TOWSON, Md. – In the thick of the hunt for a berth to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament, the Towson University women's soccer team hosts a pair of matches at the Tiger Soccer Complex this weekend.
 
Action kicks off on Friday with a 3 p.m. tilt against the Seahawks of UNCW, followed by a 1 p.m. clash on Sunday with the College of Charleston. Prior to Sunday's game, the Tigers (5-9-1, 2-3-0 CAA) will honor their senior class.
 
The Coverage
Both matches this weekend will be streamed live and free on the Towson Sports Network. Bonssa Tufa will have the call on Friday, while Ian Jett will have the game on Sunday. The conference matches will also have a live stats feed as well.
 
The Series: UNCW (8-3-3, 2-1-2 CAA)
Friday will see the Tigers and Seahawks clash for the 16th time since the series began in 1994. Towson won the first-ever meeting between the schools with a 2-0 victory at home. The teams did not take field against one another again until the 2002 season when Towson joined the CAA. UNCW leads the all-time series at 13-2-0, with Towson's last victory coming on a 1-0 victory during the Oct. 16, 2011 meeting. Towson has not beaten UNCW on home turf since that first meeting.
 
The Series: College of Charleston (9-5-1, 2-2-1 CAA)
Towson will look to extend its unbeaten streak against the Cougars to four games as the Tigers are 1-0-2 lifetime against College of Charleston. The last two matches have results in 0-0 draws. No current player has ever scored against the Cougars, with Hollie Garber getting the last goal of the series in the 74^th minute of the Oct. 6, 2013 meeting. The series has been scoreless for the last 236 minutes.
 
With a Win Friday…

• Towson would snap a two-match slide in conference play.
• Give the Tigers their third win in the CAA this season, bringing the team's point total to nine.
• Towson would halt a four-match skid against UNCW.
• The Tigers would win at home against UNCW for the first time Sept. 3, 1994.

 
With a Win Sunday…

• Towson would improve to 2-0-2 all-time against College of Charleston.
• Extend the Tigers' unbeaten streak against the Cougars to four games.
• The Tigers would collect their first win at home against College of Charleston.

 
The CAA
Two teams, Northeastern and Drexel, have moved to the top of the CAA standings with 15 and 13 points, respectively. James Madison moved into third place with its 2-1 double overtime win over the Tigers on Saturday. Towson's opponents this weekend are in fourth (UNCW) and fifth (College of Charleston) with eight and seven points. Towson is one of four teams with six points in the standings this season.
 
The Standings
Team                              CAA Record       Points        Overall Record
Northeastern                 5-1-0                      15               10-5-1
Drexel                             4-1-1                      13               8-5-2
James Madison           3-2-0                      9                 6-8-0
UNCW                            2-1-2                      8                 8-3-3
Charleston                     2-2-1                      7                 9-5-1
William & Mary              2-3-0                      6                 8-6-0
Elon                                2-3-0                      6                 7-7-1
Towson                          2-3-0                      6                 5-9-1
Delaware                       2-4-0                      6                 3-12-0
Hofstra                           1-5-0                      3                 7-7-1
 
This Weekend's CAA Schedule
Friday, October 14
Towson vs. UNCW – 3 p.m.
Charleston at James Madison – 7 p.m.
Delaware at William & Mary – 7 p.m.
Drexel at Elon – 7 p.m.
 
Saturday, October 15
Northeastern at Hofstra – 7 p.m.
 
Sunday, October 16
Towson vs. College of Charleston – 1 p.m.
UNCW at James Madison – 1 p.m.
Delaware at Elon – 1p.m.
Drexel at William & Mary – 2p.m.
 
Reversing a Trend
The 2016 season is nothing if not one for reversing trends. Earlier this season, Towson picked up its first-ever win in Williamsburg over the Tribe of William & Mary. A week later, Towson upended longtime rival Delaware 1-0 for the team's first home win over the Blue Hens since the 2009 campaign.
 
The Tigers will look to do something similar this Friday. Towson has not beaten UNCW at home since joining the CAA in 2002. The last time the Tigers topped the Seahawks in Towson came on Sept. 3, 1994 with a 2-0 victory. Only one current member of the program, Marissa Green, was alive when that happened.
 
Senior Day Send Off
This weekend marks the conclusion of the 2016 regular season at the Tiger Soccer Complex. On Sunday, the program's six seniors will be recognized prior to the match. Those being honored this year will be Marissa Green (D), Lexi Murphy (D), Natalia Pinkney (F), Emily Marshall (M), Madison Nadeau (F) and Izzy Latour (F). Heading into this weekend's games, the group has combined to appear in 265 games over the last four years.
 
Home Finales
Sunday will be the Tigers' final home game of the 2016 regular season. With the clash against the College of Charleston, the Tigers will look to extend their four-match unbeaten streak in home finales. In the last four seasons, Towson is 3-0-1 in the final home game of the season. Towson drew 1-1 with Georgia State (2012) in the Panthers' final CAA game before running off three-straight wins in home finales. The Tigers topped Delaware State 4-3 in 2013, bested William & Mary for the first time ever to cap the 2014 regular season and sent off the class of 2015 with a 1-0 victory over Elon.
 
Breaking a Mental Sweat
On Thursday, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) announced its Team Academic Awards. The Tigers were one of eight CAA teams to win the award. To qualify for the award, the team must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 or higher for the entire academic year. The team GPA is determined by adding every player's GPA, then dividing by the number of players. Towson finished the last academic year with a 3.25 grade point average.
 
Climbing the Books
Several Tigers appear on the program's top 10 charts.
 
Senior forward Natalia Pinkney is now tied for second in program history with seven game-winning goals after her deciding strike against Delaware two weeks ago. Pinkney needs three ties to draw level with Christi Landi's mark of 10, notched between 1994-97.
 
Pinkney is now ninth all-time in program career goals after scoring against Bowling Green at the Navy Invitational. She sits alone in ninth with 16 career markers. The senior is now in the program's top 10 for career points with 36 (16g, 4a). Should she take one shot on Friday, Pinkney will also join the program's top 10 career list for shots at 99. If she takes two or more, Pinkney will become the 11^th Tiger to hit the century mark. Pinkney nears the program's all-time games play mark as well. She has played in 72 contests for Towson. Should she play in each of the remaining regular season games, she will have 76 matches to her name, tying her for third all-time. The program record is 78 appearances, set by Courtney McKee from 2008-11.
 
Classmate Taylor Sebolao is currently eighth all-time at Towson with 196 career saves since 2013. Last weekend, she surpassed Susie Blanco (1993-94), who had 186 during her career. Former teammate Erin Quinn (2011-14), is next on the list with 220. Sebolao is also seventh all-time in goalie minutes played at 3,054, surpassing Michelle Robinson (1992-93) at 2,550 minutes. Next on the list for Sebolao to catch is Quinn, who logged 3,493 minutes. She will need to play in every minute of regulation until the end of the season to surpass Quinn.
 
The 25^th Anniversary Team
In the past weeks, the Towson women's soccer team released names for the program's 25^th Anniversary Team. On Wednesday, the final set of five names was released.
 
Towson University Women's Soccer 25^th Anniversary Team (to date) – Alphabetical
Emily Banes (2010-13)
Brandi Daniels (2004-07)
Vasthy Delgado (2012-15)
Ashlee Douglas (1993-96)
Melissa Gomes (2007-10)
Brittany Hadaway (2006-09)
Bridget Harthausen (1996-99)
Jaime Hartigan (1993-96)
Shannon Jackson (2001-05)
Christi Landi (1994-97)
Maggie Lennon (1998-2001)
Megan Lumsden (1996-97)
Erica Marshall (2006-09)
Courtney McKee (2008-11)
Courtney McLelland (1992-95)
Melissa Mueller (1999-2002)
Holly Noga (2000-03)
Jocelyn Papciak (2008-11)
Erin Quinn (2011-14)
Katie Ponce (2011-14)
Shelley Seivert (1995-98)
Cheyenne Skidmore (2009-12)
Tina Steck (1997-2000)
Kaitlyn Zamroz (2005-09)
Tracy Zettle (1992-95)
 
The Silver Anniversary
The 2016 campaign marks the 25^th anniversary for the Towson University women's soccer program. Playing its first game on September 9, 1992, the program begins its silver year on campus. The celebratory weekend was held around a rare Saturday game for the Tigers on October 8 as Towson hosted CAA rival James Madison. Each week throughout the season, Towson will announced its 25^th Anniversary Team five at a time on TowsonTigers.com.
 
- TowsonTigers.com –