TOWSON, Md. - The No. 19 Towson University women's lacrosse team opens the 41st season in program history and its 35th as a Division I program when the Tigers welcome No. 6 Stony Brook to Johnny Unitas® Stadium Saturday, Feb. 4. Opening draw between the Tigers and Seawolves is set for 1:30 p.m. Video coverage of the game is available on Towson Sports Network with Ben Rosenbaum providing the call. 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 in-game updates. Saturday's game is a "Gold Rush" game and any fan wearing gold can purchase a $5 ticket.

See below for a complete season preview as seventh year head coach Sonia LaMonica broke down the roster by position.

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After a stellar 2016, Towson University women's lacrosse head coach Sonia LaMonica is ready to keep taking steps forward in 2017.

Last spring, the Tigers won the program's seventh Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship and made program history by winning its first NCAA Tournament game.

"Last year, was great," said LaMonica. "The nice thing about this year is we have plenty of experience back, as well as a handful of freshmen poised to make an impact and help us keep taking steps forward."

The Tigers return eight of their top 10 scorers from a year ago, along with two key defenders and a starting goalie that made up one of the top defensive units in the country.

Here's a look at the 2017 roster by position.

ATTACK: 
LaMonica returns a talented and veteran group on attack as the Tigers look to keep an offense rolling that scored 204 goals last spring. 

"We have tons of threats offensively," said LaMonica. "With the experience we return on offense, I think we'll be deeper than we have ever been."

LaMonica will look to two of her senior captains in Samantha Brookhart and Alyssa Ferro to set the tone on attack.

Brookhart was one of four players to record at least 30 points last year, finishing with nine goals and 21 assists. She also added 19 draw controls and 19 groundballs.

Ferro contributed 14 goals and three assists for 17 points. She came on late for the Tigers, scoring 12 of her 14 goals in the final seven games of the season.

"Sam has really flourished in the quarterback role for us," said LaMonica. "She's is really mastering her driving skills from the X as well as her feeding game, which compliments with other personnel on attack extremely well. She has really stepped up for us as a captain and a leader."

LaMonica remarked, "Alyssa really exploded in the fall this year. She is a tremendous inside player who showcased quickness, good hands and an ability to finish in the fall. Alyssa really has a knack for finding the open spaces and making the shots count."

Sophomore Natalie Sulmonte, the reigning CAA Rookie of the Year, made the move to attack at the end of last year and LaMonica expects more of the same success from her in 2017. She finished second on the team last year with 36 points on 31 goals and five assists. Sulmonte also led the team with 51 draw controls.

"Nat provided a tremendous spark last season, particularly when the pressure was on," said LaMonica. "That confidence has only grown as she transitions into a more consistent offensive threat. She's such a fierce competitor who provides our offense with a strong driving game. Her awareness skills are developing nicely, which will be critical as she draws more attention from the opposing defense. She will continue to be our primary draw specialist as she is very strong and uses her body well."

Sophomore Carly Tellekamp is another player that LaMonica expects to contribute in the Tigers' attack plans. Tellekamp finished fifth on the team with 22 goals and three assists for 25 points, despite missing the final eight games of the season due to injury. 

LaMonica said, "Carly has transitioned back to the field so incredibly well and is playing high level lacrosse. She had an outstanding showing her freshman year, and is poised to be a real game changer. Carly is a major player in this offensive group due to her dynamic game and heightened lacrosse IQ. Her hands and finishing ability is top notch."

Junior Jenna Kerr is another attacker that could factor into the Tigers' plans early on. Kerr contributed 21 points on 18 goals and three assists last spring. 

"Jenna is another attacker with great awareness for defensive slides and how to slip into open spaces and put herself in positions to capitalize," said LaMonica. "She is a great finisher that understands the game well."

Other players that could factor into the attack plans throughout the season include freshman Abbe Mona, along with sophomores Alyssa Chalk and Sam Donatelli. Senior Gabby Cha suffered an injury in the fall and will be sidelined as the season begins.

MIDFIELD:
While LaMonica will have to replace Breanna Hamm, who earned Second Team All-CAA accolades while finishing her career with the second most draw controls in program history, the Tiger leader is excited about her options at midfield.

"We have some shoes to fill in the midfield but I am confident that this group can step up and fill our needs, particularly with the implementation of the 90-second shot clock" said LaMonica.

LaMonica says with this new rule change this spring, the Tigers have been working with two midfield lines with the possibility of a third.

The Towson head coach will turn to junior Kaitlyn Montalbano to lead the way in the midfield. The New York native was named the CAA Preseason Player of the Year and an Inside Lacrosse Face-off Yearbook Preseason Second Team All-American after leading the Tigers in scoring last spring. She had 36 goals and 23 assists for 59 points while also contributing 43 draw controls, 27 groundballs and 17 caused turnovers.

"Kaitlyn is a major player on both ends of the field for us," said LaMonica. "She is multidimensional, who plays hard and aggressively, but thrives most from setting up her teammates. She brings speed and hustle all over the field and plays with a great deal of pride and tireless work ethic."

Joining Montalbano in the starting midfield will be fellow junior Emily Gillingham. After helping Canada win a gold medal at the U19 World Championship in the summer of 2015, Gillingham had a breakout 2016 season for the Tigers. She finished third on the team with 35 points, posting 26 goals and nine assists. She added 18 groundballs, 13 draw controls and 14 caused turnovers. 

"Emily continues to be a big piece of the puzzle for us," said LaMonica. "She exhibits strengths on both ends of the field. She is another great driving threat that is tough to guard one-on-one and even one-on-two. Emily has really stepped up with Kaitlyn to be a vocal leader for us."

After a strong fall, junior Maddie Tribbe could step into more of a role for the Tigers in the midfield.

LaMonica said, "Maddie is a great athlete who brings another strong option on the draws and has continued to develop her offensive prowess. She is very dependable defensively and always brings a focused and positive attitude."

Senior Colby Unkle is another Tiger, who after her performance in the fall, LaMonica believes could fill a roll in the midfield.

"Colby is such a complimentary player who really makes her teammates look good. Her biggest strength, aside from speed and quickness, has been special awareness off-ball and leveraging those defenders. She provided great balance to some of the go to threats we have on attack this fall," said LaMonica.

Redshirt freshman Maddie Dickman should also factor into the midfield plans in her first season in uniform.

"Maddie made some impressive strides as a freshman before getting injured last season," said LaMonica. "She has grasped our concepts, both offensively and defensively, really well and will definitely compete for minutes this year."

Senior Michaela Duranti makes the slide back from attack to midfield this season and should contribute on the second line.

"Michaela is a veteran go-getter with a hunger to compete and a knack for winning the 50/50 plays," said LaMonica. "She has probably the hardest shot when she's shooting on the move."

A couple of freshman in Shelby Stack and Coeli Love could also play a role in the Tigers' midfield plans early on. 

"Shelby is a tough solid athlete, who competes hard and gets better with each practice," said LaMonica. "She brings some solid depth to our midfield which will allow this squad to keep the foot down offensively."

LaMonica added, "Coeli is a great overall lacrosse player who is competitive and determined. I see her working hard to factor into the mix this season."

Sophomore Kat Connelly and freshmen Rachel Mills and Maddie LaClair add depth in the midfield for the Tigers.

DEFENSE: 
The defensive unit provides the Tigers with some questions as Towson needs to replace graduated starters Nadia Podo and Emily Roth, but LaMonica believes the pieces are there for the defense to be just as strong as ever.

"With some openings in the defensive unit this year, it has been super competitive among the girls. Our staff had worked to evaluate the best fits in our system. As those pieces have now started to come together, I am extremely optimistic that this unit can exceed the success we experienced last year," said LaMonica. "We have a great foundation as the move to the zone defense proved effective last season and should be better with a year of experience." 

Senior captain Kelly McQuilkin and junior Tianna Wallpher return after helping the Tigers post the fourth-best scoring defense in the country last year, as the defense allowed just 6.8 goals per game last spring. McQuilkin had 30 groundballs and 18 caused turnovers, while Wallpher earned First Team All-CAA accolades after posting 33 groundballs and a team-best 27 caused turnovers.

"Kelly is a super smart, shut down defender," said LaMonica. "She is our go to for offensive crease threats and she has exceptional instincts. We have relied heavily on Kelly's skills at the defensive end and she will continue to be an anchor for us this season".

LaMonica added, "Tianna is an intrical part of our system and she works extremely well with Kelly to lock things down on defense. She lays everything out there and plays with incredible heart."

Freshman Olivia Conti is expected to step in and fill one of the starting defense spots for the Tigers after a strong fall season.

"Olivia has been shining since her arrival on campus," said LaMonica. "She is one of those prototypical defensive players who possess strength, athleticism, good size and great instincts. She plays with the confidence of a veteran and has really jelled with Kelly and Tianna back there."

Redshirt senior Michelle Gildea will likely make the slide back from the midfield to defense for the Tigers. Gildea contributed 16 goals and four assists while also having 12 groundballs.

"Michelle brings ample game experience to our team," said LaMonica. "While playing midfield is where she has served the last few seasons, defense is essentially what we originally recruited her for so I find it fitting that she may play her final season in that role. She truly is a tough defender, and the midfield experience makes her dangerous in the transition game also."

Freshman Sami Chenoweth could also factor into the Tiger defensive efforts early on.

"Sami is a strong option for us on defense as well as draws," said LaMonica. "You could see about halfway through the fall, things really seemed to click for her so I anticipate great things from her. Sami definitely brings an x-factor to the game and she can definitely help us this season."

LaMonica has plenty of depth on defense as senior Jordan Clarke, juniors Eva Torncello and Steph Costa, sophomore Meg Lynch and redshirt freshman Sarah Willard could also see the field.

GOAL:
LaMonica has two options in goal as sophomore Angie Benson will be joined by freshman Kiley Keating.

Benson is coming off a CAA All-Rookie team season, in which she won 15 games while posting a 6.93 goals against average and .439 save percentage. She held 16 of 20 opponent to single-digits on the scoreboard and limited 11 of those opponents to six goals or less.

"Angie was limited in the beginning of the fall but when we got her back on the field she hadn't skipped a beat," said LaMonica. "She's poised to build on her outstanding freshman campaign. She is a very determined player who holds herself to a high standard. Angie has great trust and communication with her defensive unit and I see her playing with a lot of confidence."

Keating is a talented player who picked up  great experience against top teams this past Fall. She is expected be a solid back up for Angie this season.