PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The second seeded Towson University women's lacrosse team used a 4-0 run that bridged the first and second halves to claim an 8-6 win over No. 3 Elon in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) semifinals on Friday afternoon. The Tigers (14-3) advanced to their sixth straight CAA Championship game and will face No. 1 James Madison for the title on Sunday.
THE BASICSNo. 2 Towson 8, No. 3 Elon 6
Vidas Field, Philadelphia, Pa.
HOW IT HAPPENED- Towson got on the board first as sophomore attacker Jenna Kerr took a pass from junior midfielder Samantha Brookhart and buried it home for the goal at 28:34.
- Elon scored three of the next four goals and took a 3-2 lead with 21:37 left in the half. Stephanie Asher scored two of the Phoenix's three goals during that stretch.
- The two teams battled over the final 21 minutes of the first half but the Tiger defense was nearly impenetrable holding the Phoenix to just four shots in that stretch.
- Towson got off several shots during that stretch and was finally able to get the equalizer with 6:34 left in the half. Kerr scored her second of the game, this time off a pass from First Team All-CAA sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Montalbano.
- The two teams went into the half tied at 3-3. Towson outshot the Phoenix (10-7) 11-9 in the first half.
- The Tigers carried the momentum of Kerr's goal over into the second stanza scoring the first three goals of the second half as that 4-0 run gave Towson a 6-3 lead with 13:28 to play. Junior attacker Gabby Cha scored her first goal of the season during that stretch while redshirt junior attacker Michelle Gildea converted her team-leading eighth free position goal of the season.
- Elon briefly halted the Tiger run as Asher completed her hat trick with a goal at 12:16.
- Back-to-back goals from CAA Rookie of the Year freshman midfielder Natalie Sulmonte and redshirt junior attacker Alyssa Ferro put the Tigers ahead 8-4 with 5:50 to play.
- Elon scored two goals in the final two minutes of play but was unable to overcome the four-goal deficit and Towson claimed the 8-6 victory.
QUOTABLE- "I'm very excited," said Towson head coach Sonia LaMonica. "Hats off to a really great Elon team and I'm proud of the effort that our girls showed. It was a great win for us. We told the team at halftime to play our game and be aggressive."
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE- Towson has now advanced to the CAA Championship game in every season under head coach Sonia LaMonica.
- Freshman CAA All-Rookie goalkeeper Angie Benson made eight saves, including six big stops in the second half to earn the win in goal. Rachel Ramirez made nine saves in the loss for Elon.
- Both teams finished the game with 20 shots while the Phoenix held an 11-5 advantage in the draw control battle.
- Brookhart led Towson with three points on a goal and two assists. Kerr and Ferro each contributed two goals for the Tigers.
- Redshirt senior defender Nadia Podo led the defensive efforts with four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Senior midfielder Breanna Hamm had three ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers.
- Asher led Elon with four goals and a ground ball.
Towson will be back in action on Sunday, May 8 when the Tigers face James Madison for the CAA Championship at 1:30 p.m.
