NCAA Tournament Appearances
Since 2001, the Tigers have reached the NCAA Tournament twice, including an appearance in the third round of the tournament in 2006.
After winning the 2001 America East Championship, the Tigers earned their first-ever berth into the NCAA Tournament as the league’s automatic qualifier. In their NCAA Tournament debut, the Tigers defeated Colonial Athletic Association champion James Madison by a 4-1 margin in a first round game played at the University of North Carolina. Coincidentally, the Tigers joined the CAA the following year.
The Tigers went on to lose to eventual national champion North Carolina in the second round.
Five years later, the Tigers returned to the NCAA Tournament after posting one of the best regular seasons in school history. Seeded 15th in the 48-team field, the Tigers earned a first round bye and hosted Fairfield in the second round. The Tigers advanced with a 2-0 victory over the Stags in front of more than 1,000 fans at the Tiger Soccer Complex.
The Tigers dropped their ensuing game at Wake Forest in the round of 16.
The Tigers' goalkeeper at that time was current Towson assistant coach, Billy Chiles. Chiles (right) had his best season in goal the following year (2007), earning All-America Second Team honors, along with securing a spot on All-CAA First Team.
Tigers in the MISL
Pat Healey and Machel Millwood are currently playing for the Baltimore Blast while Andrew Marshall is a member of the Norfolk SharX. The duo of Healey and Millwood have combined to help the Blast win three MISL titles.
The other Tigers who continued their playing careers in the MISL are:
- Barry Stitz, Baltimore (1991-2000)
- Ed McCue, Kansas City (1992)
- Lance Johnson, Baltimore (1993-2004)
- Rick Bush, Baltimore (1994-95)
- Derrick Marcano, Baltimore / Tampa (1994-2003)
- Todd Hicks, Baltimore (1996-2000)
- Erik Washington, Tampa Bay (1996) / Baltimore (1999-2001)
- Peter Medd, Baltimore (1999-2001)
- Richie Moller, Baltimore (2000-01)
- Steve Hoeck, Baltimore (2002)
- Steve Fell, Baltimore (2005-06)
- Nigel Marples, Philadelphia (2007-08)
On top of their game
There have been four players in Tiger men’s soccer history who have been honored as the conference Player of the Year.
In 1990, Joe Layfield was honored as the East Coast Conference Player of the Year after leading Towson to the conference title. While the Tigers played in the America East Conference, Richie Moller took home the award in 1998, followed by Alfonso DeMares Jr. in 2000. In 2007, Pat Healey (right) was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year.
While Healey represents the Tigers' last conference player of the year, Towson has been well represented on the All-CAA teams as of late. Several players have earned second and third team status, including current Tiger junior Olakunle Banjo (top) in 2010 and 2011, but Marco Mangione earned a spot on the All-CAA First Team in 2010 and Liam Maloney accomplished the same feat in 2009.
Two Leaders of Men
Since the Tiger men’s soccer program came into existence in 1921, two men have combined to lead the Tigers for 59 of the team’s 85 seasons – Donald “Doc” Minnegan (right) and Towson's current head coach, Frank Olszewski.
Towson's all-time leader in wins, Olszewski has led the Tigers to a 279-217-49 record over the last 30 years. In addition, he has coached Towson to both of its NCAA Tournament appearances and four conference championships. He has also been honored as a conference Coach of the Year four times.
Meanwhile, Minnegan played an instrumental role in the development of the Tiger men’s soccer program. He served as the Tigers’ coach from 1927 to 1940 and from 1952 to 1966. Inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1992, he won 152 games during his 29-year tenure as the Tigers’ coach.
