Opening Draw: The Towson University women's lacrosse team opens Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play with a road trip to James Madison on Saturday, April 1. Opening draw from Harrisonburg, Virginia is set for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Lax Sports Network as the CAA Game of the Week with Travis Eldridge and Kelly Rabil calling the action. Links to live stats and the Lax Sports Network broadcast 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: A 7-0 run in the second half lifted Towson to a 10-7 win over Oregon last time out. Senior Samantha Brookhart had two goals and two assists while freshman Olivia Conti contributed four caused turnovers and four ground balls. The Tigers have a balanced offensive attack as five players have 20 or more points this season. Brookhart leads the team in points (39) and assists (26). Sophomores Natalie Sulmonte and Carly Tellekamp have each recorded 30 or more points this season. Sulmonte has 25 goals and 10 assists for 35 points while Tellekamp has a team-high 28 goals and seven assists for 35 points. Sulmonte has also pulled down a team-high 43 draw controls. Junior defender Tianna Wallpher has scooped up a team-high 27 ground balls. Conti leads the squad with 25 caused turnovers. Sophomore Angie Benson carries a 8.65 goals against average and a .520 save percentage into the weekend.
Scouting James Madison: James Madison has lost two straight following a 16-11 setback to No. 1 Maryland last time out. Maddie McDaniel led the Dukes with four goals in that game while Katie Kerrigan added a goal and four assists. Kerrigan and Hanna Haven have each posted 30 or more points this season. Kerrigan leads the team with 32 points on nine goals and a team-high 23 assists while Haven has 22 goals and nine assists. Haley Warden leads the Dukes in draw controls (34), ground balls (30) and caused turnovers (26). In goal, Emily Polema has posted a 9.95 goals against average and a .462 save percentage.
Towson-James Madison Series History: Towson will face a familiar opponent when the Tigers meet the Dukes on Saturday. It will be the 39th meeting all-time between the two schools and for the seventh time since the start of the 2014 campaign. The Tigers and Dukes have met both in the regular season and in the CAA Championship game in each of the last three seasons. James Madison leads the series 25-13. The Dukes won the regular season meeting last year, 11-9 but the Tigers claimed victory in the CAA Championship game 14-6.
Here We Go: Saturday's game signals the start of the the 2017 CAA schedule. It will be the Tigers' 16th CAA opener and Towson is 10-5 in the previous 15. The Tigers are 5-1 in CAA openers under head coach Sonia LaMonica after a 7-6 overtime win against Delaware last year. It is the first time the Tigers and Dukes will meet in a CAA opener. Towson is 3-3 all-time when opening CAA play on the road.
I'm Honored: Freshman defender Olivia Conti was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. Conti led the team with four caused turnovers, four ground balls and a pair of draw controls in the win over Oregon. Conti is the fourth Towson defender to be named either defensive player or rookie of the week by the conference this season (Kelly McQuilkin, Tianna Wallpher, Sami Chenoweth).
Take Me to Your Leader: Head coach Sonia LaMonica made coaching history at Towson with the win over Oregon on Saturday. LaMonica (2011-pres.) recorded her 80th win on the Towson sidelines moving past Missy Doherty (2004-10), for career coaching victories. LaMonica enters the James Madison game with a record of 80-44 (.645) on the Towson sidelines.
Helping Ourselves: One of the keys to success for the Tigers this season has been their ability to force their opponents into turnovers. Towson opponents have turned the ball over 203 times in nine games and 118 of those have been caused by the Tigers. Towson has recorded 10 or more caused turnovers in eight games this season, including a season-high 18 caused turnovers against Notre Dame. Entering play this week, the Tigers were ranked first in the CAA and 11th in the nation in caused turnovers per game (11.80). Four Tigers have recorded 10 or more caused turnovers this season. Freshman Olivia Conti leads the team with 25 caused turnovers and is 12th nationally while averaging 2.50 caused turnovers per game. Dating back to the start of the 2016 season, the Tigers are 12-3 when they force double-digit caused turnovers in a game.
We'll Take the Freebies: The Tigers have made good use of their free position opportunities this season. Towson has scored two or more free position goals in every game this season and had a season-high five free position goals against Loyola. The Tigers are 30-for-60 on free position shots this season and rank 15th nationally with a free position percentage of .500. Eleven Tigers have scored at least one free position goal this season. Sophomore attacker Natalie Sulmonte leads the team as she is 10-for-19 on free position shots this season. Sulmonte ranks 18th nationally in free position goals per game (1.00). Sulmonte's 10 free position goals are the most by a Tiger since Rhiannon Coogle had 13 in 2013.
Handing Out the Helpers: Senior attacker Samantha Brookhart has a knack for finding her open teammates during her Tiger career. Brookhart had a pair of helpers against Oregon, which raised her season total to 26. Brookhart was fourth nationally for assists entering play this week. She has eight multiple assist games this season and 21 in her career. Earlier this year, Brookhart tied the school single-game record and set the CAA single-game record with six helpers in a game. Brookhart enters play this week with 68 career assists. She is currently fifth in career history at Towson. Brookhart needs 11 more assists to move into the top three for career assists at Towson.
When it Comes to Towson, It's All About the Defense: Defense continues to play a major role in the success of the Tigers. According to NCAA.com, through games of March 29, Towson is the only Division I program in the country to have a men's and women's team ranked in the top 15 for scoring defense. The Tiger women are giving up an average of 8.60 goals per game while the men are surrendering 8.29 goals per game.
Up Next: The Tigers return home to host a pair of CAA contests next weekend. Towson will play host to William & Mary on Friday, April 7 and Elon on Sunday, April 9.
