Towson men’s lacrosse senior Joe Meidling recently chatted with PressBox about changing positions a year into his college career, the teammates he learned from and more. The 6-foot, 190-pound short-stick defensive midfielder picked up 31 ground balls and caused six turnovers for the Tigers in 2025. Meidling is a native of Millstone, N.J., and graduate of Notre Dame High School (N.J.).
PressBox: How did you first become interested in lacrosse?
Joe Meidling: I think it started around second or third grade. I was playing football. Me and my friend group, we all played the same sports. One of my best friend’s dads asked me to play lacrosse one day. I started off playing defense. I think I was so young I wasn’t even allowed to have a long pole yet. I ended up just because he asked me to play in second or third grade. I’ve been playing ever since, and I’ve been loving it ever since.
PB: Who was the biggest influence on your game growing up?
JM: I was very lucky. My neighbor, Sam Stephan, played lacrosse for four years at Mount St. Mary’s and a year at Rutgers. Growing up and watching him play, I always looked up to him. He was a faceoff guy. I used to be a faceoff guy. Now I’m a d-middie. But training with him and watching him growing up, he’s definitely had a big influence on my lacrosse life.
PB: Why did you choose to go to Towson?
JM: I got recruited my junior year. It was during the COVID time. My older sister, [Cassidy], actually went to Towson and was a senior when I was a freshman. It just seemed like a great fit for me here. It was a good distance away from home. You could tell that they had a winning culture here. I wanted to go to a place where I knew I would have success on and off the field. Being win on the field and put myself in a good position off the field in the classroom and after I graduate was very big to me. I thought Towson would provide the best experience for me in that aspect.
PB: You played just one game as a freshman. What was it like to watch games and develop during practice?
JM: It was definitely a learning experience for me. Luckily being a faceoff guy, I had great guys in front of me: Shane Santora, Matt Constantinides. They were very helpful. At the end of the day, especially facing off, you either win or lose. There’s really no gray area. You either get the ball or you don’t. I think they were so helpful with me with the mental aspect — whether I lose or whether I win, the most important faceoff was the next one. Just taking a back seat and kind of watching them and seeing what I can do to better my craft and help this team was definitely a different experience, but it was humbling. I was just looking for any opportunity to help the team in any way I can.
PB: What was the transition like to defensive midfielder?
JM: It definitely got me on the field. I remember having a conversation with [head coach Shawn Nadelen in] my exit interview at the end of my freshman year. We talked about it briefly, me getting some reps at d-middie my sophomore year fall. The way it worked out in the fall sophomore year, I was taking some d-mid reps along with still taking some faceoff reps. I was kind of doing a little bit of both. And then we had a fall scrimmage and I basically only took d-mid reps. I thought I fit in pretty well. [Defensive coordinator Steve Grossi] has been very great toward me. It was definitely a complete position change. There’s no other way to put it. It was definitely a learning curve, definitely made a lot of mistakes, but I had great upperclassmen — Reece Potter, Ray Glass and Dan Reilly — showing me the way since they were experienced defensive midfielders. Definitely a learning experience, but I felt like it was a great opportunity for me to show my athleticism and for me to help the team in a different way, which I really didn’t anticipate ever happening, but I’m real happy with it now and how it’s worked out because I get to help my team in a completely different way and I get to get some more time on the field.
PB: Is there an art to picking up a ground ball?
JM: I kind of think about it when it comes to faceoffs, too. In faceoffs you either win or lose. It’s the same with a ground ball. You either get the ground ball or the other team gets the ground ball. We have the motto, “We don’t get it, they don’t get it.” I think you definitely have to have a certain level of grit to try to get that ground ball, especially coming off the wings where you’re just running right in. There’s action always at the faceoff X. I think it’s fun. People are hitting you. You get to hit people. So I think coming out with a tough ground ball also really sets the tone. A tough ground ball can really give momentum to the team. It can change the process of a game. Obviously, ground balls are probably one of the most important parts of the game today.
PB: Your team started the 2025 season 1-5 but then won 10 in a row and the conference title. How did you guys rebound and what was it like to ride that winning streak?
JM: To be honest, I remember after we lost to Navy last year. There was a point in the locker room where eventually the coaches left and the captains just kind of gave us the reality of what we need to do better, how we need to come together. I feel like that moment in the locker room was the turning point for our season. We went into CAA play with still a lot of confidence even though we were 1-5. I think the culture and chemistry of the team was very, very good. We always had each others’ back. We knew we just had to come out and focus on every rep at practice, every rep in the weight room and in the film room. We weren’t worried about the score, but eventually the score would go our way. I think we had four overtime [wins]. We always say, “However long it takes.” If we’ve got to play 60 minutes, if we’ve got to play 70, 80 minutes, whatever it is, we have to be ready for whatever we have to do to get the job done. I think especially the four overtime [wins] show true grit and the blue-collar [attitude] of Towson lacrosse. Whatever happens, we’ll be ready to play.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Towson?
JM: The people are just so great here at Towson, especially on this team. We have such a great culture. We have such a great locker room. The coaches see it. The coaches give us a lot of freedom. We’re just such a close team. We’re all messing with each other. But we all push each other really hard. We all expect so much from each other. When it comes to the hard work that we put in, we know that everyone is always going to give 100 percent. I know my teammates are giving 100 percent, so I can’t give anything less than that.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
JM: I’m going to have to go with my freshman year roommate who I’m roommates with now — Matt Nilan, No. 31, our goalie. My favorite memory with him was probably his first game starting against Fairfield our sophomore year. It was a torrential downpour. It was at Fairfield in Connecticut. It was a gritty win. We won, 12-10. But I just remember the wind and how bad the rain was. In the middle of the game, it’s a close game, so tensions are high. He’s in a great mood. He’s just talking to us as if nothing’s wrong. Nothing was wrong, but he’s just so cool-mannered. Just the way he went about that game in his first career start in terrible weather was super impressive. I just remember literally laughing with him after the game. Of course his first start would be in terrible weather, but we found a way to get the job done, too.
PB: What player did you look up to when you first got to Towson?
JM: I would have to go with one of my big brothers, Shane Santora. He was a senior when I was a freshman. He was a great faceoff guy here. I think he was just such a tough kid. He’s very strong-willed. He had a great work ethic. He did a great job of helping me [assimilate] into the new life of being a student-athlete, especially at the Division I level. He still is a great friend of mine and we still keep in touch a lot even though he graduated three or four years ago now. But he was definitely a great role model for me and such an easy guy to look up to today.
PB: What advice do you have for younger players going through the recruiting process?
JM: The recruiting process is going to be different for everybody. Stay patient, and at the end of the day just always work on your craft. Always be coachable. Especially from my experience, getting recruited as a faceoff guy and then getting asked to move positions, I think the biggest thing for me was to continue to stay coachable. It was definitely a hard position change for me, but taking a back seat, watching the people that I knew were better than me, seeing what they do and trying to master my craft and listen to Coach Grossi and Coach Nads on defensive end, being everything I can to be coachable so eventually they would find the trust to put me on the field.
PB: What are your goals for after lacrosse?
JM: I would love to get a job, something that I would enjoy not just something that pays me money. I know me and one of my roommates are looking to play some lacrosse in Australia hopefully this summer. I definitely want to stay in touch with the people that I met here. I think one of my biggest goals when I graduate is to not lose touch with the roommates and the teammates that I have here.
Photo Credit: Larry Maurer
Issue 297: February / March 2026
Originally published Feb. 18, 2026