Time to Be Road Warriors: The No. 19 Towson women's lacrosse team hits the road for the first time in 2017 as the Tigers visit No. 7 Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 11. Opening draw from State College, Pennsylvania is set for 1 p.m. It will be the Tigers' second straight game against a team ranked in the preseason top 10. A link to live stats can be found on the schedule page of TowsonTigers.com. Fans can also follow the Tigers on Twitter (@Towson_WLAX) for in-game updates.

Updating the Tigers: Towson demonstrated a balanced attack in the first game of its 2017 campaign. The Tigers saw seven players score against No. 6 Stony Brook. Sophomore attacker Carly Tellekamp and junior midfielder Emily Gillingham led the way with two goals each. Senior attacker Samanatha Brookhart contributed two assists. Sophomore attacker Natalie Sulmonte pulled down a team-best three draw controls. Senior defender Kelly McQuilkin led the defensive efforts with five caused turnovers and three groundballs. Freshman Kiley Keating stood strong in her first career start as she made eight saves in goal.

Scouting Penn State: Penn State used an offensive explosion to claim a 20-9 win over Albany in its season opener. Steph Lazo had 12 points (5g, 7a) and was named the Big Ten Player of the Week. Madison Carter led the team in goals scored (6) and draw controls (10). Kayla Brisolari led the Nittany Lions' defense with two groundballs and a caused turnover. Cat Rainone started in goal for Penn State, making seven saves to earn the win in the cage.

Towson-Penn State Series History: Saturday will be the eighth meeting all-time between the Tigers and Nittany Lions. Penn State has claimed victory in each of the previous seven meetings. The last time the two squads was met was the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Towson trailed by just one at the half in that contest but the Nittany Lions opened the second half on a 5-0 run en route to a 15-8 victory.
 
Don't I Know You? The Tigers get to see a familiar face when they look at the opposing bench on Saturday. Penn State head coach Missy Doherty served as the Towson head coach for seven years before taking the job in State College. Doherty posted 79 wins, won three Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) titles and made four NCAA Tournament appearances on the Towson sidelines. Towson head coach Sonia LaMonica served as an assistant for Doherty during two of the CAA title runs.

Let's get Defensive: Senior captain Kelly McQuilkin turned in a strong game in the opener against Stony Brook and was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday for her efforts. McQuilkin posted a career-high five caused turnovers against the Seawolves. She also added three groundballs and two draw controls in the contest. It was the first time in her career that McQuilkin has earned weekly honors from the CAA.

First Chances: Four Tiger freshmen made their debut for the Black and Gold in the opener against Stony Brook and all four recorded something in their stat line. Freshmen Olivia Conti and Kiley Keating both found their names penciled into the starting lineup against the Seawolves. Conti finished with a team-high four groundballs while adding two draw controls and a caused turnover. Keating made eight saves in goal. Sami Chenoweth came off the bench to record three caused turnovers and a groundball while Shelby Stack had a groundball.

Balanced Attack: The Tigers demonstrated a balanced attack in the season opener. Seven Tigers scored at least one goal in the game. Junior midfielder Emily Gillingham and sophomore attacker Carly Tellekamp each scored two goals to lead the efforts. Tellekamp was making her first appearance after missing the final eight games of the 2016 season due to injury.

We'll Take the Freebies: The Tigers made the most of their free position opportunities in the season opener. Juniors Kaitlyn Montalbano, Emily Gillingham and Maddie Tribbe all converted their free position shots for goals as the Tigers went 3-for-5 in the game. Tribbe's goal was her first since the 2015 season. Last year the Tigers scored 41 free position goals, which was their most since the 2010 squad scored 44 free position goals.

And the streak goes on... The Tigers with current point streaks maintained those streaks in the opener against Stony Brook. Sophomore attacker Natalie Sulmonte has scored a goal in 13 straight games entering play this week. Junior midfielder Kaitlyn Montalbano has recorded a point in 11 straight games and scored a goal in each of the last four contests. Junior midfielder Emily Gillingham has now tallied a point in eight straight games and has a goal in four straight contests. Senior attacker Gabby Cha had a point in the final four games of 2016 but hasn't had a chance to test her streak due to an injury.

I'll Take That: The Tigers got aggressive in the season opener and forced Stony Brook into 11 caused turnovers. Senior Kelly McQuilkin led the way with five caused turnovers while freshman Sami Chenoweth had three. Four other Tigers recorded at least one caused turnover in that game. Last spring the Tigers forced double-digit caused turnovers in seven games and went 6-1 in those contests.

Up Next: Towson has a quick turnaround as it travels to local rival UMBC on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m.