RICHMOND, Va. - Led by a pair of first half goals, the Tigers (5-3, 1-0) opened their Colonial Athletic Association schedule by earning their fifth straight win, a 3-1 victory over VCU (2-7, 0-1) in the league opener for both teams at Cary Street Field on Friday night.

The victory allowed the Tigers to win their CAA opener for the first time since 2008 when they defeated VCU by a 4-3 margin. In addition, the Tigers have now won five straight games for the first time since the start of the 2008 season when they opened the year with a 5-0 record.

The Tigers took a quick 1-0 lead in the fourth minute when sophomore forward Kathleen Morris scored off a penalty corner. It was Morris' second goal of the season.

With 9:32 remaining in the first half, the Rams tied the game at 1-1 when junior forward Kelsey Scherrer scored on a penalty corner after passes from junior midfielder Chelsea Hill and sophomore defender Stephanie DeMasi.

But, the Tigers answered just over seven minutes later when freshman Courtney Branco tallied her second goal of the year after deflecting a shot by senior Katie DeFilippo, giving Towson a 2-1 advantage at the intermission.

The Tigers upped their cushion to 3-1 in the 54th minute when senior forward Jo Ellen Sumego scored her first goal of the season.

While three different Tigers accounted for the team's three goals, redshirt freshman goalkeeper Christina Siwiec made seven saves as the Rams outshot Towson by a 16-9 margin.

Senior goalkeeper Erin Jablonski made three saves in a losing effort for VCU, which lost for the third game in a row.

The Tigers will continue their road trip on Sunday afternoon when they visit James Madison at 1 p.m.