has hoovered six career groundballs, snapping up five in 2013 and winning seven faceoffs that same season.
Breast Cancer Awareness Game
Saturday’s doubleheader with Towson’s No. 11 men’s lacrosse team and the No. 17 women’s squad will be Breast Cancer Awareness games. The men’s team will be sporting pink mohawks on the vent stripes of their helmets.
This fall, the men’s team organized a group to partake in the Komen Race for a Cure 5K in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Over 50 representatives from the program ran in the 3.1 mile event, including players and coaching staff.
The Pink Paws effort is near and dear to the program as it was created by Bobbi Madison, the late former Director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes and advisor for our lacrosse program for over 10 years. It’s especially close to redshirt senior Tyler White, who lost his mother to breast cancer as a teenager. White is active with the Pink Paws group and helped organize the team’s efforts at the 5K.
Series Goal Number 600
Junior multi-position player Tyler Konen notched a small piece of history in the Tigers 10-8 win at No. 5 Loyola. Midway through the second quarter, Konen tied the game at 3-3, the last time the game would be tied. With that goal, Konen scored the 600th Towson goal in the longest running series in program history. Towson and Loyola have met every year except 1980 since Towson first went varsity in 1959. Towson pulled back within two wins of the Greyhounds, moving the series to 30-28 all-time.
Snapping the Greyhound Slide
Towson’s win over Loyola snapped an eight-game slide for the Tigers in the series. It was Towson’s first win over Loyola since the 2007 meeting, which was also held on the Greyhounds’ home field.
Baltimore Top Five Beware
For a second-straight season, the Tigers upended a local team ranked No. 5 in the polls. On March 2, the Tigers topped No. 5 Loyola 10-8 at the Ridley Athletic Complex. In the 2015 season opener at Johnny Unitas Stadium, the Tigers stunned No. 5 Johns Hopkins 7-5, the team’s first win over the Blue Jays since 1996.
Back-to-Back Over Ranked Foes
In the Tigers’ toughest stretch of non-conference games, slated to face four ranked opponents in five games, Towson won back-to-back games over opponents ranked in the Top 20. At home on Feb. 27, the then-No. 13 Tigers bested No. 17 Georgetown 10-7, followed by a 10-8 win by the No. 11 Tigers over No. 5 Loyola. It marks the first time since the 2013 CAA Tournament Towson beat back-to-back opponents who were ranked. Towson beat No. 18 Drexel 11-8 on May 1, followed up by an 11-10 win over No. 9 Penn State in the CAA Championship game, winning the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
The Dog Days of Non-conference Play
The Tigers have nine non-conference games on the slate for the 2016 season. Towson has hit the midway point of that run, sitting at 4-0. Saturday’s game will be the third-straight game the Tigers take on an opponent that uses a dog as its mascot. Towson beat No. 17 Georgetown (Hoyas/Bulldog) 10-7, followed by a 10-8 win over No. 5 Loyola (Greyhound). Saturday the Tigers take on the Retrievers of UMBC.
You Get a Hat Trick! And You Get a Hat Trick!
So far in 2016, the Tigers have had at least one hat trick in each of the first four games. Spencer Parks and Joe Seider struck three times each in the season opener against Mercer (Feb. 12). Ryan Drenner did it in back-to-back games against Mount St. Mary’s (Feb. 20), with four goals against No. 17 Georgetown (Feb. 27). Joe Seider had the most recent hat trick with four goals against No. 5 Loyola (March 2).
Tiger Lacrosse Sweep
With the men’s team beating No. 5 Loyola 10-8 on March 2, both the Towson men’s and women’s lacrosse teams swept the Greyhounds for the first time as Division I programs (since 1980 for the men, 1982 for the women). The last time both teams beat Loyola in the same season was 1979. The men bested the Greyhounds 13-12 on the road while the women also beat Loyola on the road 11-7 a month after the men.
Tigers on TV
Towson men’s lacrosse will appear in back-to-back television games this season, both on the road. The first will be March 12 at Johns Hopkins (2 p.m.) on ESPNU from historic Homewood Field. The other game will be Towson’s second-straight Big Ten opponent in Ohio State. The Tigers and Buckeyes will do battle on the Big Ten Network on March 15 from Columbus, Ohio.
Against the Top 20
The Tigers have knocked off two ranked opponents so far in 2016. At home on Feb. 27, the Tigers bested No. 17 Georgetown, followed by a 10-8 win at cross-town rival No. 5 Loyola on March 2. The Tigers are 13-9 under head coach Shawn Nadelen when playing as a ranked team.
With a Win Saturday
With a win on Saturday, Towson will be off to its best start since the 1992 season when the Tigers opened the year 6-0 after a run to the NCAA Division I National Championship game. Since going Division I in 1980, Towson has opened the season at 4-0 or better five times: 2016 (4-0), 1992 (6-0), 1990 (7-0), 1989 (4-0) and 1988 (4-0).
A win Saturday guarantees Towson a winning record against Greater Baltimore opponents (Loyola, UMBC, Johns Hopkins) for a second-straight season. Towson went 2-1 against Baltimore-area schools last season, beating No. 5 Johns Hopkins 7-5 and UMBC 11-7, but falling to No. 8 Loyola 15-11. The Tigers have not had two wins over Baltimore schools in back-to-back seasons since the 2005 and 2006 campaigns.
A win on Saturday would give Towson its fourth win at home this season, equaling the team’s mark at Johnny Unitas Stadium last season (4-3). Towson has not opened at home with four-straight wins since the 2014 season when the Tigers won six-straight at Unitas Stadium to begin the season.
Defense Like a Brick Wall
The Tiger defense is one of the best in the country. The Tigers are ranked third in total defense (5.50 goals allowed per game). The Tigers have the fewest goals allowed in the country (22) for a team with four or more games to its credit. Richmond is second with four games played, allowing 28 total goals.
Towson’s defense has been dominant at home in the last two years. The Tigers have held their last eight opponents at Johnny Unitas Stadium to single digits, while doing so in nine of the last 10 games. Towson is 7-3 at home during that same stretch.
The three-straight single-digit efforts at home mark the first time since the first trio of contests in 2007 the Tigers have opened the season by holding opponents to single digit goals.
The Temples of Syrinx
The Tigers have enjoyed home cooking at Johnny Unitas Stadium under head coach Shawn Nadelen. Since taking over for the 2012 season, Towson is 21-12 all-time on Minnegan Field, including six home wins in 2014. The Tigers have never lost more than three home games in a season under Nadelen.
Lotta Eyes on The Tigers
Despite bitter cold temperatures for the season opener against Mercer on Feb. 12, Towson is currently ranked 10th in the country in cumulative attendance, averaging just under 1,000 fans per game. The water mark for attendance in 2016 was set last weekend with over 1,400 fans at Unitas Stadium. Towson leads the CAA while Fairfield has the 14th-highest cumulative attendance in the country and second in the CAA with 1,867 fans.
“Good eye, Sniper”
Redshirt freshman Ian Kirby has been the go-to man on the power play, hitting for five goals on just 10 shots. All five of his career goals are extra-man opportunities, including two in each of the last two games. Joe Seider led Towson’s 2015 man-up goals with seven, with Kirby quickly closing in on that total in just three games. Kirby is ranked 27th in the country in shot percentage (.500) and is second in individual man-up goals, just one behind Denver’s Brendan Bomberry.
Murderer’s Row
The Tigers hit their most challenging section of the non-conference schedule in the next two weeks. Including last weekend’s 10-7 win over No. 17 Georgetown, four of Towson’s next five opponents are mentioned in at least one of the weekly polls. Of those games, three (Loyola March 2, Johns Hopkins March 12 and Ohio State March 15) will be on the road. In addition to Georgetown, Towson hosts local foe UMBC on Saturday. The Retrievers were not mentioned in the polls this week.
Local Market
This year, Towson has 14 games on its regular season slate. Of those 14 games, nine will be played at Johnny Unitas Stadium. This season, Towson won’t have to travel far for two of its five road games as the Tigers traveled down the road to Loyola (March 2) and Johns Hopkins (March 12). However, what the Tigers gain in local games, they make up for in true road games, covering roughly 2,000 miles going to Ohio State (March 15), Massachusetts (April 9) and Hofstra (April 30).
Local Market Part Deux
While it’s not uncommon at all for the Tigers to face all three of the local institutions in the same season, this year’s edition of the Battle for Greater Baltimore will have a unique twist: Towson will play all three schools in consecutive games. The Tigers went to Loyola on March 2, host UMBC on March 5 and then travel down Charles Street to Johns Hopkins on March 12.
Hodgson on the Move
After being drafted in Major League Lacrosse’s Supplemental Draft in the offseason, former Towson standout midfielder Andrew Hodgson was traded on March 3. The Long Islander will have a chance to play his professional lacrosse close to home as he was transferred from the Denver Outlaws to the New York Lizards as part of a three-player, two draft pick trade. Hodgson and Duke defender Luke Duprey were sent to New York for Brody Eastwood, a fourth-round draft pick in the 2017 Collegiate Draft and a seventh-round pick in the 2017 Supplemental Draft. Hodgson, who is an assistant coach at Manhattan College, will have the chance to make his pro debut on April 23 as the Lizards host the Rochester Rattlers at 5 p.m. at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.
Kirby Named CAA Rookie of the Week (2/23)
After a two-goal game against Mount St. Mary’s, redshirt freshman Ian Kirby was named CAA Rookie of the Week (Feb. 23). Kirby took three shots in the Tigers’ 9-5 win over in-state foe Mount St. Mary’s, hitting for paydirt twice. Kirby has emerged as Towson’s top man-up threat in the early goings, scoring three goals in his first two games, all on the extra-man.
Seider Named CAA Player of the Week (2/16)
The CAA office announced Joe Seider as the Player of the Week (Feb. 16) in the first conference report of the season. Seider is the first Tiger to win a weekly award in the first report since he was tabbed Rookie of the Week during the 2014 season. In the Tigers’ 11-2 win over Mercer, Seider finished with four points on three goals and one assist. He paced the game with 11 shots while helping Towson to double digits for the fifth time in Towson’s last six games, dating back to last season.
White Named to Tewaaraton Trophy, Presented by Under Armour, Watch List
Redshirt senior goalie Tyler White was one of 50 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse student-athletes named to a Watch List for the sports highest honor: The Tewaaraton Trophy, presented by Under Armour. The announcement was made in the evening of Feb. 23. White is one of two CAA players named to the watch list as he was joined by Hofstra’s Sam Llinares. The Tigers have had three different players in the Shawn Nadelen era (since 2012) to be named to the Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List. Last season Andrew Hodgson was named while former standout Thomas DeNapoli was named twice (2013, 2014).
White Named Senior CLASS Award Candidate
Redshirt senior goalie Tyler White was one of 20 NCAA Division I student-athletes named to the Senior CLASS Award candidate list, announced Tuesday afternoon. White is one of two CAA players named as candidates, joined by UMass’s Kyle Karaska.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. CLASS is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®.
The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
A Good Start to the Season
Towson improved to 4-1 in season openers under head coach Shawn Nadelen, including winning the last three. It marks the first time since 2005-07 the Tigers ripped off three-straight season-opening wins. Since joining the Division I ranks in 1980, Towson is 18-19 in season openers and now is 27-31 all-time in season openers, dating back to the program’s first win in 1959 over the Brown Lacrosse Club.
Defense + Offense = Success
With a defense as heralded as Towson’s, it’s not a surprise to followers of the team that the Tigers have lots of success when the offense and defense pair well. Since head coach Shawn Nadelen took over in 2012, the Tigers are 24-5 in game when Towson scores double digits. When Towson’s defense limits opponents to single digits, the Tigers are a whopping 38-7 in that same time, including Wednesday’s 10-8 win over No. 5 Loyola. On 20 occasions, the Tigers have scored in double figures while holding opponents to single digits, obviously a 20-0 record.
Home Openers Under Nadelen
Since taking over the program for the 2012 campaign, the Tigers are 4-1 all-time in home openers under fifth-year head coach Shawn Nadelen, winning the last three home openers, 11-8 over High Point (2014), 7-5 last season against No. 5 Johns Hopkins and 11-2 over Mercer this season. The lone home opening blemish on Nadelen’s record is a 12-6 defeat against No. 4 Johns Hopkins in 2013.
We’d like to thank John Stark from Towson, Assistant Director for Athletic Media Relations for providing us with these Media Releases.