Opening Draw
The Towson women's lacrosse team returns to Unitas Stadium on Saturday for the fourth time in five games this season when it hosts Coastal Carolina beginning at noon. Live video and audio of the game are available on the Towson Sports Network and live stats are available at TowsonTigers.com.
 
Last Time Out
No. 16 Loyola scored with 4:15 remaining in the third overtime to cap a 14-13 come-from-behind victory over No. 10 Towson Wednesday night at Ridley Athletic Complex. The Tigers were outscored 9-2 over the final 43:45. It was the first triple overtime game for the Tigers since Mar. 4, 2006 when they beat George Washington at home, 9-8. Junior Natalie Sulmonte picked up two assists in the first half to extend her scoring streak to 35 consecutive games. With three first-half goals, senior Kaitlyn Montalbano posted her 17th career game with at least three goals. Senior Emily Gillingham had three goals while junior Carly Tellekamp added two. Senior Tianna Wallpher totaled a career-high five caused turnovers.
 
Tigers Unanimous Top-10 Selection
For the second-straight week, Towson is a unanimous top-10 selection in all three major polls. The Tigers are ranked at No. 10 in both the IWLCA Coaches and Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and at No. 8 in the U.S. Lacrosse Magazine rankings. Meanwhile, Loyola jumped up seven spots in the IWLCA poll to No. 16 after a 16-15 road victory over No. 13 Penn State. The Greyhounds also moved up five spots to No. 23 in the Inside Lacrosse rankings and from unranked to No. 19 in the U.S. Lacrosse Magazine poll.
 
Scouting Coastal Carolina
The Chanticleers wrap up their five-game road trip to open the 2018 season on Saturday with their lone contest of the season against a ranked opponent. Coastal Carolina is 1-3 this year following Wednesday's 13-10 loss at UMBC. The team's last two games have been decided by three goals or less. Haley Kyger leads the team with 12 points this season which includes a team-high five assists. Haley Alexander leads the team in goals with eight. The Chanticleers have been outscored 27-17 in the second half this season and allows an average of 30.0 shots per game. Harley Barrett has started all four games in goal, totaling a 12.12 goals against average and .471 saves percentage. She earned her third career ASUN Defensive Player of the Week award this week after totaling 21 saves, 9.50 GAA and .525 save percentage in two games last week.

Towson-Coastal Carolina Series History
The Tigers and Chanticleers have never met in women's lacrosse. Towson is 11-5 all-time against the six current members of the ASUN conference, including 1-0 against Jacksonville, 8-5 versus Old Dominion and 2-0 against Stetson. The Tigers have played at least one opponent from the ASUN in each of the last three years.
 
Tigers Among National Statistical Leaders
In the latest NCAA statistical rankings, Towson ranks seventh in the nation in shot percentage, converting on 52.1 percent of its attempts. The Tigers are also ninth in points per game (22.00), 11th in scoring offense (15.50) and 16th in assists per game (6.50). Junior Natalie Sulmonte is 10th in draw controls per game at 7.50 and 15th in assists per game at 2.25. Defensively, Towson is sixth in caused turnovers per game (12.50), led the senior Tianna Wallpher and sophomore Sami Chenoweth who are sixth at 2.50 per game. The Tigers are also 14th in ground balls per game (21.50), led by sophomore Olivia Conti who is 21st at 3.75 per game.
 
Conti Named CAA Defensive Player of the Week
Sophomore Olivia Conti was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, marking her third CAA weekly honor and second defensive accolade. She was also named CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Mar. 27, 2017 before earning CAA Rookie of the Week honors on Apr. 10, 2017. The Tigers have had three players honored by the conference this season as senior Emily Gillingham was named CAA Player of the Week on February 20, and junior Natalie Sulmonte received the honor on February 13. In the Tigers' lone game last week, Conti totaled six draw controls, five ground balls and four caused turnovers in a 14-7 win over Michigan. She also scored two goals.
 
Conti Named to Tewaarton Award Watch List
Sophomore Olivia Conti was one of the top 50 women's lacrosse players across all three NCAA divisions named to the 2018 Tewaaraton Award women's watch list last Thursday by the Tewaaraton Foundation. Conti and Stony Brook's Taryn Ohlmiller were the only sophomore's selected to the watch list. Towson had a player named to the Tewaaraton Award watch list for the second-straight year after Kaitlyn Montalbano was selected in 2017. Five men's and five women's finalists will be announced on May 10 and invited to the 18th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C., on May 31.
 
Tigers Face Challenging Schedule
Towson currently owns the nation's 36th-toughest schedule out of 115 teams according to NCAA.com. Tiger opponents this season boast a record 45-35 for a .563 winning percentage and seven are currently ranked in the IWLCA poll. Towson opened the season with back-to-back home games against No. 17 Penn State (Feb. 10) and No. 25 Georgetown (Feb. 18) before traveling to No. 16 Loyola (Mar. 7). Towson has upcoming road games at No. 1 Stony Brook (Mar. 17), No. 3 Florida (Mar. 21) and No. 23 Johns Hopkins (Apr. 25) before closing out the regular season at home on April 28 against No. 7 James Madison. In addition, Yale is at No. 16 in the US Lacrosse rankings.
 
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 67-9 when it scores 10 or more goals, including a mark of 3-1 this year after going 11-3 last year. By comparison, the Tigers are 65-13 when they hold opponents under 10 goals after posting an 8-1 record last season.
 
LaMonica Nears 100 Wins
Head coach Sonia LaMonica now has 96 career wins, including 88 in eight seasons at Towson. After spending the 2010 season at Mount St. Mary's, she owns a record of 88-49 at Towson for a .642 winning percentage.
 
Milestone Watch
Senior Emily Gillingham has scored 92 career goals while junior Carly Tellekamp has totaled 96 career points.
 
Beat the Streak
Junior Natalie Sulmonte has scored a point in 35 consecutive games dating back to the 2016 season while senior Emily Gillingham and junior Carly Tellekamp have each scored a goal in 12 consecutive contests. The school record for consecutive games with a point is 70 set by Hilary Fratzke from 2006-10. She scored a point in 71 of 72 career games, including 70-straight to start her career.

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.

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
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.

Who's Next?
The Tigers begin a five-game road trip starting on Wednesday when they travel to Saint Joseph's for a 4 p.m., contest. The two teams have met just one time before with Towson winning 21-4 at home on Apr. 18, 1995.