Johnny Unitas Stadium

No. 3 Maryland (9-3) Coming up: Vs. Fairfield, Saturday, 1 p.m., Byrd Stadium Comment: The Terps and Stags meet for only the second time, with Maryland winning, 9-6, in 2005. The Terps' offense will have to solve Fairfield senior Joe Marra, who ranks first among Division I goalkeepers in goals-against average (7.09) and save percentage (.616). No. 6 Loyola (9-2) Coming up: At No. 18 Denver, Sunday, 3 p.m. Comment: The Greyhounds and Pioneers meet with the Eastern College Athletic Conference championship and automatic qualifier at stake.

UMBC (3-4) snapped a two-game losing skid with a 16-12 victory over America East rival Hartford Saturday and is 1-1 on the road this season. Towson (6-3) has strung together four consecutive wins and is 3-1 at home. The host Tigers own a 27-15 advantage in the all-time series, but the Retrievers have claimed four of the last five meetings. Here are a few factors that could influence the outcome at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson on Wednesday night. 1) Towson's shot selection.

No. 3 Maryland (10-3) Coming up: At Colgate, Saturday, 1 p.m. Comment: The Terps and Red Raiders meet for the first time. With 10 goals this season, John Haus is the first freshman midfielder to reach that mark since Brian Zeller scored 12 in 1997. No. 12 Loyola (9-3) Coming up: Vs. No. 20 Johns Hopkins, Saturday, noon, Ridley Athletic Complex Comment: If the Greyhounds want to cement a spot in the NCAA tournament, they will have to end a 10-game losing streak to the Blue Jays.

Towson University football coach Rob Ambrose has agreed to an extension, athletic director Mike Waddell said Thursday night. Ambrose received three years on top of the two left on the deal he signed when he took the job in 2009. Financial terms of the new contract were not announced. "It's more than a job to Rob," Waddell said of Ambrose, a 1993 Towson graduate. "He wants to build a championship program, not just from a professional standpoint, but for personal reasons. " Ambrose's new deal comes nearly three weeks after the Tigers finished a 9-3 season with a 40-38 loss to Lehigh in the second round of the Division I football championships, Towson's first postseason appearance as a Football Championship Subdivision team.

Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic When: March 6 Where: M&T Bank Stadium Description: Three local teams are taking part in an early-season tripleheader. No. 7 Maryland and No. 1 Duke meet at 11 a.m., No. 5 Johns Hopkins takes on No. 11 Princeton at 1:30 p.m., and No. 13 Loyola and No. 8 Notre Dame face off at 4 p.m. Tickets: Range from $10 to $30; may be purchased at TicketMaster outlets or by calling the Ravens ticket office at 410-261-RAVE Smartlink Day of Rivals When: April 17 Where: M&T Bank Stadium Description: The second annual showcase pits No. 6 Navy against Army at 4 p.m. and Maryland against Hopkins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets: Range from $10 to $30; may be purchased at TicketMaster outlets or by calling the Ravens ticket office at 410-261-RAVE NCAA men's championships When: May 29-31 Where: M&T Bank Stadium Description: Baltimore hosts the semifinals and final of the Division I tournament, as well as the Division II and III championships.

The comeback tour for the Towson men's lacrosse team rolls on. Seven different players scored goals as the host Tigers collected their second consecutive win by holding off UMBC, 10-7, before 2,850 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson Wednesday night. Paired with Saturday's 9-7 triumph over Delaware, the victory gives Towson (3-5) its first two-game winning streak since March 2009 when the team strung together three straight victories over Robert Morris, Bucknell and Drexel.

No. 6 Maryland (3-0) Coming up: Vs. Towson, Saturday, 11 a.m., Byrd Stadium; vs. Pennsylvania, Monday, 3 p.m., Byrd Stadium Comment: The Terps are 3-0 for the first time since 2006 and haven't been 4-0 since 2004. Junior attackman Grant Catalino had five goals and one assist in Maryland's 11-10 overtime win against No. 8 Duke last Saturday. No. 7 Johns Hopkins (4-1) Coming up: At No. 11 Hofstra, Saturday, 7 p.m. Comment: The Blue Jays are 18-4 all time against the Pride, but all four losses have occurred on the road.

The Towson offense pushed No. 1 Virginia throughout Sunday's game. They scored four goals in the first quarter, saw two players finish with hat tricks and stayed close for long stretches. But the Virginia offense proved too much for the Tigers to stop. The Cavaliers pressured Towson with accurate shooting and kept possession for long stretches by controlling faceoffs and ground balls, which helped them pull away for a 15-10 victory before 2,477 at Johnny Unitas Stadium. The performance of the Virginia offense left Towson coach Tony Seaman shaking his head afterward.

Navy (2-3) leads this series, winning six of 10 meetings. But since renewing the in-state rivalry for the first time since 1997, the two sides have split the last two contests. The Tigers (2-2) have been a much tougher out at home, going 4-1 with the lone loss occurring April 17, 1993. Here are a few factors that could influence the outcome at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson on Tuesday night. 1) Tigers' hibernation. By the time Towson takes the field for the 7:30 faceoff, 10 days will have elapsed since the team's last contest - a 10-8 victory over Mount St. Mary's on March 3. Rust is a concern, according to coach Shawn Nadelen.

In recent weeks, Towson has ridden a series of miraculous comebacks and thrilling finishes to its best start at the Division I level. On Saturday, the Tigers finally ran out of magic. Sophomore Andrew Pierce rushed for a season-high 158 yards and three touchdowns, out-dueling Towson freshman Terrance West, and No. 21 Delaware held off No. 13 Towson, 35-30, before an announced 8,122 at Johnny Unitas Stadium. West ran for a career-high 155 yards and four touchdowns, but he couldn't help the Tigers score in the final 22:44.

The dream season came to a crashing halt. It ended for Towson University in front of a raucous, sellout crowd at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Saturday, in a heart-breaking 40-38 loss to Lehigh in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. And maybe this is the worst part: The killer play for the Tigers in this back-and-forth game was a safety, of all things. With a little more than five minutes left, Towson quarterback Grant Enders was tackled in the end zone by Lehigh's Tom Bianchi.

In recent weeks, Towson has ridden a series of miraculous comebacks and thrilling finishes to its best start at the Division I level. On Saturday, the Tigers finally ran out of magic. Sophomore Andrew Pierce rushed for a season-high 158 yards and three touchdowns, out-dueling Towson freshman Terrance West, and No. 21 Delaware held off No. 13 Towson, 35-30, before an announced 8,122 at Johnny Unitas Stadium. West ran for a career-high 155 yards and four touchdowns, but he couldn't help the Tigers score in the final 22:44.

Go ahead, find me a better comeback story than the one Towson University's football team is writing this fall. Think about it: this is a team that went 1-10 last season. A team with a grand total of two wins the year before. A team picked to finish last in the Colonial Athletic Association. A team that had lost 26 of 28 conference games going into this year. Now the Tigers are 6-1 and ranked 13th in the nation among FCS teams. It's their best start since 1987. In fact, they're the most improved team in Division I - FBS or FCS. And now they're anticipating a sell-out crowd at 11,000-seat Johnny Unitas Stadium on Saturday night for the Delaware game.

If Towson's football team wanted to make a statement, they certainly picked the right time to do it. Host Towson used two touchdowns each by tailbacks Terrance West and Dominique Booker to upset FCS No. 20 Villanova, 31-10, in the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both teams Saturday night. The victory touched off a celebration at Johnny Unitas Stadium that featured Towson coach Rob Ambrose receiving a Gatorade shower and the Towson students storming the field. The win broke a 14-game conference losing streak for the Tigers, whose last CAA win came against Rhode Island in October 2009.

On a third-and-14 early in the third quarter of Saturday's night season opener, Towson quarterback Grant Enders stoically held his ground in the pocket, and after not being able to find an open receiver, he scrambled through a pack of Morgan State defenders for a first down. Three plays later, he found Tyler Wharton for a 12-yard touchdown. That type of versatility is expected to add a new dimension to Towson's new-look offense, which kept the Bears off-balance in a 42-3 victory before 9,759 - the third largest crowd in Johnny Unitas Stadium's history.

Formal introductions were in order Tuesday when 27 Ravens — new and old — convened at overcast Johnny Unitas Stadium for the purpose of getting a handful of rookies up to NFL speed. Torrey Smith, the team's second-round draft choice from Maryland, looked the part of a play-making receiver in limited drills, quick-stepping through his pass routes and catching all but one ball thrown to him. "Nice little workout with the guys," Smith said when the two-hour conditioning workout was done.