After recording the program's first back-to-back 12-win campaigns since joining Division I prior to 1980, Towson enjoyed another first, but this was on a more individual level.
Mike Lowe became the school's first defenseman to be named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week, an honor he shared with Drexel junior attackman Robert Frazee on Monday.
Lowe, a senior defenseman, was recognized for shutting out Hofstra senior attackman Sam Llinares in the No. 11 Tigers' 8-7 win Saturday. Llinares, who had entered the game with 27 goals and eight assists, took just one shot.
Lowe also posted three caused turnovers and seven ground balls. Coach Shawn Nadelen was proud of the defenseman's play.
"He deserves it and earned it, especially in that Hofstra game," Nadelen said Tuesday. "He's having a terrific season for us as a senior and a leader. He's playing some really good lacrosse right now."
Lowe ranks second on Towson (12-2 overall and 4-1 in the CAA) in ground balls with 33 and caused turnovers with 16, and has proven to be a worthy successor to JoJo Ostrander as the team's top defender.
"Mike has always been an athletic kid, strong, agile, but he actually wanted to be quicker and faster," Nadelen said. "So he dropped 10 pounds over the summer to allow himself to be that much more explosive and it's showing. He came back in the fall and through the fall and winter workouts, he was hands-down in tremendous shape and really raised the bar in terms of the level of play he was capable of and what's expected from our defensive guys. He has just had a great motor, flying around and making plays that at times, he wasn't capable of making in the past. His focus, his drive have been much more elevated this year."
And it's not just the numbers that show up on the stat sheet that define Lowe. Nadelen recalled a situation in the fourth quarter of Saturday's contest when Lowe expertly held off Llinares while preventing an errant pass from crossing the midline, which would have resulted in a turnover for the Tigers offense.
"That stuff doesn't go in the stat sheet, but they're just really good lacrosse plays," Nadelen said. "A lot of what he's doing has been really helpful for our defense and team overall."