HARRISONBURG, Va. - Towson University women's lacrosse sophomore Kiley Keating totaled a career-high 14 saves as the No. 8 Tigers held off a late rally by Elon en route to a 9-7 victory in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Women's Lacrosse Championship Friday at James Madison's Sentara Park.

With the win, Towson (15-3) advances to the CAA championship game for the seventh time in the last eight years and the 10th time since 2005.

In addition, it was also the 100th win for head coach Sonia LaMonica in eight seasons at Towson where she is currently 100-51 for a .662 winning percentage.

How It Happened

• After a scoreless first six minutes, senior Kaitlyn Montalbano scored on a free position shot with 23:41 remaining in the first half to give the Tigers the early lead before Elon tied the game just 1:24 later.
• Towson then reeled off the game's next four-straight goals to build a 5-1 lead that it would never relinquish.
• Junior Natalie Sulmonte and senior Emily Gillingham combined to score all four goals with each netting two while Montalbano added an assist.
• Elon (4-11) added its second goal with just 1:02 to play in the opening half as the Tigers took a 5-2 lead into halftime.
• Keating totaled eight saves in the first half, tying her season high for a half as she also had eight in the first half against Delaware on April 8.
• The Phoenix scored the last goal of the first half and the first goal of the second half as they pulled within two with 24:02 remaining, but that would be as close as they would get.
• Sulmonte netted her third goal of the game with 22:40 to play before Elon answered less than three minutes later to pull back within two, 6-4.
• However, Towson used a 3-0 run over the next 2:46 to take a 9-4 advantage with junior Carly Tellekamp scoring back-to-back beginning with her first goal just 31 seconds after Sulmonte's fourth.
• Tellekamp's first goal of the game with 17:53 remaining proved to be her sixth game-winning goal of the season.
• Elon would not go quietly, answering with a 3-0 run of its own in span of just 2:45.
• Leading scorer Stephanie Asher finally found the back of the net on a free position shot with 8:56 left in the half.
• From there, the Tigers held the Phoenix to just two shots over the final nine minutes while forcing four turnovers.
• Keating and sophomore Olivia Conti both had caused turnovers on Elon's final two possessions of the game over the last 1:36 to seal the win for Towson.

Inside the Numbers

• Towson is now 17-6 all-time in CAA tournament games, including 10-4 in the semifinals.
• Already the winningest coach in program history, LaMonica is the first head coach to reach 100 wins with the Tigers.
• The Tigers are now 15-1 this season and have won 12-straight when leading at the half.
• Towson is now 10-0 this season when allowing nine goals or less and 73-13 under LaMonica.
• Sulmonte has now scored a goal in 11-straight games, including three or more six times. She has scored 27 of her 40 goals this season during that time.
• Sulmonte is the third Tiger to score 40 goals this season, joining Gillingham (45) and Tellekamp (44). This is the second consecutive season that Towson has had three players score at least 40 goals. Prior to 2017, the last time it happened was in 2004: Becky Trumbo (45), Shannon Witzel (44) and Amy Middleton (41).
• Gillingham extended her goal scoring streak to 26 games.
• Friday marked the third-straight year that the Tigers and Phoenix have met in the CAA semifinals. Towson is 2-1 in those contests and leads the overall series, 7-1.
• Keating totaled 10 or more saves for the sixth time this season and for the fourth time in the last seven games.
• With two points, Gillingham moved into seventh-place in program history with 125 career goals, tying her with Nikki Marcinik (2007-10).
• With one assist, Montalbano moved into eighth-place in program history with 58 career assists, tying her with Meggie McNamara (2006-09).

Up Next For Towson

• The Tigers will face No. 4 James Madison for the second time in the last three games on Sunday at 1 p.m., in the CAA championship game.
• The two teams have combined to win the last 10 CAA titles with Towson claiming six.
• Sunday will mark the sixth time that the Tigers and Dukes have decided the CAA championship, all in the last eight years. Towson is 3-2 in the previous five contests.
• The game will be broadcast live on Lax Sports Network while Ben Rosenbaum will have a live audio broadcast on the Towson Sports Network.