TIGER ATHLETICS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 2016
On Wednesday, March 2 at 4:00 p.m., Towson will face Loyola at the Baltimore, Maryland (Ridley Athletic Complex)
Team Records No. 11 Towson (3-0 Overall) at No. 5 Loyola (3-0 Overall)
Series Loyola Leads 30-27
Last Meeting Feb. 18, 2015 No. 8 Loyola 15, No. 14 Towson 11
Opening Faceoff
The Tigers hit the road for the first time in 2016, making a quick trip to the Ridley Athletic Complex. Towson will take on a ranked opponent for the second time in the last five days in No. 5 Loyola. The Tigers topped No. 17 Georgetown 10-7 at home on Saturday.
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
The Tiger offense runs through the attack unit as the trio of starters, Spencers Parks, Ryan Drenner and Joe Seider, have combined for 17 of Towson’s 30 goals. Drenner had a career-best seven-point day against No. 17 Georgetown, potting four goals with three assists. EMO specialist Ian Kirby has drilled five goals, all on the man-up, doing so on just 10 total shots. The Tigers’ first midfield line of Ben McCarty, Tyler Young and Mike Lynch have combined for five goals and five of the Tigers’ 18 assists. Towson’s bread and butter, the defense, has lived up to the hype in 2016. The Tigers have allowed just 14 goals, the fewest goals allowed this year by a team with three or more games played. Redshirt senior Tyler White has the second-best goals against average in the nation, sitting at 4.37. He is third in save percentage at .667, but is ranked 41st in save per game (8.67).
Scouting The Greyhounds
No. 5 Loyola (3-0) is coming off of a 12-9 win over Patriot League foe Lafayette last weekend. Pat Spencer (5-9-14) and Zach Herreweyers (9-2-11) are the only two Greyhounds in double-digits this season. Herreweyers leads the team with 28 shots, putting half of those chances on goal. Brian Sherlock (3-3-6) and Zack Sirico (2-3-5) are third and fourth in points, respectively. Grant Limone has made 29 saves in his 179 minutes of work in goal, carrying a goals against average of 6.37, allowing 19 goals against 100 total shots faced. Loyola’s defense has allowed 20 goals in three games, keeping each opponents to single digits, including four in the season-opening win at #8 Virginia.
Towson-Loyola History
Six miles separate Towson and the Greyhounds. Naturally, the series is deep, dating back to the Tigers’ first year in 1959. Towson and Loyola have met at least once a year, every year except for the 1980 season, Towson’s first at the Division I level. Loyola leads the series by just three games at 30-27. The Tigers will look to halt an eight-game winning streak by the Greyhounds. Towson’s last win over Loyola came as a 9-8 win on the road on Feb. 26, 2007. The Tigers hold the longest winning streak in series history, winning 11 in a row from 1969-1979.
Towson-Loyola By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Loyola 30-27
at Towson Loyola 11-9
at Loyola Loyola 12-10
at Neutral Sites Towson 1-0
at Unknown Sites Tied 7-7
First Meeting 1959, Loyola 8-6
Last Meeting Feb. 18, 2015
#8 Loyola 15, #14 Towson 11
Streak Loyola +8
Last Time Out vs. Loyola
In a battle of top-15 opponents, the Greyhounds prevailed 15-11 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in an early-season, midweek game. Despite two hat tricks from Joe Seider (4-1-5) and Spencer Parks (3-4-7), the Tigers could not complete a comeback bid. Loyola used several small runs of three and four goals to jump out to an early lead, but the Tigers scored the final three goals of the game all three ways, Parks with an even-strength goal, Ryan Drenner on the extra man and Pay Conroy on a give and go in transition with Seider during a penalty kill. Tyler White made three saves, but allowed 12 goals before he was spelled for the final 25 minutes by Matt Hoy, who stopped three shots and allowed three goals. The Tigers took an uncharacteristic number of penalties (8), which allowed Loyola to hit for three man-up goals.
Careers Against Loyola
There are 20 active Towson players who have taken the field against the local rivals. Spencer Parks leads the way with seven career points (3g, 4a) against the Greyhounds as a Tiger, all coming last season. Joe Seider has six points (5g, 1a) after a five-point, four goal effort a year ago. Linemate Ryan Drenner has four points on two goals and two assists, scoring and assisting once in each career game against the Greyhounds. Ben McCarty has two assists, both during the 2013 clash. Two active goalies, Tyler White and Matt Hoy have seen time against Loyola. White has posted 87 career minutes while Hoy saw the goal for 25 minutes a year ago.
Looking for Goal Number 600
The all-time series between the Tigers and Greyhounds is a long one, dating back to the Tigers’ first season in 1959. Since then, Towson and Loyola have clashed at least once a year, every year (excluded 1980). Over that time, a few goals have been scored. The Tigers have netted 597 total goals in 57 games against the Greyhounds. Who ever scores Towson’s third goal on Wednesday will have the 600th Towson goal in series history. Loyola has scored a combined 579 goals in the series, making for a combined 1,176 goals in this series.
Tigers on TV
Towson men’s lacrosse will appear in back-to-back televison 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
Towson beat its first opponent ranked in the top 20 this season, topping No. 17 Georgetown 10-7 last weekend. The Tigers moved up in all three polls this week, holding down No. 11 in the Nike/USILA Coaches Poll and the Cascade/Maverik Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Towson was ranked No. 12 by Nike/Lacrosse Magazine. Towson is now 12-9 under Nadelen when playing as a ranked team.
With a Win Wednesday
A Win on Wednesday would mean quite a bit for the Tigers. It would halt an eight-game slide against the Greyhounds, dating back to the 2007 season. It would also give Towson its third win in the last two seasons over the Greater Baltimore programs after going 2-1 last season with wins over No. 5 Johns Hopkins and UMBC. A win Wednesday would improve Towson to 4-0 for the first time since the 1992 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 (4.67 goals allowed per game). Towson is the only team in Division I with three games played to allow just 14 goals. Only Marquette, Monmouth and Yale have allowed fewer goals per game, but have each only played twice. Notre Dame is the next-fewest total goals allowed for a team that has played three or more times, allowed 18 opponent tallies.
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, include 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 head 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 head to Loyola on March 2, host UMBC on March 5 and then travel down Charles Street to Johns Hopkins on March 12.
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).