Virginia Takes on Towson in Houston Saturday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (2-3) travels to Houston to face Towson (1-4) Saturday (March 8) in a neutral-site meeting and the Cavaliers’ first-ever game held in the state of Texas. 

Opening faceoff from The Kinkaid School is set for 1:30 p.m. EST and will stream with a paid subscription to Corrigan Sports Network (CSN). 

SCOUTING THE TIGERS 

• Towson dropped its first four games of the season, to then-No. 8 Johns Hopkins, then-No. 2 Syracuse, Navy and Saint Joseph’s.
• The Tigers earned their first win of the season in a 17-10 decision at UMBC last week. 
• Towson opened the season at No. 17 in both the USILA and Inside Lacrosse polls. The Tigers were ranked in six straight weekly polls last year to close out 2024, finishing No. 12 nationally. 
• Towson was also the only CAA team to earn a preseason ranking in the top-20. 
• The Tigers are led by freshman attackman Ronan Fitzpatrick, who is currently 12th nationally in goals per game (3.25), and USA Lacrosse Preseason Midfielder of the Year Mikey Weisshaar. Weisshaar is averaging 2.50 goals and 1.25 assists per game. 
• After winning the CAA championship last year, Towson was voted No. 1 in the CAA preseason poll and led the league with seven preseason All-CAA selections, including Weisshaar, the preseason player of the year. 

SERIES HISTORY 

• Virginia leads the all-time series over the Tigers, 17-3, and is currently riding a 14-game win streak which began in 2001. 
• The Cavaliers’ 14-game win streak over is their second-longest among all active Division I opponents. Only UVA’s 25-game win streak over VMI is longer than that against the Tigers. 
• The two teams played each year from 1972-77 before going head-to-head again 14 years later in the first round of the 1991 NCAA Tournament at Scott Stadium. The Tigers ultimately advanced to the program’s only NCAA championship game appearance (fell to Princeton, 12-11). 
• Ten years passed before the annual series resumed in 2001 with a 12-8 Cavalier victory in what proved to be the biggest defeat the Tigers suffered in a season in which they, once again, advanced to Championship Weekend. 
• The Hoos and Towson played each other every year from 2001-10 before the series went on hiatus following the Cavaliers’ 15-9 win at Towson. 
• UVA and the Tigers rekindled the series in 2021 after a 10-year pause from 2011-20. 
• Two of Towson’s three victories have been by one-goal (1977 & 1991). The Tigers’ average margin of victory in their three wins of the series is 2.0 goals. 
• In UVA’s 19-12 win in 2023 at Klöckner Stadium, Connor Shellenberger (4g, 6a) matched his career high of 10 points. 

 LAST TIME THEY MET 

• For the fourth time in his career, and second against Towson, former UVA attackman Connor Shellenberger (3g, 7a) tallied 10 points in the Cavaliers’ 19-15 victory in rainy conditions at Johnny Unitas Stadium on March 9, 2024. 
• With his seventh assist of the game, Shellenberger became the program’s all-time assist leader. 
• The score was tied 10-10 before the Hoos broke open the game with nine consecutive goals in the second half. 
• Payton Cormier also had a career day, scoring seven goals to match his career best. Additionally, Cormier dished out two assists to set his career high in points (9). In his sixth collegiate contest, fellow attackman McCabe Millon registered his fourth hat trick with three goals and one assist. 
• Prior to last year’s game, there was moment of silence for Virginia’s first-ever All-American, Billy Hooper, who passed away in 2024. Hooper also served as Towson’s first head coach in its inaugural season in 1959. 

VIRGINIA’S STINGY MAN-DOWN UNIT 

• Virginia’s man-down defense is much improved from last year to this. 
• Through their first five games this season, the Cavaliers have only surrendered one goal on 19 opponent extra-man opportunities, a clip of 94.7 percent, which leads the ACC and is second nationally as of March 4. 
• Last year, UVA opponents scored on 50.9 percent (28-55) of their EMO chances. 

ON THE HORIZON 

• The Cavaliers return home next Saturday (March 15) for the first time in nearly a month to host Maryland (5-0), which is ranked No. 1 in this week’s USILA and Inside Lacrosse polls. 
• Last week, the Terrapins knocked off then-No. 1 Notre Dame, 13-10, at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. 
• Maryland hosts Delaware on Saturday (March 8) at 12:30 p.m. on B1G+.