TOWSON, Md. – The 2019 season gets underway this weekend for the Towson University women's lacrosse team in a road matchup at No. 12 Penn State.
 
Entering the first game of the year the Tigers are ranked No. 11 in the IWLCA Coaches' Poll and No. 14 in the IL Media Poll. Saturday's game is set to begin at 2 p.m. at Holuba Hall.
 
Series vs. Penn State
Towson and Penn State have met nine times previously and the Nittany Lions lead the series 8-1. Last February the Tigers took their first win over Penn State. This will be the second consecutive year opening the season against the Nittany Lions.
 
2019 Tigers
In 2018 Towson set a single-season record for wins with 16 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers have five returning seniors, nine returning juniors and seven returning sophomores. New to the squad this season are 10 freshmen and a sophomore transfer. Towson lost three starters to graduation last season but returns eight players who started in 18 or more games.
 
Scouting Penn State
The Nittany Lions are coming off a 10-10 season and their seventh straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Penn State faced Penn in the first round of NCAA's and lost 15-14 in overtime. In the Big Ten Preseason Poll the team was voted to finish third and had three players on the all-preseason team in senior attacker Madison Carter, senior midfielder Kayla Brisolari and junior attacker Maria Auth. Last year Carter led the team in goals with 62, Brisolari was an IWLCA Third Team All-America selection and Auth led the squad in points with 71 including 54 goals and 17 assists. The Nittany lions have seven newcomers this season.
 
Last Time Against Penn State
Led by Natalie Sulmonte with three goals and three assists, the Tigers defeated Penn State 14-13 at home last February 10. Sami Chenoweth had a defensive stop in the final seconds to hold on to victory, she had a career-best four caused turnovers against the Nittany Lions. Towson led 4-3 with 17 minutes to go in the first half and scored seven of the final 10 goals to enter halftime leading 11-5. Penn State rallied in the second half, outscoring the home team 8-3. Carly Tellekamp scored her third goal of the day with 6:55 left to play as the Tigers led 14-9, before the Nittany Lions scored four goals in the last five minutes. The road team had a chance in the final 20 seconds before Chenoweth stick checked Kelly Daggett with a caused turnover that rolled the ball to Kiley Keating to secure the win.
 
Opening Weekend
This will be the ninth opening day under head coach Sonia LaMonica. In the last 16 season openers the Tigers are 13-3 and have won four of the last five. Under LaMonica, Towson is 4-4 on opening day. It will also be the eighth-straight season opener in February, the Tigers are 16-4 in the month of February. Last February Towson went 3-0.
 
Preseason Honors
The honors rolled in for the Tigers this preseason, including Olivia Conti being named the Colonial Athletic Association Preseason Player of the Year. Conti was named an Inside Lacrosse Preseason Media All-American and will be serving as a co-captain alongside Natalie Sulmonte. Sulmonte was named to the All-CAA Preseason Team with Carly Tellekamp, Sami Chenoweth and Conti. Kaitlin Thornton received an All-CAA Preseason Honorable Mention. Chenoweth received an honorable mention recognition from the IL Preseason Media All-America along with Kiley Keating.
 
Another Year, Another Tough Schedule
From the IWLCA Preseason Coaches' Poll, Towson is slated to face seven ranked opponents this season. In the preseason poll Penn State (No. 12), Georgetown (No. 22) and Navy (No. 13) were all ranked, along with Johns Hopkins (No. 23). In the top-10 were No. 4 James Madison, No. 5 Stony Brook and No. 9 Loyola.
 
The Road Ahead
Towson opens the year on the road and will remain on the road until Friday, March 1 with the home opener against Stony Brook. In the weeks after the Tigers will face Georgetown on Saturday, Feb. 16 and Navy on Saturday, Feb. 23.