Towson Renews Rivalry with Midshipmen

from press release

TOWSON, Md. – Looking for its first win of the season, the Towson University men's lacrosse team will return to Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Tuesday night to face the United States Naval Academy in a non-conference game at 7 p.m.

The game will be broadcast live on WTMD-FM 89.7 with Spiro Morekas, '83 and Greg LaCour, '81 calling the action.

Tuesday's game will also mark the first meeting between the two teams since 1997 when the Tigers posted a 14-6 victory over the Midshipmen at Minnegan Stadium. Navy leads the all-time series by a 5-3 margin.

The Tigers have dropped their first three games following a 12-8 setback against fifth-ranked Maryland on Saturday afternoon at Byrd Stadium. All three of the Tigers' losses this season have been against nationally-ranked opponents.

Senior midfielder Will Harrington (Friends School/Baltimore, Md.) led the Tigers with his second straight "hat trick" in the loss against Maryland, scoring a game-high three goals. Meanwhile, graduate student Christian Pastirik (St. Mary's H.S./Annapolis, Md.) contributed two goals with an assist in the loss.

Junior goalkeeper Travis Love (Westminster H.S./Westminster, Md.) made a career-high seven saves in the second half against the Terrapins. He has played in the second half in each of the Tigers' last two games, posting a .571 save percentage while allowing just nine goals.

Harrington leads the Tigers with nine goals and one assist, including five extra-man goals, which leads the Colonial Athletic Association. Since the beginning of last season, Harrington has scored 13 extra-man goals. Pastirik has also contributed ten points for the Tigers, scoring five goals with five assists.

Off to a 3-3 start, the Midshipmen are coming off a 15-8 Patriot League setback against Lafayette on Friday night. Senior midfielder Joe Lennon (Loyola Blakefield H.S./Westminster, Md.) was one of three Navy players to score a pair of goals in the loss on Friday night while sophomore goalkeeper RJ Wickham (Penn Yan Academy/Penn Yan, N.Y.) made 16 saves in a losing effort for the Midshipmen, who had a brief two-game win streak snapped with the loss.

Senior midfielder Patrick Moran (Severn School/Annapolis, Md.) and junior attackman Andy Warner (Corning East H.S./Corning East, N.Y.) lead the Navy offense with ten goals and five assists each while Lennon has contributed seven goals with three assists.

Wickham has started all six games for the Midshipmen between the pipes, stopping 64.7 per cent of the shots he has faced while posting an 8.02 goals against average.

After Tuesday's game, the Tigers will entertain top-ranked Virginia at Unitas Stadium on Sunday afternoon at 12 noon in a game which will be televised on WMAR-TV in Baltimore and nationally on ESPNU.

TIGER TIDBITS: The Tigers have won two of the last three games against Navy ... In the last meeting between the two teams, Spencer Ford scored a career-high five goals to lead Towson to the victory ... The Tigers jumped out to a 7-2 lead over the 13th-ranked Midshipmen and never looked back.

Towson Coach Tony Seaman has a 12-5 all-time record against the Midshipmen, including a 9-0 record during his tenure at Johns Hopkins ... Navy Coach Richie Meade has a 2-1 all-time record against the Tigers ... However, Coach Seaman has won all four times he has faced Coach Meade.

Although the Tigers and the Midshipmen are meeting for the first time since 1997, there are many connections between the two schools ... Navy Assistant Coach Stan Ross was a member of the Towson coaching staff from 1999 to 2004 ... He helped the Tigers win three conference titles and reach the NCAA Tournament three times, including the Tigers' national semi-final appearance in 2001.

Former Tiger midfielder and face-off specialist Mark Goers is also on the Midshipmen's coaching staff ... Goers is the Tigers' all-time leader with a .702 face-off percentage and ranks third in school history with 375 face-off victories.

In addition, Dion Harris, the Head Athletic Equipment Manager at Towson since 1999, spent 15 years as the Assistant Equipment Manager at the Naval Academy.

John Latteri, the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Promotions at Towson, worked for the Navy Athletic Department for three years prior to re-joining the Towson staff this past summer.

Navy Assistant Volleyball Coach Mary Clare Coghlan is a 2005 Towson graduate who helped the Tigers win the CAA Championship and reach the NCAA Tournament in 2004.

Commander Chris Schlehr, '72 (Ret.), the younger brother of Towson's Director of Athletic Media Relations Peter Schlehr, is a 1972 graduate of the Naval Academy who spent three years as the Superintendent of Public Works at the Academy from 1992 to 1995 ... He also served as the officer representative for the Midshipmen baseball team.

Navy Assistant Football Coach Mike Judge, who completed his first season as the Mids' fullbacks coach this Fall, and Towson Associate Director of Athletic Media Relations Dan O'Connell are second cousins.