Opening Draw
The Towson women's lacrosse team continues its four-game home stand to begin the 2018 season when it welcomes local rival Georgetown to Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Saturday. Live video and audio of the game are available on the Towson Sports Network and live stats are available at towson.statbroadcast.com.

Historic Win Over Penn State
Junior Natalie Sulmonte totaled six points with three goals and three assists and a defensive stop by sophomore Sami Chenoweth in the final seconds preserved a 14-13 victory over No. 4 Penn State last Saturday at Unitas Stadium. Towson posted its first win in nine all-time meetings against the Nittany Lions and posted the program's first win over a top five team.

Sulmonte CAA Player of the Week
Junior Natalie Sulmonte was named Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Co-Player of the Week on Tuesday, sharing the honor with James Madison senior Kristen Gaudian. It was Sulmonte's second career conference player of the week honor. She was also named CAA Player of the Week on Mar. 20, 2017. Sulmonte, who finished one point shy of her career high, also added four draw controls, a ground ball and a caused turnover.

Tigers Climb in the Rankings
Following its 14-13 victory over No. 4 Penn State, Towson was ranked at No. 9 by US Lacrosse Magazine and at No. 11 in the Inside Lacrosse Women's Media Poll. The Tigers are back in the top 10 of the national rankings for the first time since Mar. 15, 2010 when they were ranked at No. 10 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll. Towson spent six weeks in the top 10 that year, reaching as high as No. 7 on Mar. 29, 2010 following a 10-9 win over No. 8 Stanford at home. The Tigers were unranked by US Lacrosse Magazine in the preseason and jumped up nine spots from No. 20 in the Inside Lacrosse poll.

Towson to Host 2021 FIL World Cup
The Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) announced that US Lacrosse will host the 2021 FIL Women's World Cup from July 7-17, 2021 and the event will be held at Towson's Unitas Stadium. The Women's World Cup is the major international championship for women's lacrosse and features the top female lacrosse players in the world, representing up to 30 countries. The Women's World Cup started in 1982 as an international lacrosse tournament conducted every four years.

Molster Named to Team England
It was also announced this week that Towson assistant coach Michael Molster has been appointed as an assistant coach for the England Senior Women's Team for the 2021 FIL World Cup. He also served as an assistant coach with England Women's U19 team which won bronze at the 2015 World Championships.

Griffin Added to Coaching Staff
Brooke Griffin, who won a pair of gold medals with the U.S National Team this past summer, has been added to the staff as a volunteer assistant coach. A standout at Maryland from 2010-15, she helped the Terps win four-straight ACC championships while serving as team captain in 2014 and 2015 when the Terrapins won back-to-back national championships. Prior to Towson, Griffin spent two seasons at Boston College.

Scouting Georgetown
The Hoyas battled over a rain-soaked Cooper Field to get an 18-15 victory over Saint Joseph's in their season opener last Saturday. Taylor Gebhardt led the way with four goals, while Michaela Bruno added three goals and five draw controls. Emily Ehle had a goal and a team-high four assists and Francesca Whitehurst managed three goals along with a team-best nine draw controls. Georgetown out-shot the Hawks, 32-20, and pulled in 21 draw controls. The Hoyas forced 20 turnovers, but committed 18.

Towson-Georgetown Series History
Saturday mark's the 23rd meeting between the Tigers and Hoyas with Towson holding a 12-10 edge in the series after having won the last four-straight. The two teams have met every year since 2013 following a seven-year hiatus after a match-up in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship.

Last Meeting: Feb. 22, 2017
Towson had seven players score at least one goal, led by Natalie Sulmonte who had three goals and four points. Carly Tellekamp had two goals and one assist while Kiley Keating became the first Tiger with 10 or more saves in a game since Kelsea Donnelly had 16 against Johns Hopkins in 2015. Olivia Conti finished with three caused turnovers and two draw controls while Sami Chenoweth added three ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Current Tigers vs. Georgetown
A total of 15 Tigers on the roster have seen action against the Hoyas during their career. Senior Kaitlyn Montalbano and junior Carly Tellekamp lead the way in points with five each while Tellekamp is the leader in goals with four. Montalbano has picked up a team-high three assists in three meetings and leads the team with three caused turnovers. Junior Natalie Sulmonte has totaled six draw controls while senior Emily Gillingham has totaled five ground balls. Sophomore Kiley Keating got the start and made 10 saves in last year's 13-8 victory.

Beat the Streak
As Towson begins the 2018 season, three players will be carrying some impressive scoring streaks with them. Junior Natalie Sulmonte has scored a point in 32 consecutive games dating back to the 2016 season. Meanwhile, senior Emily Gillingham and junior Carly Tellekamp have each scored a goal in nine consecutive contests.

LaMonica Nears 100 Wins
With a win over Penn State, head coach Sonia LaMonica now has 94 career wins, including 86 in eight seasons at Towson. After spending the 2010 season at Mount St. Mary's, she owns a record of 86-48 at Towson for a .642 winning percentage.

10 Goals is the Key to #WinTheDay
Since head coach Sonia LaMonica took over in 2011, the number 10 has become a key stat. Under LaMonica, Towson is 65-8 when it scores 10 or more goals, including a mark of 1-0 this year after going 11-3 last year. By comparison, the Tigers are 64-13 when they hold opponents under 10 goals after posting an 8-1 record last season.

Tigers Face Challenging Schedule
Seven Towson opponents were ranked in the IWLCA preseason poll. The Tigers opened the season at home against No. 4 Penn State (Feb. 10) and will play road games at No. 25 Loyola (March 7), No. 2 Stony Brook (March 17), No. 5 Florida (March 21), No. 21 Elon (April 13) and No. 22 Johns Hopkins (April 25). Towson will close out the regular season at home on April 28 against No. 16 James Madison.

February is for Lacrosse
This year marks the seventh-straight season that the Tigers kicked off their schedule in February. Towson played five games in February a year ago and is 14-4 during the month of February under head coach Sonia LaMonica. Dating back to 1979, the Tigers are 17-5 during the second month of the year. Last year's season opener on February 4 was the earliest start to a season for the Tigers in program history.

Tigers in Season Openers
Towson is 13-3 in its last 16 season openers, has won four of its last five and is 4-4 under head coach Sonia LaMonica.

Preseason All-CAA Honors
Towson, winners of six of the last 10 CAA championships, was picked second in the 2018 CAA Preseason Poll while six Tigers were selected to the All-CAA Preseason Team. The Tigers received 31 points, just five behind defending CAA champion James Madison. Elon was picked to finish third (24 points) followed by Delaware (21), Hofstra (16), Drexel (11) and William & Mary (8). Among the 18 players named to the preseason all-conference team, Towson led the way with six, including seniors Emily Gillingham, Kaitlyn Montalbano and Tianna Wallpher, juniors Natalie Sulmonte and Carly Tellekamp and sophomore Olivia Conti.

More Preseason Honors
Sophomore Olivia Conti and senior Tianna Wallpher were both selected to the preseason Inside Lacrosse Media All-America Team. Conti was named to the second team while Wallpher was named honorable mention.

Oh Captain, My Captain
In the fall, head coach Sonia LaMonica selected seniors Kaitlyn Montalbano, Tianna Wallpher and Emily Gillingham as team captains. "This trio has been hugely impactful to the success we have had as a program to date, and it's now their time to lead our group to the next level," said LaMonica. "When it comes to work ethic, attitude and accountability, these three fit the bill. I have no doubt they will uphold these values and set the example on a daily basis."

Who's Next?
Following a 10-day layoff, Towson hosts Big Ten foe Michigan on Wednesday, February 28 at 4 p.m., in the first-ever meeting between the two schools in women's lacrosse.