PHILADELPHIA – The Towson men’s lacrosse (7-7, 3-2 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)) team scored six straight goals in the second half but the Tigers’ comeback fell short as No. 17 Drexel (10-3, 5-1 CAA) claimed a 14-11 victory on a windy Saturday afternoon at Vidas Field.

Junior Thomas DeNapoli recorded his sixth hat trick and second five-plus goal game of the season with six goals. Sophomore Greg Cuccinello added a pair of goals for Towson. Robert Church and Ryan Belka led Drexel with four goals.

“Drexel played very well offensively and took advantage of our mistakes on the defensive end,” said Head Coach Shawn Nadelen. “We had a decent first half and gave them a couple opportunities to get back in it with costly penalties. They came out firing in the third quarter, and we couldn’t earn a possession, which allowed for their run.  I was proud of how our guys battled back from down eight goals to get within three, but we just couldn’t erase such a big deficit with the way we played earlier.”

DeNapoli opened the scoring just 44 seconds into the game, when he rolled right about 15 yards out and beat Drexel’s Cal Winkelman low. He posted the game’s second goal, again unassisted, at 12:07 and netted a hat trick at 4:18 in the first quarter when he ripped a shot while curling right around the goal. Drexel got on the board with a minute left in the first frame on a goal from Church.

DeNapoli picked up where he left off at 4:37 in the second off a Brian Bolewicki pass, but the Dragons answered with three straight goals from Belka (two goals) and McIntosh to even the score at 4-4 at 1:58. The Tigers briefly retook the lead, 5-4, with 43 seconds left in the first half when senior Matt Hughes buried a shot from junior Andrew Hodgson. But the Dragons knotted it the score again with 9.5 second left on Belka’s third goal of the day.

Drexel had an explosive third quarter, scoring eight goals to take a 13-5 lead at 4:32. The Dragons held the Tigers scoreless for 12:05 before Hodgson snapped the Dragons’ rally with a goal off a feed from DeNapoli. The junior’s tally started a six-goal Towson run that continued into the fourth quarter and featured goals from DeNapoli (two goals), Cuccinello (two goals) and sophomore Justin Mabus. The run helped Towson cut Drexel’s advantage to 13-11 with 6:57 remaining in the game.

On Saturday, April 20, the Tigers host Saint Joseph’s on Senior Day at 7 p.m. at Unitas Stadium to wrap up the regular season.

NOTES: DeNapoli posted his sixth hat trick of the season … DeNapoli and Hodgson stretched points streaks to 15 games … Wascavage stretched a 10-plus saves game streak to 15 games … This was the second time in 2013 DeNapoli has scored six or more goals in a game … Drexel went on a nine-goal run over the second and third quarters while Towson scored six straight over the third and fourth quarters.

College Men’s Lacrosse: Towson 11, No. 17 Drexel 14
Towson (7-7, 3-2 CAA)               3-2-3-3/11
No. 17 Drexel (10-3, 5-1 CAA)    1-4-8-1/14

GOALS: TOW – DeNapoli 6, Cuccinello 2, Hodgson, Mabus, Hughes; DRE – Belka 4, Church 4, McIntosh 2, Saputo, Frederick, Brown, Prosser. ASSISTS: TOW – Bolewicki, Hodgson, DeNapoli; DRE – Church 3, McIntosh 2, Saputo. SAVES: TOW – Wascavage (12, 40:28, 13 GA), Graves (2, 19:32, 1 GA); DRE – Winkelman (11, 60:00, 11 GA). SHOTS: TOW – 46; DRE – 42. GROUND BALLS: TOW – 27; DRE – 35. FACE-OFFS: TOW – 12-29; DRE – 17-29. CLEARS: TOW – 13-14; DRE – 13-17. EMO: TOW – 0-1; DRE – 1-3. ATT: 953.

Opening Face-Off
The Tigers come into Saturday’s contest looking to bounce back from a loss to Penn State and to pick up their first win in three tries against Drexel. The No. 17 Dragons defeated UMass 15-14 last weekend in Amherst, Mass. Today’s game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. and can be heard live on the Towson Sports Network on www.towsontigers.com with Spiro Morekas and former Tiger midfielder Hunter Lochte calling the action.

Updating the Tigers
Despite losing to first-place Penn State, Towson has secured a spot in the 2013 CAA tournament held the first week of May at the site of the highest seed in a “Final Four” format. Last weekend, Towson dropped a 10-8 decision to PSU after committing 17 turnovers. Sophomore Justin Mabus and junior Andrew Hodgson each scored two goals and an assist to lead Towson. Senior goalkeeper Andrew Wascavage made 11 saves on the day.

Last Time Out vs. Drexel – April 21, 2012 (Drexel 13, Towson 5)
Towson goalkeeper Andrew Wascavage made a career-high 21 saves, but Drexel scored the final six goals of the game to upend the Tigers, 13-5, at Johnny Unitas® Stadium. Drexel outshot Towson 49-16 and outscored the Tigers 7-1 in the second half. Drexel’sBrendan Glynn recorded a hat trick for the Dragons, and Matt Lamon led the Tigers with two goals.

Towson-Drexel Series History
Towson leads the all-time series, 37-6. It began in 1962 and was contested annually until 1973 when it went on hiatus for seven years. The Tigers have separate win streaks of 23 games (1965-1997) and 10 games (1999-2007).

Towson-Drexel By the Numbers

JOE TRICARIO NAMED AS TIGER FOOTBALL ASSISTANT COACH

Veteran Assistant To Coach Special Teams, Secondary

TOWSON, Md. – Veteran coach Joe Tricario has been named as an assistant coach for the Towson University football team, it has been announced by Head Coach Rob Ambrose.

A native of New York City, Coach Tricario has spent nearly 30 years as a football coach on the high school, college and pro football levels. He will serve as the Tigers’ secondary and special teams coach.

“After a nationwide search of some very high quality candidates, we hired Joe Tricario as our special teams coordinator,” said Coach Ambrose. “Joe brings a wealth of experience in both special teams coordination and recruiting in the northeast and we are thrilled to have him join our football family.”

Most recently, Tricario was a member of the staff at the University of Massachusetts where he served as the special teams and linebackers coach for Kevin Morris. In that role, he worked with All-American linebacker Tyler Holmes.

A 1983 graduate of Cortland State, he played wide receiver for the Red Dragons. He started his coaching career after graduation, serving as an assistant coach Mount St. Michael Academy in New York for one year and Mount Vernon High School for one season.

In 1985, he became a graduate assistant at the University of Albany for Coach Bob Ford. He worked with the wide receivers and quarterbacks. During his first season at Albany, he helped the Great Danes post a 9-2 record and win the ECAC Bowl championship with a victory over Plymouth State.

After five seasons at Albany, he joined the coaching staff of the Montreal Machine, a team in the World League of American Football (WLAF). He coached for Jacque Dasseault as Montreal posted a two-year record of 6-14. The WLAF was the forerunner of NFL Europe.

During the off-season of the WLAF, he coached at Union College in New York. In one season at Union, he helped the Dutchmen reach the NCAA Division III semi-finals and post a 10-1 record. He was a member of the staff for Coach Al Bagnoli.

In 1992, he followed Bagnoli to the University of Pennsylvania where he served as the Quakers’ special teams and wide receivers coach. In two seasons at Penn, he helped the Quakers compile a 17-3 record and win the 1993 Ivy League championship.

After two years at Penn, he became the special teams and the wide receivers coach at Fordham University.

In 1995, he returned to pro football to coach special teams and wide receivers for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

After one season in the CFL, he returned to the college game, joining  Coach Bill Russo’s staff at Lafayette College. He spent three seasons working with the Leopards as their special teams and wide receiver coach.

In 1999, he returned to Fordham University as the Rams’ special teams coach for Coach Dave Clawson. At Fordham, he was part of the Rams’ dramatic turnaround. In 1999, Fordham posted an 0-11 record. Three years later, Fordham won the Patriot League championship with a 10-3 record. In 2002, Coach Tricario was named as Fordham’s defensive coordinator.

Coach Tricario joined the Stony Brook staff in 2006 and handled a variety of roles. He was the defensive coordinator, special teams coach and the linebackers coach for Coach Chuck Priorie. At Stony Brook, he helped the team compile a 28-27 overall record and win back-to-back Big South Conference championships.

The son of a prominent high school football coach in the New York City area, Coach Tricario and his wife, Aggie, reside in the Towson area.

KELLY WEBB NAMED AS TOWSON’S ASSISTANT A.D. FOR COMPLIANCE

Former NEC Assistant Commissioner Joins Towson Athletics Staff

TOWSON, Md. – Former Northeast Conference Assistant Commissioner Kelly Webb has been named as the Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance at Towson University, it has been announced by Director of Athletics Mike Waddell.

In that role, she will handle all compliance services for the Tiger student-athletes.

“We are very excited to have Kelly join our staff,” said Tricia Turley Brandenburg, the Deputy Director of Athletics for Internal Operations at Towson. “She brings a tremendous amount of experience to Towson, especially with providing rules interpretations and with the NCAA governance process. Her work at the NEC and A10 conference offices will be very beneficial to us. Kelly is a great addition to our staff.”

A native of Rancho Cucamonga, Cal, Webb served as the assistant commissioner at the NEC for the last year. She began her association with the conference in 2010 when she was named as the director of compliance. In her position at the NEC, she provided compliance services for all 12 members of the league. She also administered the NEC academic awards programs and various conference grants. In addition, she was responsible for educating the NEC membership on proposed NCAA legislation and Presidential Working Group changes.

Prior to joining the NEC staff, she was the assistant director of compliance for the Atlantic-10 Conference for two years. In that role, she was responsible for compliance services for 14 member institutions and issued interpretations, rules education, waiver processing and the National Letter of Intent program. She was also the primary liaison to the A-10 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Her first full-time position was with the West Coast Conference in 2006, spending one year as a Compliance Assistant.

A 2004 graduate of the University of California, Riverside, she started her career in athletics in 2004 when she spent a year as a media relations intern at her alma mater.

After earning her M.B.A. degree with a specialization in sports business management from San Diego State in 2006, she joined the Western Athletic Conference staff as an intern. In her role as an intern with the WAC, she gained experience in championships and compliance. As the WAC’s championship intern, she developed championship publications and acted as a direct managerial contact to coaches and staff at WAC Championships. She also worked with the WAC’s compliance staff and processed National Letters of Intent while administering hardship waivers.

Webb was recently appointed to the NCAA Division I Amateurism Fact-Finding Committee. She has also been a member of the NACWAA Membership Committee since 2011.

She began her duties at Towson University on April 15.

University Park, Pa. - Three Tigers scored two goals each, but No. 11 Penn State (9-3, 4-0 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)) took home a 10-8 victory over Towson (7-6, 3-1 CAA) Saturday afternoon at Penn State Lacrosse Field.

Junior Andrew Hodgson and sophomores Justin Mabus and Greg Cuccinello all had two-goal games for Towson. Hodgson and Mabus each added an assist as well. Senior goalie Andrew Wascavage made 11 saves for the Tigers. TJ Sanders posted his third five-goal game of the year for Penn State.

Towson and Penn State were evenly matched. The teams split the face-offs, 10-10, and each took 33 shots. Both teams were 2-3 on extra man opportunities. But the Tigers couldn’t overcome 17 turnovers, including five in the first quarter. Penn State scored two goals directly off Towson turnovers.

Sanders got Penn State on the board first at 13:00 in the first quarter before Brian Bolewicki and Cuccinello scored back-to-back goals to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead with 4:55 in the first frame. Sanders and Hodgson traded goals to start the second quarter before the Nittany Lions reeled off four unanswered goals to take a 6-3 lead at 8:34 in the third quarter. PSU held a four-goal lead, 8-4, at 2:10 in the same frame.

Towson cut the advantage to two goals three times, 8-6 at 11:52 in the fourth on an EMO goal from Mabus, 9-7 after junior Thomas DeNapoli scored unassisted at 10:07 in the fourth and the final 10-8 after a Hodgson goal.

The Tigers return to action Saturday, April 20 at Drexel at 4 p.m.

Opening Face-Off
Towson and Penn State are both coming off wins last week. The Tigers defeated UMass 9-5, while PSU handed Drexel a 13-6 loss. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and can be heard live on the Towson Sports Network on www.towsontigers.com with Spiro Morekas and former Tiger midfielder Hunter Lochte calling the action. It will also be televised on the Big Ten Network (BTN).

Updating the Tigers
The win over the Minutemen on April 6 pushed Towson’s win streak to four games coming into Saturday’s match up. The Tigers limited UMass to two goals through three quarters, holding the Minutemen scoreless in the first quarter. Stellar play in net from senior Andrew Wascavage helped the Tigers withstand a late comeback attempt from UMass. Junior Devin Grimaldi notched his first career hat trick and a career-best four points.

Last Time Out vs. Penn State – April 14, 2012 (Penn State 8, Towson 3)
Towson scored the final two goals of the second quarter to trail just 4-3 at halftime, but for the first time in 2012 the Tigers failed to register a goal in the second half. Penn State outshot Towson 39-28 en route to winning its third straight game. Shane Sturgis and Matthew Mackrides each posted hat tricks for the Nittany Lions. Andrew Wascavage made 17 saves in net for the Tigers. Carl Iacona (1) and Matt Lamon (2) scored for Towson.

Towson-Penn State Series History
Begun in 1981, the series was contested annually after that until 1995. The teams met in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament, where the Tigers claimed an 11-6 victory to end PSU’s season. The series began again in 2010 when the Nittany Lions joined the CAA.

Towson-Penn State By the Numbers

CARL EVANS NAMED AS SENIOR ASSOCIATE A.D. AT TOWSON

Former Memphis Administrator To Serve As Tigers’ Chief Development Officer

TOWSON, Md. – University of Memphis Assistant Athletics Director Carl Evans has been named as the Senior Associate Athletics Director and Chief Development Officer at Towson University, it has been announced by Director of Athletics Mike Waddell.

His main responsibilities will include oversight of the Tiger Scholarship Fund staff and fundraising activities while personally focusing on securing major gifts for the Towson athletics department.

“Carl has a passion for development and for being here at Towson,” says Waddell.  “During almost seven years at Memphis, he was promoted twice within the organization.  His major gifts experience over the most recent fundraising year included two gifts of more than $500,000 with unrestricted giving going up 46% under his leadership.  He has experience on all levels of the fundraising ladder and will bring a great deal of enthusiasm, structure, and an enhanced sense of accountability to our Tiger Club operation.”

A native of Ramah, New Mexico, he earned his Bachelor’s degree from Weber State University. During his years at Weber State, he was a wide receiver for the Wildcats’ football team.

He began his career in development at the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 2004. He worked on the Rebel Athletic Fund from January of 2004 through October of 2006. During his time at UNLV, annual support for the Rebel Athletic Fund increased by 21 percent.

In November of 2006, he joined the staff at the University of Memphis as the Assistant Director of the Athletics Development. In 2009, he was promoted to Assistant Athletics Director for Development at Memphis.

At Memphis, he was instrumental in securing a $2.6 million gift, the largest gift ever to women’s athletics at Memphis.

During his years at Memphis, he helped the program raise more than $80 million.

Evans, who earned his Master’s degree in Athletics Development from UNLV, started his duties at Towson on April 8.

He and his wife, Starla, are the parents of three daughters.

RICHMOND - Senior goalkeeper Andrew Wascavage received Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Co-Player of the Week honors for the second-straight week after making a season-best 20 saves against UMass on Saturday.

He shares the award with Penn State attackman Jack Forster.

Wascavage posted a season-best 20 saves as Towson defeated UMass 9-5 at home to snap a three-game losing streak to the Minutemen and move to 7-5 overall and 3-0 in the CAA. He also picked up five ground balls in the win. The native of Drayden, Md. has now made double-digit saves in every game this season. UMass’ five goals tied his career low and the team’s season low for goals allowed.

Wascavage is ranked fourth in the nation this week in saves per game (14.33) and save percentage (.625). He is also 17th in the country this week in goals-against average (8.48).

TOWSON, Md. - Junior Devin Grimaldi posted his first career hat trick, and senior Andrew Wascavage added a season-high 20 saves as Towson (7-5, 3-0 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)) defeated UMass (5-6, 0-3 CAA), 9-5, on Saturday afternoon at Unitas Stadium.

After a first quarter where neither team scored, Towson ran out to a 6-1 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter on goals from six different players. Grimaldi tallied two of his three goals early in the fourth quarter – insurance Towson needed later when UMass closed the game on a furious three-goal run.

Sophomore Greg Cuccinello tied his career high with two goals. Sophomores Rob Zoppo, Cory Dobyns and Ben McCarty and junior Thomas DeNapoli each posted a goal for the Tigers. Wascavage’s 20 saves are a season high and fell one short of his career high. UMass had five different players - Kyle Smith, Matt Whippen, Connor Mooney, Colin Fleming and Will Manny - score goals. Zach Oliveri made 10 saves in net for the Minutemen.

For just the third time all season, Towson got on the board first. Dobyns took a behind the head shot off a pass from Grimaldi at 12:40 in the second quarter. Smith took advantage of an extra-man opportunity at 6:02 in the second when the Tigers were called for a 30-second hold, but Towson then scored five unanswered goals to take its 6-1 lead.

Whippen stopped the Tigers’ run with an unassisted goal at 1:38. However, Grimaldi scored back-to-back and Cuccinello added his second when he ripped a shot past Oliveri, beating the goal high left. UMass began its comeback with 5:03 left in the game on a goal from Manny. Mooney and Fleming added their tallies at 4:21 and 3:30 in the fourth, respectively, but the effort fell short.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday, April 13 when they travel to University Park to face No. 13 Penn State.

NOTES: Grimaldi’s hat trick was the first of his career … his four points on the day were a career high … Towson is 3-0 when scoring first this season … the last time the Tigers were 3-0 in the CAA was 2010 … Towson’s win snaps UMass’ three-game win streak in the series … this is the fourth straight game the Tigers have limited their opponent to less than nine goals and fifth time in the last six games … Juniors Thomas DeNapoli and Andrew Hodgson and senior Andrew Wascavage continued streaks – DeNapoli and Hodgson each have a point in 13 consecutive games, while Wascavage has made 10+ saves in 13 straight contests.

College Men’s Lacrosse: Towson 9, UMass 5
UMass (5-6, 0-3 CAA) 0-1-1-3/5
Towson (7-5, 3-0 CAA) 0-2-4-3/9

GOALS: UMASS – Smith, Whippen, Mooney, Fleming, Manny; TOW – Grimaldi 3, Cuccinello 2, Zoppo, DeNapoli, Dobyns, McCarty. ASSISTS: UMASS – Smith, Sokol; TOW – Zoppo 2, Grimaldi, Hodgson. SAVES: UMASS – Oliveri (10, 60:00, 9 GA); TOW – Wascavage (20, 60:00, 5 GA). SHOTS: UMASS – 40, TOW – 35. GROUND BALLS: UMASS – 25, TOW – 20. FACE-OFFS: UMASS – 13-18; TOW – 5-18. CLEARS: UMASS – 12-12; TOW – 22-25. EMO: UMASS – 2-3; TOW – 0-2. ATT: 1027.

TOWSON, Md. - On Saturday morning, the Tigers held their full scrimmage of the spring season and Coach Rob Ambrose was encouraged by most of what he saw.

“Considering it was the first time that we played 11-on-11 football since last November at New Hampshire, it wasn’t too bad,” said Coach Ambrose. “We have a lot of guys that we need to evaluate and this was a great opportunity to see them play.

“This was ‘real deal’ football,” he added. “We ran 90-to-100 plays and they were much-needed. We had a chance to play as 11 and it was encouraging.”

While he was pleased with most of the team’s performance, Ambrose admitted he was very disappointed in the play of his quarterbacks. Peter Athens, Joe Brennan and Connor Frazier have been battling for the starting position and none of them has stepped up to claim the job.

“We have been very disappointed with the play of the quarterbacks – all of them,” said Ambrose. “We expect better. We need to find someone who can move the ball consistently and run the offense with confidence. But, we’ve got a lot of practices to figure that out.”

The Tigers will resume their spring practice schedule on Tuesday morning at 5:30 a.m.