The Towson and Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse teams will face off on Friday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md. The Blue Jays are No. 19 in the Inside Lacrosse top-20 poll, while the Tigers are among the teams receiving votes.
Both squads are looking to bounce back from disappointing 2021 seasons. Towson went 6-8 overall and 3-5 in the CAA, while Hopkins went 4-9 and 2-8 in the Big Ten. How can each team improve from last year?
If Towson is going to have a successful season, it must do better in close games than it did in 2021, when the Tigers lost five games by one or two goals. Towson head coach Shawn Nadelen says that that even though the Tigers lost those close games, the team gained valuable experience by playing in tight games.
“They’re great learning experiences,” Nadelen said on Glenn Clark Radio Feb. 1. “Obviously, some of them didn’t go our way, but being in close games helps you understand what it takes to win those games and what it takes to lose those games. We were a pretty inexperienced group last year, so returning quite a few of those guys that have been in those moments, been in those games, understanding how to manage a course of a game a little bit better, a little bit smarter should put us in better position this year.”
Among the experienced players returning is fifth-year defender Koby Smith, the Preseason CAA Defensive Player of the Year and co-captain of the Tigers. As a senior in 2021, Smith started all 14 games, caused 13 turnovers and picked up 23 ground balls.
“We’re fortunate on the defensive end with a lot of experience, especially on the close defense and in our goal and with Koby being one of them,” Nadelen said. “He’s played for us ever since he stepped foot on campus, and he has done a great job of continuing to build himself as a leader and as a defenseman and definitely set the tone for the team in our [recent] scrimmage against Bucknell.”
Garrett Zungailia and Colby Barsz are also back to solidify the defense, while Shane Brennan will be back in net. On the offensive side, Towson averaged fewer than 10 goals a game. Nadelen is looking forward to seeing his team’s goal scoring tick up through experience, better teamwork and improved shooting mechanics and efficiency.
Johns Hopkins had a down 2021 season as well, but the Blue Jays were able to get their first game of the 2022 campaign out of the way before traveling to Towson Feb. 11. Hopkins beat Jacksonville, 11-8, on Feb. 5.
Despite losing their last six games during last year’s regular season, the Blue Jays won two games in the Big Ten tournament before losing to bitter rival Maryland in the championship. It was Hopkins’ third loss of the season to Maryland.
Despite the successful end to the season, second-year head coach Peter Milliman downplayed last year’s momentum carrying over to this season.
“We made some good progress, but this is an entirely new team, it’s a new group, new dynamic, it’s a new season,” Milliman said on Glenn Clark Radio Feb. 1. “We are going to start back at the beginning. This is nothing about picking up where we left off or anything like that. We’re just working on getting to know each other and figuring out what works best for us and try to make as much progress as we can throughout the year.”
Attackmen Connor DeSimone and Joey Epstein are expected to lead the Jays’ offensive attack in 2022. DeSimone led the team in 2021 in goals (25), assists (20) and points (45) and was named a second-team All-Big Ten attackman. Epstein was tied for second on the team in points (35).
Milliman believes that these two studs can solidify their positions as team leaders.
“I think there’s some progress that’s been made and they are understanding the system a bit more and understanding that a lot of the personnel was new for us last year,” Milliman said. “… Again, a lot of the work that [came in] the fall and the progress that we’ve made up until now, I’m excited for what they can do. They’ve got a lot of development still and they are excited about that. They work very hard. They’re definitely going to be two of the guys that lead us this year.”
DeSimone had three goals and an assist in the game against Jacksonville. Even though Epstein didn’t record a point, he was able to get six shots off, three of which were on goal.
The Blue Jays are fortunate enough to have plenty of options to start in net. Hopkins only had two available goalies for much of last year because of injuries, and now they have four available goalies. Josh Kirson got the start against Jacksonville. He allowed eight goals and had eight saves.
“I think there’s been a great competition with [Tim Marcille and Kirson] this year,” Milliman said. “… Now we have four guys consistently, and I think they are really elevating the level and playing off each other and that competition is going to help us throughout the year, so we’re excited for those guys to push to be their best every day and see what we can do on game day to be successful.”
For more from Nadelen, listen to the full interview here:
For more from Milliman, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credits: Courtesy of Towson Athletics and Johns Hopkins Athletics