TOWSON, Md. — The Towson University men's lacrosse team is setting its sights on making history this season as they pursue a third consecutive Colonial Athletic Association championship.
The Tigers have dominated conference play over the past two years, capturing back-to-back CAA titles without losing a single conference game during that stretch. Now, head coach Sean Natalin and his squad are focused on achieving something special – a three-peat.
Towson men's lacrosse aims for historic three-peat as CAA champions
"It would be great for this team, and then we look at every year as its own entity. It would be huge," Natalin said.
The quest won't be easy, as the Tigers face significant roster changes heading into the new season. Towson is replacing 13 graduating seniors, including four of six defensive starters, creating both opportunities and challenges for the program.
"Experience is a great thing and we definitely graduate a lot of that with last year's group," Natalin said. "So these guys that are stepping into these roles, being able to do what we're asking them to do, knowing that it might not be perfect, it might not be great all the time, but continuing to learn through the process."
The team will rely heavily on its two captains to navigate the transition. Senior short stick defensive midfielder Joseph Meidling will be tasked with leading a young defensive unit.
"Obviously that's a big goal for us, but I still think we're staying very process oriented," Meidling said. "I think our chemistry is so huge. We're so close on and off the field, and we had a lot of great work in all fall and even though a lot of the guys may not have the minutes under their belt, I think the chemistry and work that we've been putting in all fall and now all preseason is going to pay dividends for us later in the season."
The other captain, redshirt junior Ryan Schreyer, represents a unique aspect of the team's composition. Schreyer is part of a position group where all players hail from Anne Arundel County.
"It's cool all being from the same area playing against each other all throughout high school and middle school and stuff like that," Schreyer said. "Me and Mikey were high school teammates, so it's pretty cool to link up with him again. And me and him played against Wak a lot at Severna Park, so it's pretty cool all being from the same area."
Despite the roster turnover, the Tigers remain focused on their process-oriented approach.
"I think if we just keep focusing on the little things, we'll be very successful this year," Schreyer said.
Towson will test their preparation with a scrimmage against Salisbury this Sunday before opening their regular season on February 1st at noon against North Carolina at home.
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