Opening Draw: It's a battle for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Regular Season Title as the No. 18 Tiger women's lacrosse team plays host to James Madison on Sunday, April 24. Opening draw is set for 12 p.m. and Towson Sports Network's
Ben Rosenbaum and
Jai-Leen James will have the call of the game starting at 11:45 a.m. Links to live stats and the video feed can be found on the schedule page of TowsonTigers.com. Fans can also follow the Tigers on Twitter (
@Towson_WLAX) for updates.
Updating the Tigers: Towson ran it's win streak to six straight games with a 13-7 victory Friday night. Sophomore midfielders
Kaitlyn Montalbano (3g, 1a) and
Emily Gillingham (2g, 2a) and freshman midfielder
Natalie Sulmonte (3g, 1a) each recorded four points in the win. Montalbano leads the team this season in goals (26), assists (15) and points (41). Freshman attacker
Carly Tellekamp has contributed 22 goals while Sulmonte (18g, 2a) and Gillingham (17g, 3a) have each recorded 20 points. Ten Tigers have scooped up 10 or more ground balls this season and that group is led by sophomore defender
Tianna Wallpher, who has 25. Wallpher also leads the team with 21 caused turnovers. Sulmonte and senior midfielder
Breanna Hamm lead the Tigers with 29 draw controls each. Freshman
Angie Benson brings a 6.33 goals against average and a .475 save percentage into Sunday's action.
Scouting James Madison: James Madison suffered it's first CAA loss of the season on Friday night when it fell 12-8 at Delaware.
Brooks Lawler led the Dukes with three goals against the Blue Hens while
Haley Warden had two goals and four draw controls.
Betsy Angel powers the Dukes offense with 54 points on 33 goals and 21 assists.
Jaci Gordon has contributed 35 goals and 10 assists for 45 points.
Taylor Gress leads the Dukes with 43 draw controls while Warden has scooped up a team-best 25 ground balls.
Anne Zabel leads the defensive efforts with 18 caused turnovers.
Kaitlin Martindale has a 9.88 goals against average and a .375 save percentage for James Madison.
Towson-James Madison Series History: Sunday's game will be the 37th meeting all-time between the Tigers and Dukes. James Madison leads the match-up 24-12, after posting a pair of victories over the Tigers last season (15-9 in the regular season and 13-6 in the CAA Championship game). Last year in the title game, the Dukes used a 6-0 run to break open a close contest and claim the conference crown.
Jaci Gordon led the Dukes with three goals and an assist while
Andi Raymond had two goals and two assists in her final appearance as a Tiger.
Regular Season Title on the Line: Sunday's game will decide which team captures the CAA Regular Season Title. A Towson victory would give the black and gold, the title outright and the number one seed for the upcoming CAA Tournament. A James Madison win would mean the two teams share the regular season title but the Dukes would earn the number one seed by virtue of their victory.
Hats Off to You: A pair of Tigers recorded hat tricks in the team's 13-7 win over William & Mary on Friday. Sophomore midfielder
Kaitlyn Montalbano and freshman midfielder
Natalie Sulmonte each tallied three goals in the win. Montalbano's hat trick was her team-leading fifth of the season while Sulmonte had her second straight game with a hat trick. Five Tigers have recorded a hat trick so far this season (
Carly Tellekamp-4, Montalbano-5,
Emily Gillingham-2,
Jenna Kerr-1, Sulmonte-2).
Fifteen and Fine: A win over the Dukes on Sunday would improve the Tigers' overall record to 13-2. If Towson can get that victory, it would give them the best record after 15 games in program history. A loss to the Dukes would put the Tigers at 12-3 overall and would tie the 2004, 2010 and 2012 squads for the best record after 15 games.
And the streak goes on... Seven Tigers carry a point streak into Sunday's game. Freshman midfielder
Natalie Sulmonte has recorded a point in six-straight games. Junior midfielder
Samantha Brookhart, sophomore midfielder
Kaitlyn Montalbano and sophomore attacker
Jenna Kerr each have recorded a point in four straight games. Redshirt junior attacker
Alyssa Ferro has tallied a point now in three straight contests. Senior midfielder
Breanna Hamm and redshirt junior midfielder
Michelle Gildea have dented the scoreboard in each of the last two contests.
What's Next? Towson closes out the regular season when it hosts Connecticut on Sunday, May 1 at 12 p.m. The Tigers will honor their seniors prior to the start of that contest.