Opening Face-Off
Both No. 17 Towson and No. 3 Ohio State earned their conference automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Tournament with 11-10 wins in their respective title games. The Tigers come into today’s contest on a three-game win streak, while the Buckeyes have won six straight games.

Updating the Tigers
Towson won their fourth Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament trophy and first since 2005 with an 11-10 win over No. 9 Penn State on May 3. Sophomore Greg Cuccinello scored his second hat trick of the season and senior Andrew Wascavage made 12 saves. The Tigers are making their 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Scouting the Buckeyes
Ohio State is the 2013 ECAC champion after running the table at the conference tournament. The Buckeyes are 4-2 at home but had a 6-1 record on the road. One of those wins came against a common opponent – Penn State (10-9 in OT). This season, OSU won its first four games before trading wins and losses over the next five games. Ohio State comes into Sunday’s contest on a six-game win streak. The Buckeyes score 11.20 goals per game and convert on 50 percent of their man-up opportunities. They also win 56.3 percent of their face-offs.

Last Time Out vs. Ohio State – March 20, 2007 (Towson 10, Ohio State
Towson jumped out to a 6-1 lead but had to turn back a furious Ohio State rally as the Tigers held on for a win in the teams’ first meeting in 40 years. Joel Dalgarno, Kevin Buchanan, and Jeff Ryan each had two goals to lead the Buckeyes. Towson’s Jonathan Engelke led all scorers with five goals.

Towson-Ohio State Series History
Ohio State owns a slim 3-2 advantage in the all-time series between the teams. Towson and OSU played four times in the 1960s; the Buckeyes won three. The last meeting between the teams occurred on March 20, 2007 when Towson claimed a 10-8 victory at home.

Towson-Ohio State By the Numbers

 
Towson in the NCAA Tournament
This year is the the Tigers’ 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since receiving an at-large bid in 2007. The Tigers have reached the Final Four twice – in 1991 and in 2001. In 1991, Towson played in the national championship game, falling to No. 1 North Carolina, 18-13. The Tigers are 7-10 overall in NCAA Tournament games and have a 3-1 record in first round contests. Towson has not reached a Final Four since the tournament expanded to a 16-team field.

2×2
For just the second time in Towson history, both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams are in the NCAA Tournament in the same season. The last time the Tigers accomplished this feat was 2005. In the 2013 NCAA Tournament fields, there are just eight schools that have men’s and women’s lacrosse teams in the NCAA tournaments – Penn State, North Carolina, Maryland, Duke, Loyola, Notre Dame, Denver and Towson.

TOWSON, Md. – Junior John Fennessy, sophomore Max Siskind, and freshman Chris Vetter each scored their first career goal as Towson Lacrosse (8-7, 4-2 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)) claimed a 13-6 victory over Saint Joseph’s (5-11, 1-5 CAA) Saturday evening at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.

Sophomore Greg Cuccinello posted his first career hat trick with a career-high four goals, while juniors Thomas DeNapoli each scored a pair of goals for the Tigers. DeNapoli also dished out a career-high tying three assists in the win. Senior goalkeeper Andrew Wascavage recorded 12 saves, including 10 in the second half.

Fennessy opened the scoring at 13:14 with a 65-yard shot that bounced into an empty net after SJU’s Austin Keen left the crease. Almost three minutes later, Cuccinello scored his first goal of the game off an assist from Hodgson. Siskind scored just under a minute later, beating the Hawks’ keeper from just outside the crease. Cuccinello took advantage of a man-up opportunity off a feed from DeNapoli at 5:35 – exactly four minutes after Siskind’s tally. Hodgson gave Towson a 5-0 lead when he shot while falling to the ground and found the back of the net.

Joe McErlean finally got the Hawks on the board 12 seconds into the second quarter. Senior Matt Hughesscored for Towson at 12:59 to push the lead back to five goals before Johnny Simanski posted a goal for St. Joe’s at 3:35. Hodgson gave the Tigers a 7-2 lead with 2:24 remaining in the first half.

The third quarter was quiet offensively. DeNapoli tallied his first goal of the game off a feed from Hodgson at 6:44. The third different Hawk to score for SJU was Williams when he beat Wascavage high left at 4:58. But Cuccinello’s third goal of the game – his first career hat trick – and Vetter’s tally at 1:30 extended the Tigers’ advantage to 10-3.

The Hawks scored back-to-back goals at the start of the fourth frame when Williams added his second and Will Abbott picked up a ground ball off a SJU face-off win, took it down and scored. However, sophomore Cory Dobyns tallied his first goal back after missing two games with an injury when he buried a pass from DeNapoli at 13:00.

Saint Joseph’s continued to hang around. Williams posted a hat trick with a goal at 10:42 to inch the Hawks to within five, 11-6.

Towson next faces Drexel in the CAA Tournament semifinals at Penn State on Wednesday, May 1 at 5:30 p.m.

NOTES: Fennessy, Siskind, and Vetter each scored their first career goals … Hughes scored a goal on Senior Night … Cuccinnello posted his first hat trick …

College Men’s Lacrosse: Saint Joseph 0, Towson 0
Saint Joseph’s (5-10, 1-4 CAA)               0-2-1-0/0
Towson (7-7, 3-2 CAA)                           5-2-3-0/0

GOALS: SJU – Simanski, McErlean; TOW – Hodgson 2, Cuccinello 2, Siskind, Hughes, Fennesy. ASSISTS:SJU – Dougherty; TOW – DeNapoli 2, Hodgson, McCarty. SAVES: SJU – Keen (X, 60:00, X GA); TOW – Wascavage (X, 60:00, X GA). SHOTS: SJU – 15; TOW – 29. GROUND BALLS: SJU – 7; TOW – 11. FACE-OFFS: SJU – 5-11; TOW – 6-11. CLEARS: SJU – 6-9; TOW – 4-4. EMO: SJU – 0-2; TOW 1-1. ATT: 1739.

Opening Face-Off
Towson hosts its second-straight nationally ranked opponent in No. 2 Loyola Wednesday evening. The Tigers are 0-2 after a 12-6 loss to Johns Hopkins at home on Saturday. The defending national champion Greyhounds narrowly defeated Delaware, 9-8, in Newark. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and the game can be heard live on the Towson Sports Network on www.towsontigers.com with Spiro Morekas and Hunter Lochte calling the action.

Updating the Tigers
Towson is now 0-2 on the year after falling, 12-6, to No. 4 Johns Hopkins Saturday evening at Unitas Stadium. Sophomores Cory Dobyns and Greg Cuccinello each scored two goals for the Tigers. Senior Andrew Wascavage made a game-high 13 saves. It was JHU’s 18th-straight win over Towson.

Scouting the Greyhounds
The defending national champion No. 2 Loyola Greyhounds are 1-0 after picking up a last-second 9-8 win at Delaware on Saturday. Chris Layne scored the game winner with 4.4 seconds left. Justin Ward had three goals and two assists for a game-high five points.Jack Runkel made 11 saves in net for Loyola.

Towson-Loyola Series History
This long-time local rivalry is tied 27-27, though Loyola has won the last five match ups. That is the Greyhounds’ longest win streak in the rivalry. Towson won 11 straight games from 1969 to 1979. Twenty-two of the games have been decided by three goals or less, including six of the last eight meetings.

Towson vs. Loyola Facts and Figures