TOWSON, Md. ? After extending their unbeaten streak to 11 games in a row and clinching the Colonial Athletic Association regular season title, the Towson University men's soccer team is nationally-ranked for the second week in a row. The Tigers, who have a 13-1-2 overall record, are ranked 17^th in the nation this week, according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas weekly poll.

The Tigers are ranked three spots higher than last week when they were 20^th in the nation.

Coached by Frank Olszewski, the Tigers were also ranked third in the South Atlantic region this week behind Virginia (13-2-0) and defending national champion Maryland (11-3-1).

With back-to-back wins over James Madison University and Virginia Commonwealth University over the weekend, the Tigers clinched the CAA regular season title with a 9-0-1 CAA record.

Towson University will be the top seed for the CAA Tournament which will be held on November 3-5 at the Virginia Beach SportsPlex in Virginia Beach, Va. The tournament semi-finals will be played on Friday, November 3 with the championship match scheduled for Sunday, November 5 at 4:00 p.m.

The CAA champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Competing in the CAA for the fifth season, the Tigers will be making their third appearance in the CAA Tournament. In 2002, they beat James Madison in the first round and lost to Virginia Commonwealth in the semi-finals. Last year, the Tigers lost to James Madison in the first round of the CAA Tournament.

The Tigers, who haven't lost a match since September 10, have relied on an outstanding defense that is ranked seventh in NCAA Division I, allowing only 0.54 goals per game. The Tigers' 1-0 win at James Madison was their tenth shutout of the season, a school record.

Junior Billy Chiles (Springbrook H.S./Silver Spring, Md.) and senior Greg Flaherty (Henderson H.S./West Chester, Pa.) have shared the goalkeeping duties and done a tremendous job. Chiles has played 743 minutes and has a microscopic 0.24 GAA with five solo shutouts. Flaherty has played 757 minutes with a 0.83 GAA and four solo shutouts.

Senior co-captains Nigel Marples (North Delta H.S./Delta, British Columbia, Canada) and Andrew Marshall (Centennial H.S./Ellicott City, Md.) have been two of the Tigers' team leaders on defense.

Senior Sebastian Haensel (Leipzig, Germany) leads the Tigers in scoring with six goals and seven assists while junior Pat Healey (Calvert Hall H.S./Bel Air, Md.) has four goals and two assists.

The Tigers close out the regular season on Friday evening when they visit George Mason University for another CAA matchup. George Mason is tied for second in the CAA with Hofstra. The Patriots are 11-4-1 overall and 7-2-1 in the CAA.