Towson men’s lacrosse won its second consecutive Coastal Athletic Association championship with a 13-10 victory against Drexel in the conference title game, part of a 10-game winning streak heading into the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers will face third-seeded Princeton on May 10 at 2:30 p.m. Playing this deep into the season seemed unlikely at best not long ago. Towson began the season 1-5, with losses to Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Navy, St. Joseph’s and Virginia. The Tigers were outscored, 65-39, in those losses.
Tigers head coach Shawn Nadelen said adjusting to life without attackmen Nick DeMaio and Joaquin Villagomez and defenseman Colby Barsz proved to be a challenge. DeMaio and Barsz graduated, while Villagomez has been out all year after suffering a broken ankle late last season.
“We were sloppy. We weren’t shooting the ball well. We weren’t supporting each other well on the defensive end,” Nadelen said on Glenn Clark Radio May 5. “It was good, but it wasn’t good enough for us. [There were] definitely some lessons along the way against tough competition that really helps expose [weaknesses] and helps you understand who you are. I think our guys did a good job just recognizing that and continuing to stay strong in the process of continuing to build and get better along the way and work hard when their opportunities arose to play and compete to get on the field and do that.”
However, Towson got back on track in league play, posting overtime wins against Delaware and Stony Brook in March. The Tigers later won another overtime game against local rival Loyola in April and most recently beat Hofstra in overtime of the CAA quarterfinals:
Nadelen admits he isn’t 100 percent sure why his team has been so good in close games.
“Whatever it is, I’d love to find it, bottle it and be able to regenerate it into our guys and program every year,” the coach said. “They’re a resilient group. It’s really amazing to see. We definitely worked hard in those environments and been fortunate and some things have gone our way, whether it be a bounce of the ball or guys working hard to create. I think they believe in themselves. We just try to keep the communication simple. We want them to focus on being loose, being fundamental in those environments, being able to play lacrosse confidently.”
Now, the Tigers are set to travel to Princeton, which posted a 12-3 overall mark and beat Cornell, the top-seeded team in the NCAA Tournament, in the Ivy League title game. Princeton is led by senior attackman Coulter Mackesy, who has scored 40 goals and dished out 15 assists en route to a Tewaaraton Award nomination. Towson counters with a Tewaaraton nominee of its own in junior attackman Mikey Weisshaar, who has posted 46 goals and 22 assists.
Towson lost, 20-15, to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago. This year, the Tigers want to make a run.
“You always want experience to be a positive influence and factor,” Nadelen said. “Being able to be within this season in multiple overtime games and close games or games where we have a lead or games where we’re down and just continuing to stay true to our process. … It’s a playoff format, but you go up there prepared and putting your best on the field and playing to the best of our ability.”
For more from Nadelen, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Towson Photo Services