Towson is 9-1 against Mount St. Mary's all time and has won the past eight meetings, including a 9-1 home rout on March 1, 2014. The Tigers are 1-0 on the road this season, while the Mountaineers are 0-1 at home.
No. 17 Towson (2-1) is seeking three wins in its first four games for the first time under coach Shawn Nadelen and for the first time since 2005. In Sunday's 9-6 victory at Georgetown, junior defenseman Mike Lowe limited Bo Stafford to a single goal on six shots, and the Hoyas senior attackman finished with two turnovers. Stafford had a career-high four goals in Georgetown's 14-12 loss to No. 2 Notre Dame on Feb. 14.
Mount St. Mary's (1-1) is taking aim at what would be just the program's second 2-1 start since 2000. The team has been buoyed by a veteran defense that has averaged 8.5 caused turnovers, higher than last year's average of 6.6. Senior defenseman Alex Stefkovich, who finished 2014 with nine caused turnovers, leads the way with five, and senior defenseman Kyle O'Brien ranks second with four caused turnovers after forcing 13 last spring.
Here are a few factors that could play a role in the outcome at Waldron Family Stadium in in Emmitsburg at 2 p.m.
1) The Mountaineers offense. After averaging just 5.7 goals per game last season, Mount St. Mary's averaged 10.5 goals in its first two games. Surprisingly, the team's top six scorers are three sophomores, one senior, one junior and one freshman. Freshman attackman Mike Moynihan scored three goals in an 11-8 victory at Virginia Military Institute, and sophomore attackman Spencer Smith had a career-high four in Tuesday's 11-10 loss to Delaware. That kind of diversity makes an offense tough to scout, but coach Tom Gravante knows the offense will have its hands full against a Tigers defense renowned for its zone schemes.