Men's Lacrosse Championship Starts Thursday

5/3/2016 11:03:23 AM

Kelly McCarthy

CAA CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET

RICHMOND, Va. (May 3, 2016) – The 2016 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men's Lacrosse Championship gets underway Thursday evening at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md. as four squads compete for the league title and an automatic berth into the NCAA Championship.

In the first semifinal at 4:00 p.m. on May 5, top-seeded No. 11 Towson (12-2; 4-1 CAA) takes on fourth-seeded Drexel (6-8; 2-3 CAA). That game is followed by a 7:00 p.m. match-up between No. 2 Fairfield (8-7; 4-1 CAA) and third-seeded Hofstra (9-5; 3-2 CAA). Both games will be streamed live on CAA.tv. The two winners advance to Saturday's championship game which will be broadcast live on the American Sports Network (ASN) at 1:00 p.m. For television clearance information, CAASports.com/ tvinfo.

Towson and Drexel will have a rematch of last year’s CAA Championship semifinal game where the Tigers picked up an 11-8 win. Towson also earned an 11-7 victory over the Dragons on April 2. Fairfield and Hofstra opened CAA play against one another on April 2 with the Stags pulling out a 9-8 win.

The Tigers, who have been recognized in the national polls all season long, are making their fifth-consecutive CAA Championship appearance. Towson, the defending CAA champion, is fourth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 7.57 goals per game. A big part of Towson's defensive success is because of goalie Tyler White, who ranks third nationally in GAA (7.18). Offensively, the Tigers have been paced by Joe Seider, who has collected 28 goals, and Ryan Drenner, who has 25 goals and 18 assists.

Fairfield went 4-1 in league play to earn a share of the CAA Regular Season Championship for the second season. The Stags are by freshman Colin Burke, who leads the CAA in scoring with 41 goals and 14 assists for 55 points. Charlie Schnider is the league leader in assists with 29 this season. In the cage, sophomore Tyler Behring is second in the CAA in save percentage (.559) and sports a 9.55 GAA.

Drexel, the 2014 CAA champion, won its final two games entering the tournament, including a crucial victory over Delaware that helped the Dragons get into the postseason. Drexel is led offensively by freshman Matthew Varian (17g, 11a), junior Robert Frazee (23g), and junior Cole Shafer (19g, 6a). Jimmy Joe Granito has been strong in between the pipes with a 9.55 GAA.

Hofstra makes a return to the CAA Championship after missing last season’s tournament. The Pride has won three of its last four games entering the postseason. Hofstra has four players on the cusp of scoring 30+ goals this season in Josh Byrne (30g, 14a), Sam Llinares (27g), Korey Hendrickson (27g) and Brian von Bargen (26g). Sophomore Jack Concannon has been steady in goal, as he leads the CAA in save percentage (.581), is second in GAA (8.38) and third in saves per game (11.50). Senior Kris Clarke continues to be one of the top faceoff specialists in the country, winning 57.0 (150-263) of the draws this season.

For complete tournament information, including tickets, live statistic links, live broadcast information, event highlights, and daily game recaps, visit CAA Championship Central. Be sure to follow the CAA on Twitter (@CAASports) and on Instagram, using the #CAAChamps, for game day coverage.

CAA MEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP #CAAChamps
(Johnny Unitas Stadium – Towson, Md.)

Semifinals - May 5 (CAA.tv)
#1 Towson (@Towson_MLAX) vs. #4 Drexel (@DrexelMensLax) – 4:00 p.m.
#2 Fairfield (@StagsMensLax) vs. #3 Hofstra (@HofstraMLAX) vs. – 7:00 p.m.

Finals – May 7 (American Sports Network)
Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 1:00 p.m.