Game Preview
• Navy opens up its 105th season of men’s lacrosse on Saturday afternoon, when it plays host to VMI … action is set for 12:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• Saturday’s game will be streamed online via Navy All-Access with live stats available at www.NavySports.com … this week’s All-Access feed will be provided free of charge, however, the remainder of the season will be subscription based.
• The Navy-VMI tilt is one of nine games slated for Saturday in what marks the second weekend of action among the Div. I ranks … Delaware and Detroit officially kicked off the 2012 campaign last Saturday in Newark where the Fightin’ Blue Hens topped Detroit, 19-6.
• Navy is one of five Patriot League teams in action this weekend … Army played host to UMass on Friday afternoon at 3:00 pm, while Delaware travels to Bucknell on Saturday at 1:00 pm, Bryant heads to Colgate on Saturday at 1:00 pm and Lehigh makes its way to Philly to play Saint Joseph’s on Saturday at 2:00 pm.
• Entering his 13th season as a collegiate head coach, Rick Sowell will officially open the chapter on his Navy coaching career on Saturday.  Sowell, who has been involved with rebuilding programs at Georgetown, Dartmouth, St. John’s and most recently Stony Brook, owns an 86-81 career record.
• Sowell compiled a 47-26 (.644) record in five seasons at Stony Brook and was named the America East Coach of the Year in each of the last two seasons as he guided the Seawolves to back-to-back America East regular-season titles (2010-11).
• Navy returns eight starters off last year’s team, including its entire starting attack line.  Sophomores Tucker Hull and Sam Jones led the charge a year ago, mirroring one another’s stats.  Both players scored a team-high 38 points on a team-best 23 goals and 15 assists.  Hull was rewarded for his play by being named the 2011 Patriot League Rookie of the Year and has been named a 2012 Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American.  Senior co-captain Taylor Reynolds rounds out the starting attack and is coming off a 10-goal, two-assist season.
• Meanwhile, senior Nikk Davis anchors a midfield line that will blend both youth and veteran players.  Davis is entering his fourth season as a starter and is coming off 14-goal, 4-assist season.  He will be joined by junior Bryce Dabbs and sophomore Pat Durkin.  While Dabbs has been in the program, he did not play as a plebe and was ineligible last spring.  Durkin played among the Mids’ second midfield line a year ago, but will be asked to step up his play this spring as a starter.
• Senior Logan West returns as the Mids’ faceoff specialist after finishing the 2011 season ranked 29th nationally with his 52.1 winning percentage (110-211). He enters the season ranked sixth on Navy’s all-time career faceoff wins list with 175.
• Look for juniors Jay Mann and Jordan Seivold to play both ways this spring.  Mann, who was a starter on the offensive midfield a year ago and scored 11 goals, will be used primarily as a defensive midfielder, while Seivold will be used heavily on the offensive side of the field, but played mostly defensive midfield his first two seasons at the Academy.  The athleticism the two present give the Mids a better opportunity in the transition game.
• Navy will rely heavily upon veteran close defenseman Matt Vernam and senior goalkeeper RJ Wickham to manage the defense.  Vernam has been a starter since his freshman year, while Wickham, who was a Tewaaraton Trophy nominee in 2010, is in his third season as a starter in goal.  Additionally, second-year standout Pat Kiernan will fill the long pole position and has quickly emerged as one of the Mids’ most potent defensive weapons.  He produced 11 takeaways a year ago and picked up 35 ground balls.

Taking the Field In …
10 – Navy owns an 88-15-1 all-time record in season openers, including wins in each of its last 10 dating back to a 16-2 win over Saint Joseph’s in 2002 … the Mids have won each of their last four openers against the Keydets.
9 – Senior goalkeeper RJ Wickham needs 17 saves to move into ninth on the Mids’ all-time saves list … he has turned away 338 shots over his career and trails 1990 graduate Louis Brown who amassed 355 saves.
8 – Navy has held VMI to eight or fewer goals in each of his previous four meetings.
7 – Senior faceoff specialist Logan West needs seven wins on Saturday to take sole possession of fifth on Navy’s all-time career faceoff wins list … he has won 175 over three seasons.
6 – Navy will play six games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in 2012 … the Mids own a 39-16 record (70.9) in games played on their home field since the start of the 2004 campaign, outscoring its foes, 587-392.
5 – Navy has lost just five games (46-5) when scoring 10 or more goals since the start of the 2004 campaign, including a pair last spring.
4 – Four of Navy’s 2012 opponents are ranked in the 2012 USILA Coaches Preseason Poll – Johns Hopkins (2), North Carolina (6), Maryland (7), Bucknell (12), while Army and Colgate are receiving votes.
3 – With a 750-308-14 record, Navy is the third-winningest program in Div. I men’s lax behind Johns Hopkins (912-294-15) and Syracuse (821-312-16).
2 – The attack duo of Tucker Hull and Sam Jones paced the Mids a year ago with 38 points on 23 goals and 15 assists.
1 – Over the last four seasons, 22 (9-13) of the Mids’ 60 contests have been decided by one goal.

Navy vs. VMI – The Series
• Meeting in each of the last four years’ season openers, Navy holds a 4-0 series advantage against VMI.
• The Midshipmen have scored double digits against the Keydets in each of the four previous meetings, while holding VMI to single digits in all four contests.
• VMI has held an advantage in the faceoff column in each of the last three meetings, including a slight 14-12 edge a year ago.
• Last year, Navy’s rookie class accounted for eight goals, including four by attackman Sam Jones, en route to capturing a 14-8 victory over the Keydets.  After giving up six goal in the first half, Navy’s defense surrendered just two second-half goals to the Keydets.
• In 2010, Eleventh-ranked Navy jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back as the Mids claimed a 16-5 win over VMI at Rip Miller Field in what was both teams’ season opener.  A strong offensive display that featured goals by 11 different Midshipmen, helped Navy weather a rare pair of three-minute stick penalties.
• The Midshipmen outscored VMI 8-0 in the second half, surviving a first-half scare to earn a 13-5 victory over the Keydets at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in 2009.  Deadlocked at five apiece at the half, Navy peppered VMI with 30 second-half shots while its stifling defense gave the Keydets just five looks at the goal over the final 30 minutes.
• In the inaugural meeting in 2008, the Mids’ balanced offensive attack featured eight different players scoring 10 goals en route to a 10-2 win.

2011 Navy-VMI Recap
• Navy attackman Sam Jones made his debut in front of his hometown crowd a memorable one, scoring a team-high four goals to lead Navy to a 14-8 victory over VMI in both teams’ opener at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• Jones, however, wasn’t the only Navy rookie to have a successful collegiate opener.  Fellow starting attackman Tucker Hull scored one goal and dealt out assists on three others, while Ellicott City product Harrison Chaires turned in a goal and an assist and Austin Heneveld pumped an extra-man strike late in the third.  In sum, Navy’s rookie class accounted for 12 points with eight goals and four assists.
• The Mids also saw midfielder Nikk Davis score a pair of goals, while a relatively unknown Taylor Reynolds got the opportunity he’s long waited for at attack and capitalized.  Not only did Reynolds score his first-collegiate goal, he also produced his first-career hat trick in what was his first-career start.
• While Navy’s offense seemed to be a well-oiled machine, it seemed to take a quarter of play before the Mids were truly settled on both sides of the field.  In fact, after the first quarter of play, the game was locked up at 4-4 and two of Navy’s goals were scored on extra man.
• Navy, indeed, was the dominant team in the second stanza, outscoring the Keydets 6-2 to take a 10-6 at intermission.  It was during that quarter that Navy’s attack was nearly unstoppable, scoring all six goals.  Jones, in particular, was stellar, scoring three goals in the period, including a goal where he was falling down and was surrounded by three defensive players.
• The Mids cooled off in the second half, scoring just four goals, but the damage had been done.  Additionally, Navy’s defense held its ground and kept the Keydets off the scoreboard for roughly 15 minutes, giving up a goal at the 2:23 mark in the second and not again until 2:07 in the third.
• Defensively, Peter Rogers made his debut where he paced the Mids with four caused turnovers and grabbed three ground balls.  Pat Kiernan was also strong in his collegiate debut, pacing the Mids in ground balls with six and causing three turnovers.

Navy Vs. the MAAC
• The Mids are undefeated against the seven-member Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, producing a 6-0 record.
• Navy’s contest against VMI on Saturday marks the eighth-straight season the Mids have faced a team either currently in the MAAC or had previously been part of the MAAC at the time of the contest.
• In 2005, Navy faced Providence who is now a member of the newly-formed Big East, while in 2006 and `07 the Mids battled Saint Joseph’s who has moved to the Colonial Athletic Association.

For Openers
• Navy owns an 88-15-1 record in season openers, including wins in each of its last 10 dating back to a 16-2 win over Saint Joseph’s in 2002 … the Mids have outscored their foes 126-31 (12.6-3.1) during that stretch of 10 wins.
• For the fifth straight year and the sixth time in the last nine seasons, the Mids will open their season at home … the Mids played their 2004, `05 and `06 openers on the road.
• In 2007, Navy defeated Saint Joseph’s, 10-3, in Annapolis to kick off the season with an eight-game winning streak, while in `08, the Mids turned back VMI, 10-2, in what was the inaugural meeting between the two programs.  In 2009, Navy claimed a 13-5 win on Feb. 7 in what was then the earliest game played in Div. I history and in 2010, the Mids picked up a 16-5 win over VMI.  A year ago, the Mids used a six-goal second quarter to catapult ahead of the Keydets en route to a 14-8 victory.

The New Coaches on the Block
• Among the 61 Div. I men’s lacrosse teams that will take the field this season, 15 of them will have new head coaches.
• Of the 15 new coaches, five are coming from previous head coaching posts including Navy’s Rick Sowell who was the head coach at Stony Brook the previous five seasons.
• Three of the 15 new coaches are at schools who play in the Patriot League.  In addition to Sowell, former Army assistant coach Mike Murphy took over the coaching reigns from Jim Nagle at Colgate who ironically left to replace Sowell at Stony Brook.  After serving as the interim head coach for half of the 2011 campaign, Holy Cross kept Jim Morrisey on board as its permanent head coach, replacing Adam Pascal.

Debut
• Rick Sowell is the eighth different man to hold the title of head men’s lacrosse coach at Navy in its 105-year history.
• Five of the seven previous coaches won their debut game at the Academy, including each of the last five.
• The tandem of Frank Breyer and Bill Hudgins started the Navy lacrosse program in 1908 and lost to Johns Hopkins, 6-1, in the school’s first contest.

GAME INFO: Towson (0-13) will take on Northeastern (4-7) at 7 p.m. on Monday at the Towson Center Arena. The game can be heard line on WNST-AM with Spiro Morekas and Vince Angotti calling the action.

BACK INTO CAA PLAY: Towson returns to Colonial Athletic Association play tonight against Northeastern. The Tigers fell in an early season league game against George Mason, while Northeastern lost to Old Dominion in its only conference tilt.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Tigers have played six of their last eight games at home. After tonight, Towson heads on the road for a pair of league games at preseason favorite Drexel and two-time defending CAA Champion Old Dominion.

HANGING TOUGH: Towson’s seven-point loss at No. 23/24 Virginia on Friday was its second closest margin of defeat this season. The Tigers lost by just four at home against UMBC on Dec. 10.

TOUGHEST NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE IN THE CAA: Towson has played six teams either ranked or receiving votes in the national polls in its 13 games. According to the Pomeroy Ratings, the Tigers have played the toughest schedule in the CAA thus far. Towson has played teams from the ACC, Big 12, Big 10 and Pac-12 this season.

SHOOTING LIGHTS OUT: Senior Robert Nwankwo is shooting a remarkable 15-for-22 (68.2 percent) from the floor in his last three games. He is among the CAA’s leaders in scoring (11.9 ppg/19th), rebounding (8.5 rpg/4th), field goal percentage (47.7/7th) and blocks (2.2 bpg/3rd). Nwankwo has led Towson in rebounding in all but three games this season.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: Northeastern snapped a six-game losing streak with a 53-51 win at Vermont on Friday. Joel Smith connected on a runner from the right wing as timed expired to give the Huskies the dramatic victory. Three of Northeastern’s four wins this season have come on the road. Jonathan Lee leads Northeastern in both scoring (13.5 ppg) and assists (3.7 apg). The Huskies and Tigers have three common opponents thus far in the season. Northeastern fell and UMass and at LaSalle while winning at Vermont. Towson lost to La Salle and Vermont at home and dropped a road matchup against UMass.

LAST TIME OUT: Towson gave No. 23/24 Virginia all that it could handle in a narrow 57-50 defeat in front of 8,751 fans at John Paul Jones Arena Friday evening. The young Tigers led by as many as eight in the first half and the Cavaliers were never able to garner a double digit lead in the game. Freshman point guard Kris Walden played perhaps the best game of his young career, tallying a season-high 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting. Playing in his first collegiate game in his home state, Walden hit a season-high three from beyond the arc. Sophomore Marcus Damas had 10 of his 13 points in the second half to keep Towson within striking distance late. Towson held two-time Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week Mike Scott to just seven points. The Tigers shot an impressive 56.0 percent in the second half against Virginia, which is the second best team in the country in scoring defense. Towson had just four turnovers in the second half. Senior Robert Nwankwo made his presence felt on the defensive side of the floor, swatting a season-high five shots. The senior currently ranks third in the CAA in blocked shots. The Tigers also controlled the paint, outscoring Virginia 16-8 down low.

PLAYING THE BEST: Including Friday’s game, Towson has played six teams either ranked or receiving votes in the national polls in its 13 games. According to the Pomeroy Ratings, the Tigers have played the second toughest schedule in the CAA thus far. Towson has already played teams from the ACC, Big 12, Big 10 and Pac-12 this season.

LEAVING HOME: Friday’s game will be the first time the Tigers have had to travel away from the Towson/Baltimore area in exactly one month. Prior to playing five of six games at home, Towson played at UMass on Nov. 30. The only road game since then was a quick trip to Baltimore to take on Coppin State.

PLACE IN TIGER HISTORY: Senior Robert Nwankwo is quickly moving up the Towson career record books. Nwankwo is currently eighth all-time in Towson history with 588 career rebounds. He’s just six boards behind Steffan Bunsavage for seventh place. The senior forward has 170 career blocks, the third most all-time in Tiger basketball history. He trails just John James and Pat McKinley.

RELYING ON ROB: Senior Robert Nwankwo ranks in the Top 10 in the CAA in rebounding, blocks and field goal percentage. The forward is third in the CAA in 10+ rebound games (5) and his four double-doubles is fourth in the league. Nwankwo leads all CAA players with 4.4 offensive rebounds per game. The senior leads the team and is 16th in the league in scoring (12.3 ppg) and is first on the squad and fourth in the conference in blocks (1.9 bpg). Nwankwo registered consecutive double-double efforts against nationally-ranked Kansas and Michigan in the first two games of the season. With four double-doubles this season, Nwankwo has 13 in his career.

ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS: The Tigers have grabbed 39.6 percent of their offensive misses, a mark that leads the CAA. Towson’s 168 offensive rebounds are second among league schools.

LAST TIME OUT: Vermont sophomore forward Luke Apfeld came off the bench to score a career-high 24 points in only 22 minutes of action as the Catamounts raced out to an early lead and didn’t look back in a 65-49 non-conference win over Towson University in the Towson Center Arena last Friday. Towson committed a season-low 10 turnovers in the game. The prior season-low was 13 turnovers against George Mason on Dec. 3. The Tigers also grabbed 30 or more rebounds for the fifth straight game. Freshman Deon Jones paced the Towson attack with 11 points on four of eight shooting for his fourth double digit scoring game of the season. Freshman Alex Giergen tallied a season-high eight points and did not miss a shot from the field, including two three-point field goals.

SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS: Virginia has won nine straight games and is currently ranked in both major national Top 25 polls. Virginia’s win streak is the longest for the Cavaliers since 2001-02 and UVa is 11-1 for the first time since the 2000-01 season. The Cavaliers are a perfect 7-0 at home this season, winning by an average of 25.1 points per game. Mike Scott leads Virginia in both scoring (17.1 ppg) and rebounding (9.6 rpg). Scott has won back-to-back ACC Player of the Week honors.

COMMON OPPONENTS: The Cavaliers and Tigers have two common opponents thus far in the season. Virginia defeated George Mason and Michigan at home, while Towson fell on the road against the Wolverines and lost at home to the Patriots. Virginia is 2-0 verse teams from the CAA this season. The Cavaliers picked up wins against Drexel (49-35) and George Mason (68-48).

-TowsonTigers.com-

Tigers Open CAA Play Against George Mason Saturday

Towson Men’s Basketball To Face Fifth Team Ranked Or Receiving Votes In National Polls

TOWSON, Md. - The Tigers are set to open Colonial Athletic Association play Saturday evening against rival George Mason. Tip time is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Towson Center and all fans attending the NCAA FCS Football Playoff game at Johnny Unitas® Stadium can attend the Tigers’ men’s basketball game free of charge.

Saturday night’s game can be heard live on AM1570 WNST.net. Coverage begins immediately following the conclusion of the Towson-Lehigh NCAA FCS Playoff game and can be heard here.

Towson (0-6) is coming off an 86-56 setback at UMass on Wednesday evening. Senior Robert Nwankwo posted his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 14 rebounds against the Minutemen.

The Tigers continued to dominate the glass in their last outing, holding a 50-43 rebounding advantage in the loss. Towson has now outrebounded its opponents in all but two games this season.

Including Saturday’s contest, the young Tigers quad will have played five teams ranked or receiving votes in the national polls.

George Mason, which is receiving votes in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, is riding a three-game winning streak and coming off a 61-57 victory over Bucknell. The Patriots are led by Preseason All-CAA First Team honoree Ryan Pearson. The senior ranked in the top-15 of both scoring and rebounding among league players last season, and is the conference’s fifth highest returning scorer. This season Pearson is averaging 20.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.

Saturday’s game will be the 38th all-time meeting between Towson and George Mason. The Tigers won six of the first nine meetings between the squads, but have won just two of the last 28. George Mason has never lost to Towson as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. Their last loss to the Tigers was a 78-71 defeat in Towson in 1993.

TOWSON, Md. - Making their NCAA FCS Playoff debut, Coach Rob Ambrose and the Colonial Athletic Association champion Tigers (9-2) will host Patriot League champion Lehigh University (10-1) on Saturday, Dec. 3 at Minnegan Field at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.

Towson and Lehigh are two of the 20 teams that were selected to play in the NCAA FCS Championship. They are two of 12 teams that earned first round byes.

Sam Houston State (11-0) is the top seed while North Dakota State (10-1) is the number two seed. Georgia Southern (9-2) is seeded third, ahead of Montana (9-2) and Northern Iowa (9-2).

The Tigers are one of five CAA teams that earned spots in the NCAA FCS playoffs. Old Dominion (9-2), Maine (8-3), New Hampshire (8-3) and James Madison (7-4) were also selected.

The Tigers, who edged Rhode Island in their final regular season contest to win their first CAA championship, are the first team in NCAA history to qualify for the NCAA Playoffs at the Division III, Division II and NCAA FCS level. In 1976, the Tigers qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs and reached the Stagg Bowl, the Division III championship game. After a 14-10 victory over C.W. Post in the quarter-finals and a 38-36 semi-final win over St. Lawrence, the Tigers lost to Saint John’s (Minn.) in the championship game, 31-28.

From 1983 to 1986, the Tigers qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs three times.  In 1983, they lost to North Dakota State, 24-17. In 1984, the Tigers beat Norfolk State in the quarter-finals, 31-21. Then, they lost to Troy State in the semi-finals, 45-3. In their final season as an NCAA Division II program, the Tigers fell to Central State (Ohio) in the quarter-finals, 31-0. The Tigers have an all-time record of 3-4 in NCAA playoff games.

The most improved team in NCAA FCS this season, the Tigers have engineered a historic turnaround. After winning only one game in 2010, the Tigers have improved by eight games and will take a 9-2 record into the NCAA Playoffs. Picked to finish last in the CAA’s pre-season poll, the Tigers won the CAA with a 7-1 mark. Coming into the season, the Tigers had lost 26 of their last 28 CAA games.

The Tigers are just the second team in CAA history to go from “worst to first.” In 1998, James Madison finished last in the league with a 3-8 overall record and a 2-6 league record. One year later, JMU posted an 8-4 overall record and a 7-1 conference mark. The Dukes shared the conference championship with UMass in 1999. In 1997 and 1998, Massachusetts went from 2-9 to 12-3. But UMass didn’t win the CAA in 1998.

“It is tremendously humbling for me to be a part of this,” says the Tigers’ third-year coach. “This is the result of some incredibly hard work by everyone involved – the coaches, the staff, our players, our administration, the students and our fans. This is something that our football alumni have been waiting for.”

The Tigers entered the final weekend of the regular season tied for first place in the CAA with Maine. After their 28-17 win, the Tigers clinched the CAA title outright when New Hampshire edged Maine, 30-27.

Ranked among the Top 25 teams in NCAA FCS for the last eight weeks, the Tigers won the CAA by beating six nationally-ranked conference opponents. After opening the CAA schedule with a 31-10 victory over No. 20 Villanova, the Tigers edged No. 14 Richmond, 31-28. A dramatic 39-35 come-from-behind win over No. 18 Old Dominion enabled the Tigers to improve to 3-0 in the CAA. The Tigers’ 38-27 victory over No. 14 William and Mary gave them a 4-0 CAA record.

After a 35-30 loss to No. 21 Delaware, the Tigers bounced back with wins over No. 7 Maine (40-30) and No. 7 New Hampshire (56-42). They completed their march to the title with their 28-17 win at Rhode Island.

The Tigers have been led by an explosive offense. The Tigers are averaging 239.45 rushing yards per game, the top mark in the CAA. They are ranked ninth in the nation in rushing. Offensively, the Tigers are scoring 34.55 points per game. They are second in the CAA and rank 14th in the NCAA FCS. The Tigers are also second in the CAA with 439.36 yards of total offense per game, the 11th best mark in the nation.

Freshman Terrance West leads the Tigers’ running game. He has rushed for 1,242 yards on 183 carries, second in the CAA. Averaging 124.20 yards per game, he ranks tenth in NCAA FCS. A leading candidate for the Jerry Rice Award, presented to the top freshman in NCAA FCS Football, West has scored 27 touchdowns. His school record 27 touchdowns lead NCAA FCS. West, who had a career high 261-yard performance against New Hampshire, has rushed for more than 100 yards in six of his last seven games. He has scored at least two touchdowns in each of the Tigers’ last seven games.

Named as the CAA Offensive Player of the Week twice this season, West has also been selected as the CAA Rookie of the Week four times.

The play of the Tigers’ offensive line has been vital to the team’s success. Senior tackle Henry Glackin has teamed up with sophomores Eric Pike, Charles Johnson, Randall Harris, Anthony Davis and Doug Shaw to provide the Tigers with outstanding line play.

Sophomore quarterback Grant Enders has excelled as the leader of the Tiger offense all season. Named as the Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Week twice this season, Enders has completed 153 of 224 passes for 1,867 yards and 14 touchdowns. With a 151.8 passing efficiency rating, he is second in the CAA and ranks 11th in NCAA FCS. Averaging 224.6 yards of total offense per game, Enders ranks fourth in the CAA.

Turnover ratio has also been vital to the Tigers’ success this season. During the regular season, the Tigers have compiled a plus-eight turnover ratio, a mark that is third in the CAA behind Old Dominion (plus-ten) and Maine (plus-nine). The Tigers have turned the ball over 16 times while forcing 24 turnovers. The Tigers have thrown ten interceptions and only lost six fumbles. The Tigers have recovered 11 fumbles and intercepted 13 passes.

A pair of linebackers, junior Alexander DiSanzo and freshman Kenton Powell, are tied for the team lead with three interceptions. This is noteworthy because the Tigers only intercepted two passes in the 2010 season. DiSanzo is fourth on the team with 64 tackles while Powell has 54 tackles and is sixth on the team. Junior safety Jordan Dangerfield, senior safety Nick Oates and freshman cornerback Tye Smith each have two interceptions.

Dangerfield leads the Tiger defense with 82 tackles in nine games. He is eighth in the CAA with 9.1 tackles per game. Junior linebacker Danzel White issecond on the team with 77 tackles in nine games.

Junior defensive ends Frank Beltre and Romale Tucker have given the Tigers outstanding play on the line. While Tucker leads all CAA defensive linemen with 69 tackles in 11 games, Beltre is fourth with 63 tackles. A member of the Pre-Season All-CAA team, Beltre leads the Tigers with 11 tackles for lost yardage. He is also the team leader with four quarterback sacks. Tucker has made 3.5 sacks and is tied for the team lead with two fumble recoveries.

Tickets for the Tigers’ NCAA FCS playoff game against Lehigh are currently on sale by calling 1-855-TUTIGER (888-4437).

BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse team is ranked fourth in the 2012 Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason Poll it was announced today. The Blue Jays return nine starters from last season’s team, which posted a 13-3 record and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals.

Defending national champion Virginia tops the poll, which counts Duke, Cornell, Johns Hopkins and Denver among the top five as well. Johns Hopkins will play four of the top eight teams in the poll during the 2012 regular season as the Blue Jays will take on top-ranked Virginia, sixth-ranked North Carolina, seventh-ranked Syracuse and eighth-ranked Maryland.

Head coach Dave Pietramala will return four All-Americans among his nine returning starters as midfielder John Ranagan (1st Team), defenseman Tucker Durkin (2nd), goalie Pierce Bassett (2nd) and attackman Chris Boland (honorable mention) are all back. Amazingly, of the nine returning starters, only one, Boland, will be in his final year of eligibility in 2012.

The Blue Jays will return their top two scorers in Boland (34g, 20a) and junior attackman Zach Palmer (22g, 25a) and every other player on the team who registered five or more goals and 10 or more points last season. In addition, Durkin and Bassett will lead a defense that returns also Chris Lightner and Jack Reilly, who joined Durkin as 16-game starters on close defense last season.

Johns Hopkins will open the 2012 season on Friday, February 17 when Towson visits Homewood Field. Johns Hopkins’ complete 2012 schedule will be announced no later than Friday, December 9, 2011.

2012 Face-Off Yearbook Preseason Poll
Rk. Team
1. Virginia
2. Duke
3. Cornell
4. Johns Hopkins
5. Denver
6. North Carolina
7. Syracuse
8. Maryland
9. Notre Dame
10. Villanova
11. Hofstra
12. UMass
13. Yale
14. Penn
15. Bucknell
16. Princeton
17. Drexel
18. Colgate
19. Harvard
20. Penn State

Tigers Return To The Road Wednesday At UMass

Towson To Play Fifth Game Away From Home Out Of Six To Begin The Season

 AMHERST, Mass. - After playing its first home game of the season on Saturday, the Towson men’s basketball team returns to the road just four days later to take on the University of Massachusetts. The non-conference contest is set to tip at 7 p.m. from the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass.

All of the action can be heard on WNST.net-AM 1570 with Spiro Morekas and Vince Angotti on the call.

Towson, which has played the ninth toughest non-conference schedule in the country thus far, is coming off a 66-46 setback against Oregon State Saturday. A bright spot for the Tigers was the play of sophomore forward Marcus Damas who registered his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds against the Beavers.

UMass (5-2), which started the year 4-0, is coming off an 85-61 defeat against the College of Charleston in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament in the Bahamas.

Chaz Williams leads the Minutemen in scoring at 14.1 points per game while Terrell Vinson leads the way on the glass averaging 6.0 rebounds a contest.

The squads have not met since UMass handed Towson an 82-55 loss in the 1993 Preseason NIT. That contest was the first ever college basketball game televised on ESPN2.

Honorable Mention: Auto Racing-NASCAR Awards Show (Friday 9pm from Las Vegas live on SPEED); Golf: PGA Tour Qualifying School (Saturday & Sunday 4pm, Monday 3:30pm from La Quinta, CA live on Golf Channel), PGA Tour Chevron World Challenge (Thursday & Friday 1pm live on Golf Channel Saturday & Sunday 12pm live on NBC. All golf from Thousand Oaks, CA); Women’s College Basketball: Big Ten/ACC Challenge-Michigan @ Maryland (Wednesday 7pm Comcast Center), Maryland @ American (Sunday 1pm Bender Arena); Tennis: ATP Tour Davis Cup Final (Friday 8am Saturday 10am Sunday 7am from Seville, Spain live on Tennis Channel)

10. Andrea Bocelli (Friday 8pm Verizon Center); Erykah Badu (Friday 7pm Rams Head Live); Dashboard Confessional (Saturday 7pm Recher Theatre); All Mighty Senators (Saturday 7pm 8×10 Club); Aaron Neville (Monday 8pm Rams Head On Stage); Robin Thicke (Wednesday 7pm 9:30 Club); String Cheese Incident (Wednesday 8pm Lyric Opera House), Ryan Adams (Sunday 7:30pm Lyric Opera House); J. Roddy Walston & The Business (Friday 9pm Ottobar); Mac Miller (Thursday 7pm Fillmore Silver Spring); Ra Ra Riot (Friday 7pm Ritchie Coliseum College Park); Tori Amos (Monday 8pm D.A.R. Constitution Hall); Adele Live at Royal Albert Hall available on CD/DVD/Blu-Ray/iTunes (Tuesday)

I really shouldn’t like Robin Thicke all that much. I just can’t help myself…

Dude, Ryan Adams has made so many great tunes but are any of them greater than this?

I feel like I should be a bigger J Roddy Walston fan than I am…http://wnst.net/wordpress/wp-admin/post.php?post=185164&action=edit

I don’t know if Adele sounds BETTER at Royal Albert Hall…but I know this much…no CHANCE she doesn’t sound amazing…

9. Washington Monument Lighting (Thursday 7pm from Mt. Vernon Place live on WBAL11), Mayor’s Christmas Parade (Sunday 2pm Hampden/Medfield); Gary Valentine (Thursday-Saturday Baltimore Comedy Factory); Steve-O (Thursday-Sunday DC Improv); Jim Norton (Thursday-Saturday Magooby’s Joke House)

Is there any chance that when Stephanie Rawlings-Blake flips on the lights at the monument the scene looks anything like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ar-__ub0rc

And since I’ve already invoked Christmas Vacation, I think it’s only appropriate that we do this…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk74WprmZxY

Honorable Mention: Mixed Martial Arts-Bellator Fighting Championships 44 (Saturday 9pm from Atlantic City live on MTV2); Soccer: MLS-Colorado Rapids @ DC United (Saturday 7:30pm from RFK Stadium live on Comcast SportsNet); Tennis: ATP Tour & WTA Tour Internazionali BNL D’Italia (Tuesday-Thursday 6am & 1:30pm, Friday 6am & 3:15pm, Saturday 8am & 2pm live on Tennis Channel & ESPN3.com, Saturday 10am live on Tennis Channel. All tennis from Rome, Italy); Women’s College Lacrosse: NCAA Tournament-Navy @ Maryland (Saturday 12pm Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex-College Park), UMass @ Loyola (Saturday 1pm Ridley Athletic Complex); Arena Football: AFL Tulsa Talons @ New Orleans VooDoo (Friday 8pm from New Orleans live on NFL Network)

10. M3 Rock Festival feat. Warrant, Kix, Whitesnake, Tesla, Sebastian Bach, Lita Ford, Mr. Big, Slaughter, Great White (Friday-Saturday Merriweather Post Pavilion); Sunday Funday feat. Amos Lee, Josh Ritter, Eric Hutchinson (Sunday 12:30pm Pier Six Pavilion); Eric Benet (Tuesday 7pm Rams Head Live), Social Distortion (Friday 7pm Rams Head Live); Richard Lewis (Saturday 8pm & 10:30pm Recher Theatre); My Chemical Romance (Tuesday 7pm 9:30 Club), Echo & The Bunnymen (Wednesday 7pm 9:30 Club), Adele (Thursday 7pm 9:30 Club); Bob Marley (Wednesday-Sunday DC Improv); James Taylor (Wednesday 7:30pm Hippodrome); J Roddy Walston & The Business (Wednesday 8:30pm Rock & Roll Hotel); Doug Stanhope (Thursday 8pm State Theatre); The Lonely Island “Turtleneck & Chain” available in stores/on iTunes (Tuesday)

Of everyone playing at M3, I’d be most excited to rock out to this…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz61YQWZuYU[/youtube]

Sunday Funday actually sounds like my kind of show. I’d dig this…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm5TZX5hz3g[/youtube]

I’m not the type of Social D freak, but Social D is REALLY good…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXAU4MmMIMo[/youtube]

Adele is amazing. I mean, AMAZING…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEDA3JcQqw[/youtube]

9. Preakness 5k (Saturday 10:30am Pimlico)

The cool concept behind the Preakness 5k is that human beings get to run at a track where horses…get to watch people in the infield urinate everywhere.

This is a reminder that Preakness is just a week away. You need to start making your survival plans now. Having not attended the Kentucky Derby this year, I think I might dress up a little bit this year. I’ve been looking at some former Preakness wardrobes for inspiration and I think I finally found mine…

8. Boxing: Andre Ward vs. Arthur Abraham (Saturday 10pm from Carson, CA live on Showtime); ShoBox: Sharif Bogere vs. Raymundo Beltran (Friday 11:05pm from Primm, NV live on Showtime); Friday Night Fights: Kendall Holt vs. Julio Diaz (Friday 9pm from Santa Ynez, CA live on ESPN2)

In boxing news, apparently after beating Shane Mosley easily in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao wandered into a club in Las Vegas and sang a few songs.

I’m sure it was awesome, but no way was it as awesome as the time he sang with Will Ferrell…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT4hHMIpnjU[/youtube]

7. Pro Lacrosse: MLL Rochester Rattlers @ Chesapeake Bayhawks (Saturday 7pm Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium)

You know how at the beginning of NFL season everyone says “the quest for the Vince Lombardi Trophy is on”?

Or how at the start of the hockey season we hear things like “The hunt for the Stanley Cup begins”?

Well…umm…what do they say at the start of lacrosse season? Honestly, what’s the trophy for winning the lacrosse title?

In honor of not knowing, I’ll label the debut of the MLL as “The Quest to look at this picture of Belen Rodriguez begins!”

(Thanks Guyism.)

6. Auto Racing: NASCAR FedEx 400 (Sunday 1pm from Dover live on FOX)

Oh wow. NASCAR is back in Dover. If you get lost on your way back from Ocean City this weekend, stop by to do…nothing.

Yeah, that’s all I’ve got here. Seriously…there’s nothing else worth saying. If you’ve gone before, you understand.

5. NHL Playoffs: Western Conference Semifinals-Detroit Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks (Game 6 Tuesday 8pm from Detroit live on VERSUS, Game 7 if necessary Thursday TBD from San Jose live on VERSUS), Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators (Game 7 if necessary Wednesday TBD from Vancouver live on VERSUS); Western Conference Finals & Eastern Conference Finals: Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (begin this weekend, schedules TBD)

I couldn’t help but laugh at the misery of Washington Redskins fans last week as their beloved Capitals were so soundly dismissed by the Bolts.

HAHAHAHAHA YOUR HOCKEY TEAM SUCKS AND YOU DON’T HAVE A QUARTERBACK!

You might say that makes me a mean person. I’d say “up yours, Skins fans.”

All of Charm City is rooting for the Preds now I guess because of the Baltimore Skipjacks connection with Barry Trotz.

I’ll buy in. Cue Tim McGraw!!!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX4tSBPSViE[/youtube]

4. Pro Wrestling: TNA Sacrifice (Sunday 8pm from Orlando live on Pay-Per-View); WWE WrestleMania 27 available on DVD (Tuesday)

WrestleMania kinda sucked, so I would assume I know at least one doughy morning sports jock who will pass on making the purchase.

I’ll also likely pass on making the purchase of the TNA PPV (I’ve passed on all of the others before that), but it doesn’t mean my opinion of Mickie James has lessened at all…

3. Golf: PGA Tour THE PLAYERS Championship (Thursday & Friday 1pm live on Golf Channel, Saturday & Sunday 2pm live on NBC. All golf from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL)

The Players is apparently considered the “fifth major” on the PGA Tour.

Of course, most of the REAL majors are being won by golfers no one has ever heard of (see: Schwartzel, Charl), so maybe even Drew Forrester has a chance to win TPC.

More good news. No matter how bad the real golfers are, we can still laugh at the fake golfers. Like Charles Barkley…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQwa0VrdLsQ&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

2. NBA Playoffs:Eastern Conference Semifinals-Atlanta Hawks vs. Chicago Bulls (Game 5 Tuesday 8pm from Chicago live on TNT, Game 6 Thursday 8pm from Atlanta live on ESPN, Game 7 if necessary Sunday TBD from Chicago live on TNT), Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics (Game 5 Wednesday 7pm from Miami live on TNT, Game 6 if necessary Friday TBD from Boston live on ESPN, Game 7 if necessary Monday 8pm from Miami live on TNT); Western Conference Semifinals-Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies (Game 5 Wednesday 9:30pm from Oklahoma City live on TNT, Game 6 if necessary Friday TBD from Memphis live on ESPN, Game 7 if necessary Sunday from Oklahoma City TBD)

If you have American blood running through your veins, you will be rooting for the Grizz the rest of the way through the playoffs.

Or if you have Venezuelan blood. Either way, you better damn well be rooting for this man…

1. College Lacrosse: NCAA Tournament-Hofstra @ Johns Hopkins (Saturday 12pm from Homewood Field live on ESPN), Maryland @ North Carolina (Sunday 1pm from Chapel Hill, NC live on ESPN2); Division 3 NCAA Tournament-Cabrini/Widener @ Stevenson (Saturday TBD Caves Athletic Complex)

Carolina again? Lord. I can’t stand the freaking Tar Heels.

I can’t find a YouTube video of the night the Terps stormed back from down 66-44 in the second half to be the Heels at the DeanDome. If anyone can track something down, please pass it along to me.

In the meantime, take this UNC fans…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwfLa-PmqpY[/youtube]

Flexing my mic muscles since 1983…

-G

Here are the official recaps of Saturday’s games, courtesy of the schools’ Sports Information Departments…

Comer’s OT Goal Gives Loyola Win Over Stags

BALTIMORE – Senior D.J. Comer scored his second goal of the game 49 seconds into overtime to give the #20 Loyola University Maryland Greyhounds a 7-6 victory over visting Fairfield in an ECAC conference game at Ridley Athletic Complex.

The Greyhounds (6-3 overall, 3-2 ECAC) started off quick with goals by Davis Butts and Mike Sawyer to take a 2-0 lead with 12:35 remaining in the first quarter. Fairfield (5-5 overall, 2-2 ECAC) would get one back with a goal by John Snellman 12 seconds before the end of the quarter.

The two teams traded goals in the second and third quarters as Matt Langan scored twice and Comer scored his first of the game to give the Greyhounds a 5-4 lead into the fourth quarter.

Fairfield’s Sam Snow scored just 32 seconds into the fourth period to tie the game, and Max Trunz tallied an extra-man goal with 4:39 remaining to give the Stags their first lead at 6-5. However, Loyola’s Chris Palmer evened the score at 2:50, setting up Comer’s game-winner.

Mike Sawyer finished with a game-high three points on a goal and two assists and Chris Palmer also enjoyed a multi-point effort with a goal and an assist. Jake Hagelin had 10 saves in goal for the Greyhounds.

Loyola outshot Fairfield 38-24 and forced the Stags to commit 16 turnovers to only 11 for the Greyhounds.

Retrievers Use Six-Goal Second Quarter Surge to Best Binghamton, 8-6

BALTIMORE – UMBC sophomore midfielder Dave Brown (Coopersburg, Pa.) scored three goals and added an assist as the host Retrievers edged Binghamton, 8-6, in an America East Conference contest.

The Retrievers won back-to-back games for the first time this season and improved to 4-5 overall and 1-1 in league play. The Bearcats fell to 5-6, 1-1.

Brown was UMBC’s America East Player of the Game, while Bearcat freshman attackman Brandon Planck, who scored a pair of goals, earned the honor for his team.

UMBC used a 6-0 run in the second quarter to take control of the contest. Trailing 2-1 after Binghamton midfielder David Raleigh scored 1:28 into the second quarter, Brown tied the game on an unassisted tally 2:46 into the stanza. Sophomore midfielder Neill Lewnes (Arnold, Md./St. Mary’s) gave the Retrievers the lead for good, converting a Rob Grimm (Black River, N.Y.) feed on the right wing just 39 seconds after Brown had tied the game.

Brown completed his hat trick with back-to-back scores 57 seconds apart at the 9:38 and 8:41 marks of the stanza. Then, sophomore attackman Scott Jones (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) got into the act, converting a Brown pass at the 6:22 mark and completing the surge with an unassisted tally with 5:34 to play in the first half.

UMBC had scored only 13 second quarter goals through the first eight games, before exploding for the six-spot in the contest.

Binghamton scored the final two goals of the half and trailed, 7-4, at the break.

The Bearcats slowed UMBC down with a zone defense in the second half and scored the lone goal of the third quarter when Planck tallied midway through the period.

UMBC broke a scoring drought of 25:33 when freshman midfielder Zach Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./St. Paul’s) fired in a shot from the left wing after receiving a pass from behind the net by senior midfielder Jamie Kimbles (Centreville, Md./Queen Anne’s) at the 11:01 mark of the final stanza.

Raleigh scored his second goal of the game with 4:08 remaining, but UMBC netminder Brian McCullough (Garden City, N.Y.) saved a Tyler Perrelle shot with 1:13 to play and the Retrievers posted their 11^th consecutive win over the Bearcats. 

Jones and Linkous each scored two goals for UMBC, while Raleigh added a pair for the visitors.

Binghamton outshot UMBC, 33-26, as McCullough and Bearcat freshman goalkeeper Kraig Heston each were credited with six saves.

The six goals allowed by UMBC are the fewest permitted this season and the least since a 6-5 victory over Rutgers in the second game of the 2010 campaign.

The Retrievers travel to Albany to face the Great Danes in a league showdown on April 16.

UMass Stuns Towson In Overtime, 9-8
TOWSON, Md. – In a season filled with heart-breaking losses and disappointing endings, the Tigers added another chapter to their story on Saturday against 16th-ranked Massachusetts.

Sophomore attackman Kyle Smith scored an unassisted goal with 2:05 remaining in overtime as UMass (7-3, 2-1) stunned the Tigers (2-8, 0-3) with a 9-8 Colonial Athletic Association victory over the Tigers in Johnny Unitas Stadium.

The Minutemen overcame an 8-6 deficit in the final 2:40 of regulation to pull out an unlikely win.

“This is a disappointing loss for us,” Towson Coach Tony Seaman said. “I thought we played better than UMass did today, but give them credit for taking advantage of a couple of breakdowns on our part in the final two minutes of regulation and in the overtime. For some reason, that’s been the life of this team for the entire year.”

With 2:40 left in regulation, sophomore attackman Will Manny scored on a fast break off a pass from junior midfielder Anthony Biscardi to cut the deficit to 8-7.

Senior goalkeeper Travis Love made a save off a shot by Biscardi with 1:32 left in regulation and the Tigers tried to run out the clock. However, senior attackman Tim Stratton turned the ball over with nine seconds remaining when he failed to get the ball back inside the box within ten seconds.

Senior midfielder Ryan Hantverk took the ball and sprinted up the field to the left of the Tiger goal. With one second left, he snuck a shot behind Love to tie the game at 8-8.

Although the Tigers controlled the faceoff in overtime, they were unable to get a shot and turned the ball over. With 2:10 left in overtime, Hantverk’s shot hit the post. Smith picked up the loose ball in front of the goal and scored the game-winner, his 14th goal of the season.

For most of the fourth quarter, it appeared that the Tigers were going to pull out a come-from-behind win. UMass owned a 5-3 lead late in the third quarter before the Tigers rallied by scoring four consecutive goals. With 5:24 left in the third quarter,  Stratton’s second goal of the game cut the deficit to 5-4.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Tigers tied the game at 5-5 when junior attackman Stephen Norris scored an extra-man goal off a pass from senior midfielder Peter Mezzanotte with 14:47 left in the fourth quarter.

Senior midfielder Pat Britton gave Towson its first lead of the game when he scored off a pass from Stratton with 12:28 left in regulation.

The Tigers maintained their 6-5 lead until 6:47 remained in the fourth quarter when Britton scored on a long shot out front to up the lead to 7-5.

With 5:01 left in regulation, Manny’s third goal of the game, an extra man goal off a pass from Biscardi, pulled UMass to within 7-6.

Less than a minute later, Britton gave Towson an 8-6 advantage when he scored his third goal off the game off a pass from Andrew Hodgson.

The Minutemen grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the opening four minutes of the game. Manny gave the Minutemen a 1-0 advantage when he scored an unassisted goal just 1:25 into the game. On the play, Manny forced a turnover, grabbed a ground ball and ran around the goal before he scored.

With 11:24 left in the first quarter, junior attackman Art Kell scored an unassisted goal to give UMass a 2-0 advantage.

An extra man goal by Hodgson off a pass from Mezzanotte cut the Tigers’ deficit to 2-1 early in the second quarter. With 9:19 left in the half, Stratton’s unassisted goal tied the game at 2-2.

With 3:32 remaining in the half, sophomore defenseman Ryan Hollenbaugh scored the first goal of his career on a fast break to give UMass a 3-2 advantage.

Only 28 seconds into the second half, junior midfielder Greg Rushing scored an unassisted goal to increase the UMass lead to 4-2.

After sophomore attackman Matt Hughes scored off a pass from Stratton to cut the deficit to 4-3, Manny scored an extra man goal to give UMass a 5-3 advantage.

With the loss, the Tigers dropped to 1-4 in one-goal games this season.

Manny led UMass with four goals while Kell added a goal and an assist. Biscardi led the Minutemen with two assists.

Britton, who recorded the second “hat trick” of his career, led the Tigers with three goals while Stratton had a season-high four points by two goals and two assists.

Love made a season-high 13 saves for the Tigers while junior goalkeeper Tim McCormack made ten saves for UMass.

Both teams had 32 shots in the game while Towson owned a 38-27 advantage on ground balls. The Tigers had 15 turnovers, including two turnovers that led to the final two UMass goals. The Minutemen had 11 turnovers.

The Tigers return to action next Saturday at Penn State at 7:00 p.m. for a Colonial Athletic Association game. Meanwhile, the Minutemen will host Drexel next Saturday at 1 p.m. at Garber Field.

Post-Game Notes:
- The Tigers and the Minutemen met for the fourth time in the all-time series … The series is now tied at 2-2 as UMass earned its first-ever win at Towson.
- The Tigers played their fifth one-goal game, including their fourth one-goal affair in the last five games … The Tigers have a 1-4 record in one-goal games this year … The Tigers have now played in 14 one-goal games over the last three years.
- Meanwhile, the Minutemen played in their third one-goal game of the season … It was their first one-goal victory of the year after losing to Albany (9-8) and Penn State (8-7).
- The Tigers played a ranked opponent for the sixth time this year … The Tigers have played a nationally-ranked opponent in all six of their home games this season and have a 1-5 record in those games.
- The Tigers played their first overtime game of the season … It is the Tigers’ first overtime game since April 22, 2009 when Towson dropped an 11-10 decision against Johns Hopkins in double overtime … The Tigers are now 8-10 in overtime games.
- Britton had his first “hat trick” since April 11, 2009 when he scored three goals against Hofstra.
- The Tigers have now lost four games in a row, marking their longest losing streak since a four-game skid during the 2008 season.
- Stratton posted the 32nd multi-point game of his college career … In addition, he had his 14th career multi-goal effort.
- With his four-point game against the Minutemen, Stratton now has 99 points in his college career … With his next point, he will become the 31st player in school history to record 100 career points.
- Mezzanotte tallied the third multi-assist game of his college career … In addition, he now has four career multi-point games … Mezzanotte has tallied seven points in the last three games, scoring two goals with five assists.
- Hodgson earned his sixth multi-point game of the season after scoring a goal with an assist on Saturday afternoon.
- Manny extended his point-scoring streak to 24 straight games after his four-goal performance against Towson on Saturday afternoon … It was his eighth career “hat trick” and his third career four-goal game … He had four goals against Hartford and Saint Joseph’s.
- With a goal and an assist on Saturday, Kell recorded the 17th multi-point game of his college career.
- Biscardi matched his career high with two assists against Towson on Saturday … It was the ninth multi-assist game of his career.
- Hantverk has a 10-game point-scoring streak after tallying a goal against Towson … He has scored 14 goals with five assists during the streak

Seahawks Stymied by No. 3 Stevenson
ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. – Despite a career-high 20 saves by junior goalie Stu Wheeler (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul’s), the St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s lacrosse team dropped a 17-4 decision to Capital Athletic Conference nemesis, No. 3 Stevenson University, Saturday afternoon as the loss dampened the mood of Senior Day.

Junior attackman J.P. Lennon (Huntington, N.Y./St. Anthony’s) notched his second consecutive multiple-goal game as Lennon paced the Seahawks (3-8, 2-4 CAC) in the loss with a hat trick while senior midfielder Will Bell (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) scored the team’s fourth goal.

Stevenson (13-1, 6-0 CAC) struck first as senior midfielder Neal Barthleme (Towson, Md./Dulaney) completed a pass from senior attackman Jimmy Dailey (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) for a man-up goal at 11:52 following a two-minute illegal body check to the head penalty on senior LSM Michael Ott (Arnold, Md./Broadneck).  Lennon evened up the game with his first tally of the day at 9:44 off an assist by senior attackman Chris Becraft (Rockville, Md./Good Counsel) before Dailey scored twice to give the Mustangs a 3-1 lead heading into the second quarter.

The Mustangs then proceeded to score the next five goals, including the first two of the period by Dailey.  Lennon broke up the Stevenson scoring with an unassisted goal at 2:19.  Stevenson then tallied two in a 28-second span as Barthleme and senior midfielder Kyle Moffitt (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin East) each found the back of the net for a 10-2 Mustang halftime lead.

Dailey picked up his fifth of the day to start the third stanza before Lennon netted his third of the day at 10:58 off an assist by senior attackman Dennis Rosson (Severna Park, Md./Severn).  Stevenson then strung together six straight goals – two to end the third and four to start off the fourth period. Barthleme scored three straight in a span of 3:34 before Bell fired in his shot as time expired.

Along with his 20 stops, Wheeler led the Seahawks with five ground balls and two caused turnovers.