TOWSON, Md. – After spending a bulk of the 2016 season on the road, the Towson University women's soccer team opens a five-game Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) home stand this weekend with a pair of tilts at the Tiger Soccer Complex.
 
Towson (4-7-1, 1-1-0 CAA) kicks off on Friday with longtime rival University of Delaware at 3 p.m., followed by a Sunday afternoon match against Drexel University with a 1 p.m. start time.
 
The Coverage
Both home games this weekend will feature live video through the Towson Sports Network, barring any weather-related issues. Bonnsa Tufa will have the call on Friday, while Brandon Sacks steps behind the microphone on Sunday. Both league games will have a live stat feed as well.
 
The Series: Delaware (3-8-0, 2-0-0 CAA)
Towson is in the midst of its 25 season with a women's soccer program and the Tigers have squared off with the Fightin' Blue Hens nearly every year. The series began with Towson's inaugural season in 1992. The only years Towson and Delaware have not clashed are 1993, 1994 and 1995. The Blue Hens lead the all-time series 13-8-2, but the Tigers are unbeaten (1-0-1) in the last two meetings. Of the 23 previous matchups, 17 have been decided by one goal or resulted in a tie. The Tigers are hunting their first win at home over the Blue Hens since a 2-1 decision on Oct. 19, 2009.
 
The Series: Drexel (5-5-1, 1-1-0 CAA)
While the series with Drexel is not as lengthy as with Delaware, Towson and the Dragons have tussled every season since 1997 when both programs were members of the America East Conference. Towson has split 1-1-1 over the last three seasons with Drexel. Towson's last victory over the Dragons came on Sept. 29, 2013 with a 3-0 shutout at home. Twelve of the games between Towson and Drexel have been decided by one goal or resulted in a tie as the Tigers lead the series at 10-7-2.
 
With a Win Friday…

• The Tigers would secure their first victory over Delaware at home since the 2009 season.
• Coupled with last Sunday's win at William & Mary, the Tigers would win back-to-back CAA games for the first time since the end of the 2014 season.
• The Tigers would extend their unbeaten streak to three against the Blue Hens, the longest since a three-game winning streak from 1996-98.
• Towson would climb above .500 at the Tiger Soccer Complex this season (currently 1-1-1).
• Towson would knock off the Hens, who currently sit alone atop the CAA standings.

 
With a Win Sunday…

• The Tigers would snap a two-game winless streak against Drexel.
• Towson would extend its home unbeaten streak against the Dragons to seven. Towson has never lost to Drexel at home since the teams joined the CAA in 2002.
• Improve head coach Greg Paynter to 5-4-1 against Drexel since taking over at Towson in 2007. Paynter is 3-0-1 at home against the Dragons.

 
Dat Rookie Tho
Despite trailing 1-0 at halftime, freshman midfielder Justine Stoner wasted little time leveling Sunday's match at William & Mary. Stoner banged a shot off the underside of the cross bar that fell over the line to tie the game in the 48^th minute. For her efforts, Stoner was tapped as the CAA Rookie of the Week this week. She is the first Tiger to win the accolade since Maddie Bove was honored on Oct. 27, 2014. Stoner is just the fifth Tiger to ever be named CAA Rookie of the Week.
 
A SEB-Sational Week
Following a 19 save weekend at Elon and William & Mary, senior goalkeeper Taylor Sebolao was honored as the TowsonTigers.com Student-Athlete of the Week on Tuesday. She is the second Tiger to win the honor this season, joining classmate Natalia Pinkney, who won the award on Sept. 6. Sebolao split her weekend with a 1-1-0 mark, marking a season-high 11 saves at Elon Friday night before stopping eight Tribe shots on Sunday.
 
A Historic W
Last Sunday, the Tigers upended perennial CAA power William & Mary 2-1 at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field. Not only did the Tigers rebound from a heartbreaking double overtime loss at Elon two days earlier, but Towson picked up its first-ever win over William & Mary on the road. The Tigers, who went a dozen years without beating the Tribe, are 1-1-1 in the last three meetings.
 
Home is Good Too
The Tigers Soccer Complex has been good to Towson over the years. In home nonconference games since 2007, the Tigers hold a 15-9-4 record, a .600 in winning percentage, including last weekend's win over George Washington.
 
Home Nonconference Finales
Thanks to that 2-0 win over George Washington, the Tigers improved to 6-1-1 in home nonconference finales since head coach Greg Paynter took over the program in 2007. Towson has gone unbeaten in such games in the last five outings. Towson did not play a single nonconference home game during the 2010 and 2012 seasons.
 
Climbing the Books
Several Tigers appear on the program's top 10 charts.
 
Senior forward Natalia Pinkney is currently tied for fourth in program history with six game-winning goals after her deciding strike at Temple. Another winning marker will move Pinkney into a three-way tie for second with Erica Marshall (2006-09) and Kaitlyn Zamroz (2005-09).
 
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 15 career markers. Pinkney is just one point away from jumping into the top 10 for that category as well. Tracy Zettle holds down 10^th place with 35 career points.
 
Classmate Taylor Sebolao is currently ninth all-time at Towson with 179 career saves since 2013. She surpassed Megan Lumsden (1996-97), who had 141 during her career. She needs just seven saves to surpass Susie Blanco's mark of 186 (1993-94). Sebolao is also seventh all-time in goalie minutes played at 2,770, surpassing Michelle Robinson (1992-93) at 2,550 minutes. Next on the list for Sebolao to catch is former teammate Erin Quinn (2011-14), 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 coming weeks, the Towson women's soccer team will release five names for the program's 25^th Anniversary Team. On Wednesday, the fourth set of five names was released. Stay tuned to TowsonTigers.com on Wednesday as the final group of five gets announced on Oct. 5.
 
Towson University Women's Soccer 25^th Anniversary Team (to date) – Alphabetical
Brandi Daniels (2004-07)
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)
Melissa Mueller (1999-2002)
Holly Noga (2000-03)
Jocelyn Papciak (2008-11)
Erin Quinn (2011-14)
Shelley Seivert (1995-98)
Cheyenne Skidmore (2009-12)
Kaitlyn Zamroz (2005-09)
Tracy Zettle (1992-95)
 
The Silver Anniversary
The 2016 campaigns 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. A celebratory weekend is slated around a rare Saturday game for the Tigers on October 8 as Towson hosts Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival James Madison. In the coming weeks, Towson will announce its 25^th Anniversary Team, culminating around the October 8 weekend.
 
- TowsonTigers.com –