Opening Draw: After nearly a month on the road, the No. 18 Towson women's lacrosse team returns to Unitas Stadium to play it's final two Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) regular season games. The Tigers kick off the weekend by hosting William & Mary on Friday, April 22. Opening draw is set for 7 p.m. and Towson Sports Network's Ian Jett and Jai-Leen James will have the call of the game starting at 6:45 p.m. Links to live stats and video feed can be found on the schedule page of TowsonTigers.com. Fans can also follow the Tigers on Twitter (@Towson_WLAX) for updates on the team.

Welcome to Our Hometown Heroes: Friday's game will serve as the women's lacrosse team's "Hometown Heroes" game. The national anthem and the color guard will be presented by "Hometown Heroes" and the Tigers will honor some of their family members who have served in the military or as first responders. All military personnel and first responders can receive four free tickets for the game. The free tickets can be secured by visiting bitly.com/TUHeroes and using the promo code: HEROES.

Updating the Tigers: Towson ran it's win streak to five straight games with a 13-6 victory at Drexel on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore attacker Jenna Kerr and freshman midfielder Natalie Sulmonte each tallied a career-high four goals against the Dragons. Sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Montalbano leads the team this season in goals (23), assists (14) and points (37). Freshman attacker Carly Tellekamp has contributed 22 goals while junior midfielder Samantha Brookhart is second on the squad with 10 helpers. Ten Tigers have scooped up 10 or more ground balls this season and that group is led by sophomore defender Tianna Wallpher, who has 24. Wallpher also leads the team with 19 caused turnovers. Sulmonte and Montalbano lead the Tigers with 27 draw controls each. Freshman Angie Benson brings a 6.27 goals against average and a .472 save
percentage into the weekend action.

Scouting William & Mary: William & Mary enters play this weekend looking to snap a three-game losing streak. The Tribe were last in action on April 10 when they fell to Drexel, 11-8. Zoe Boger and McKinley Wade led William & Mary with two goals and an assist each in that game. Shannon Quinn leads the Tribe with 32 goals and two assists for 34 points. Abby Corkum is second on the team with 18 goals while Danielle Palmucci has a team-high 14 assists. Abby Junior leads the team defensively with 34 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers. Lindsey Jenks has pulled down a team-high 20 draw controls. Meredith Crizer leads the Tribe in net with an 11.38 goals against average and a .417 save percentage.

Towson-William & Mary Series History: Friday's meeting will be the 22nd all-time between the Tigers and Tribe. Towson holds an 13-8 edge in the match-up between the two schools. The Tigers have won seven straight against William & Mary, including a 20-9 victory when the two squads met last year in Williamsburg. Samantha Brookhart led the way with six points on three goals and three assists. She also contributed six draw controls. Brookhart was one of four Tigers to record a hat trick in the game. Shannon Quinn led the Tribe with three goals.

I'm Honored: After going 2-0 last week on the road and extending their win streak to five straight games, the Tigers swept the CAA awards on Monday. Sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Montalbano was named the CAA Offensive Player of the Week. Montalbano combined for four goals, one assist, nine draw controls, three ground balls and a caused turnover in the two games. Freshman goalkeeper Angie Benson took home CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors. Benson made 11 saves and limited her opponents to a combined nine goals. For the seventh time in 10 weeks, the Tigers had the CAA Rookie of the Week. This time it was freshman midfielder Natalie Sulmonte taking home the honors after posting six goals, one assist and nine draw controls in two games.

It's All About the Defense: The Tigers' defense has been a key piece of Towson's success this season. Last weekend, the Tigers allowed just nine goals in the two games combined. Towson has now held 12 of its 13 opponents to single-digits on the scoreboard. Eight of those opponents have been held to six goals or less, including both Hofstra and Drexel last weekend. It's the first time since 2013 that the Tigers have held 12 opponents to single-digit goals. It's also the first time since 1991 that Towson has held eight opponents to six goals or less in a season. The Tigers enter play this weekend with the second best scoring defense in the nation (6.08 goals per game).
 
National News: For the second straight week a Tiger has earned national recognition. Freshman goalkeeper Angie Benson was named the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) National Player of the Week. Benson shared the honor with Rachel Sexton of Notre Dame. Benson made 11 saves in two games last week while holding her opponents to a combined nine goals. She posted a 4.50 goals against average and a .550 save percentage for the week. She is the third Tiger to receive national recognition this season (Carly Tellekamp-ILWomen.com National Rookie of the Week on Feb. 16, Kaitlyn Montalbano-ILWomen.com StringKing National Player of the Week on Apr. 12).  

Hats Off to You: A pair of Tigers recorded hat tricks in the team's 13-6 win over Drexel on Sunday. Sophomore attacker Jenna Kerr and freshman midfielder Natalie Sulmonte each tallied a career-high four goals in the game for their first career hat tricks. The duo joins a group of three other Tigers who have recorded hat tricks this season (Carly Tellekamp-4, Kaitlyn Montalbano-4, Emily Gillingham-2, Kerr-1, Sulmonte-1).

What's Next? Towson closes out CAA play as it hosts James Madison on Sunday, April 24 at 12 p.m. Pending the outcome of Friday's games, Sunday's contest could be a battle for the top seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament.