Quick Hits About The 'Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland opens the 2020 season of men's lacrosse on Saturday, February 8, when it heads to Charlottesville to face the University of Virginia at Klöckner Stadium.
- Faceoff is set for 2:00 p.m. and will air live on the ACC Network
- Dating back to March 23, 2016, Loyola is averaging 12.73 goals over its last 61 games. It has scored less than 10 only eight times in that span.
- Loyola was picked first in the Patriot League Preseason Poll by conference coaches. Kevin Lindley was tabbed the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Ryan McNulty drew Preseason Defensive Player of the Year recognition. They were joined on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team by defender Cam Wyers.
- Lindley ranked third in NCAA Division I in both goals (60) and goals per game (3.53) last season.
- Bailey Savio set Loyola records in 246 faceoff wins, 471 attempts and 141 ground balls during his sophomore season.
- Loyola is the only team in the Patriot League to have two players returning in 2020 who were in the top-10 in points per game: Lindley and Aidan Olmstead.
Looking Back
- The Greyhounds finished the 2019 season with a 12-5 overall record, going 7-1 in the Patriot League to win the regular-season crown in the conference.
- Loyola advanced to the NCAA Championships for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, beating Syracuse in the first round before advancing to face Penn State in the quarterfinals.
- Pat Spencer wrapped up his career as the most-decorated player in Loyola men's lacrosse history, winning the 2019 Tewaaraton and USILA Most Outstanding Player Awards in addition to setting the NCAA career record for assists and finishing second in points. He was a four-time All-American and four-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year.
- Kevin Lindley set a school record for goals in a season, scoring 60 to finish third in NCAA Division I in that category.
- Jacob Stover earned USILA All-American First Team recognition after completing his senior season with a 58.3 saves percentage while leading the nation in saves per game (14.71).
- Loyola's man-down defense ranked fourth nationally, killing penalties at a 76.4 percent clip.
In The Polls
- Loyola is ranked 14th in the USILA Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse media version.
- Virginia is ranked first in the coaches poll, second in the media.
Series History
- Loyola and Virginia will meet for the 25th time when the teams take the field on Saturday. Virginia holds a 15-9 lead in the all-time series,although the Greyhounds have won each of the last two meetings between the programs.
- The teams have played a home-and-home series every year since 2014 with the Cavaliers winning four of the six regular-season meetings.
- Since the series resumed in 2014, four of the six games (all of the Virginia wins) have come by one goal with three in overtime.
- Last year, Loyola jumped out to an 8-4 halftime lead when the teams met on February 9 in Baltimore, and the Greyhounds outscored the Cavaliers, 5-2, in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 17-9 win in the season-opener for both teams. That game came on the heels of a 14-12 Loyola win at Ridley Athletic Complex in the 2018 NCAA First Round.
- Over the seven meetings since 2014, including the 2018 NCAA Tournament game, Loyola has averaged 13.4 goals, while Virginia has averaged 11.6.
Turn On The Television
- The ACC Network will televise the game nationally with Chris Cotter calling the play-by-play and Matt Ward providing the analysis.
Preseason Prognostications
- Loyola was picked as the team to beat by Patriot League coaches and staff in the conference's preseason poll, marking the seventh time in as many years the Greyhounds have earned the preseason recognition.
- Two Loyola players – Kevin Lindley (offensive) and Ryan McNulty (defensive) – were named the Patriot League Preseason Players of the Year. The both earned spots on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team along with Cam Wyers.
- In addition to his conference honors, McNulty was tabbed a Preseason Second-Team All-American by Inside Lacrosse.
Opening Stretch
- Loyola's first four games of the 2020 season are all against teams that are ranked, or receiving votes, in the USILA rankings. The Greyhounds start with the top-ranked team, defending NCAA Champion Virginia, before hosting No. 11 Johns Hopkins on February 15 to start a three-game homestand.
- Following the tilt against the Blue Jays, Loyola then hosts Rutgers (receiving votes) and Towson (No. 19).
- Overall, the Greyhounds are facing 10 teams in the rankings or receiving votes (also Duke, Army West Point, Georgetown, Lehigh, Navy and Bucknell).
Toomey's Team
- Charley Toomey is in his 15th year as the head coach at Loyola and his 24th as a member of the Greyhounds' coaching staff. Overall, he is in his 28th year on the Evergreen campus, including his four seasons as a student-athlete from 1986-90.
- Toomey has directed the Greyhounds to 101 wins, an average of 12.6 per season (not including this season) since 2012, and has a 146-69 career record. Early in the 2016 season, Toomey became the second coach in program history to reach and cross the 100-win plateau; he stands second on the program's all-time wins chart behind his college coach, Dave Cottle (181-70, 1983-2001).
- Entering the 2020 season, Toomey's .679 winning percentage is fifth amongst active NCAA Division I head coaches with 10 or more seasons coaching at the level.
- As a head coach, Toomey has coached 38 USILA All-Americans, 77 all-conference selections, 21 conference positional or players or rookies of the year, four Tewaaraton Award finalists and 13 USILA Scholar All-Americans.
- In January 2019, Toomey was named to the coaching staff of the U.S. Men's National Team as an assistant coach. He will serve with Team USA in preparation for, and competition in, the 2022 World Championships in British Columbia. He was also enshrined in the USLacrosse Chesapeake Chapter Hall of Fame in January 2019 for his accomplishments as a player and a coach.
Lindley Leading
- Kevin Lindley was one of the top goal scorers in the nation last season, scoring 60 goals in 17 games, and he was third in NCAA Division I with 3.53 goals per game. He tallied four or more in 10 of the Greyhounds' 17 contests, including eight against Colgate, six at Towson and versus Holy Cross and Georgetown and five versus Virginia and Navy.
- Against Lafayette in April, Lindley broke the school single-season record for goals, breaking the mark set in 2012 by Eric Lusby of 54. Lindley's 56 (at the conclusion of that game) came in 14 games where Lusby's 54 were in 19.
- Lindley finished his freshman season in 2018 with 37 goals. He is now fifth on the NCAA Division I active career leader with 2.85 goals per game.
- The Darien, Connecticut, native is 12th all-time at Loyola in goal scored with 97 and with three more will become the 11th to reach the 100-goal plateau.
Aidan Is All Around
- Aidan Olmstead has posted two 40-plus point seasons in as many years since coming to the Loyola campus. In 32 career games, entering his junior season, Olmstead has scored 86 points with 44 goals and 42 points.
- After being hampered by an injury early in 2019, Olmstead posted 18 goals and 13 assists in the Greyhounds' last nine games, bringing his season totals to 23 and 21.
- In 2018, Olmstead finished his freshman season with 19 goals and 21 assists in 17 games.
- The Patriot League All-Academic Team member is now not the only member of his family within the Loyola athletic department. His twin sisters, Riley and Logan are freshman on the 11th-ranked Loyola women's lacrosse team.
Record Ground Ball Numbers
- Bailey Savio set school records with 141 ground balls and 242 faceoff wins last season, marks that are both second all-time in the Patriot League. His 471 faceoffs attempted were both school and Patriot League records while ranking fifth all-time in NCAA Division I history.
- Savio was the fifth player to post 100-plus in a year, joining Haas, while Bailey's older brother, Graham, who had 103 in 2017, and Dan Kallaugher (2007) and Ryan Radonis (2003) who had 101 ground-ball seasons.
- In two seasons – Savio split time as the Greyhounds' faceoff specialist as a freshman in 2018 – he has 342 wins and 185 ground balls. Graham Savio holds the Loyola record for wins (710) and ground balls (340).
Shot Selection
- Loyola finished the 2018 season with a .351 shooting percentage this season marking just the third time the Greyhounds have shot 30 percent or better in the last 10 seasons (.312 in 2014; .301 in 2017). Loyola's shot percentage led the Patriot League and was sixth in NCAA Division I.
- Last year, the Greyhounds shot .335, a percentage that was again tops in the conference and sixth nationally.
Between The Lines
- Ryan McNulty has been key to the Greyhounds' defense and transition game over the past two seasons, earning his first All-America honors (USILA honorable mention) last season as a long-stick midfielder when he was the top non-faceoff player on the team with 65 ground balls while leading Loyola with 25 caused turnovers.
- Over his career, he has amassed 40 caused turnovers and 122 ground balls while scoring six goals to go with four assists.
- McNulty is an academic senior this year with two more years of eligibility remaining on the field. He saw only two games of action of a freshman before receiving a medical hardship waiver; McNulty will return for the 2021 season with the Greyhounds as a fifth-year player.
Trio Of Captains
Little Bit Of Everything
- Peter Swindell has been a utility knife of sorts for the Greyhounds during his career, playing on offensive midfield, running on the wings of faceoffs and taking shifts as a defensive midfielder.
- The senior co-captain finished last year with a career-high 15 points, scoring seven times while assisting on eight goals. he also posted a career-best 42 ground balls.
Teacher of Tewaaratons
- Loyola assistant coach Marc Van Arsdale has coached more Tewaaraton Award winners than anyone else. In addition to Pat Spencer last year, three of Van Arsdale's players at the University of Virginia – Chris Rotelli (2003), Matt Ward (2006) and Steele Stanwick (2011) – have earned the award as the sport's top player.
Get To Ten
- Since Charley Toomey became head coach at Loyola in 2006, the Greyhounds have scored 10 or more goals on 134 occasions; Loyola has won 80.6 percent of those games (108-26).
Career of Careers
- Pat Spencer wrapped up his record-setting career at Loyola as the first Greyhounds player to earn the Tewaaraton and USILA Most Outstanding Player Awards. Spencer was a four-year USILA All-American and four-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year.
- In the first round of the 2019 NCAA Championships, Spencer set the Division I record for career assists and wrapped up his four years with 231. He also had 149 goals – second-most in Loyola history – to total 380 points, the second-highest total in NCAA history.
- He broke his own Loyola single-season assist and point records during that 2019 NCAA First Round win over Syracuse, becoming the first player in school history to top 100 points in a season. He finished with a Patriot League-record 114 points with 49 goals and 65 assists.
- Spencer is now a starting guard for the Northwestern University men's basketball team as a graduate transfer. His younger brother, Cam, is a starting guard as a freshman for Loyola's men's basketball team.
Up Next
- Loyola opens a three-game homestand at Ridley Athletic Complex on Saturday, February 15, when it hosts Johns Hopkins.
- The Greyhounds and Blue Jays will play a men's and women's doubleheader that day with the women kicking things off at 12 noon before the men take the field at 3:30 p.m.
