TOWSON, Md. – Sunday afternoon the Towson University women's lacrosse team will face its sixth ranked opponent of the year, at No. 13 Michigan. This will also be the second Big Ten opponent for the year after taking on Penn State in the season opener.
 
The game will be live streamed on MGoBlue.com with live stats available as well.
 
Last Time Out
For the second time this season the Tigers faced the No. 10 team in the country as they hosted Loyola on Wednesday night. Towson fell 12-6, led by sophomore Kaitlin Thornton offensively with two goals. The home team out-shot the Greyhounds by four in the first half and shots were tied in the second, but Loyola's goalie grabbed 15 saves. The Tigers could not cut the Greyhounds' lead as they opened the game with a three-goal advantage and led throughout. At the end of the first half and the entering the second, Towson scored three unanswered goals, cutting the lead to 7-5. Loyola then scored three-straight and the Tigers only tallied one more on the night.
 
The Michigan Series
Sunday will be the second meeting between these two teams after last season the Wolverines came to Johnny Unitas ® Stadium for a matchup. Towson holds the series lead 1-0 and is 22-62-1 all-time against Big Ten teams. Last season the Tigers saw Penn State, Michigan, Johns Hopkins and Northwestern, taking wins against the first three before falling to the Wildcats in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. This will be Towson's first road game at Michigan.
 
Last Time Against Michigan
In the first-ever game between Michigan and Towson, the home team took a 14-7 victory. Eight players scored at least one goal, with three scores from Natalie Sulmonte and Emily Gillingham. Kaitlin Thornton dished out two assists and Kiley Keating grabbed five saves in the win. The Wolverines struck first, but the Tigers came out and took a 2-1 lead with 25:10 remaining in the half. Michigan tied it up just a minute later, but the home team took a 7-0 run to lead 9-2. The road team scored two goals in the early part of the second half, cutting the lead to 9-4. Towson responded with two straight goals and extended the lead to 11-4 with 10:08 to play. In the final 9:36, both teams scored three goals as the Tigers held on for the win.
 
Scouting the Wolverines
The Wolverines came out strong this season, unranked in any preseason poll and now in the top-15 of all three. Michigan is 8-0 and coming off a Friday win over Kent State. Eight wins is the program record for wins, last year the Wolverines won just seven games. The team was selected to finish fifth in the Big Ten and is currently first, over Maryland, who is 5-0. Michigan is led by junior attack Adriana Pendino, with 23 goals while Caitlin Muir is leading the team in assists with 13. On their way to eight wins, the Wolverines have defeated No. 25 Dartmouth, No. 14 Colorado and No. 9 Denver.
 
Scouting the Tigers
A tough opening schedule has put the Tigers winless so far. The offense is led by Annie Sachs with nine goals so far while Sami Chenoweth leads the defense with 22 caused turnovers while Olivia Conti leads the team in ground balls with 10. Junior goalkeeper holds a save percentage of 40.6 with 43 saves this season. Natalie Sulmonte leads on the draw with 17 draw controls and has tallied eight goals. Sophomore Kaitlin Thornton holds the team-high in assists with five.
 
Coaching Connections
The two head coaches of Towson and Michigan are very familiar with each other despite this being the second meeting of the squads. Both natives of Australia, Sonia LaMonica and Hannah Nielsen were teammates on the Australian National Team at the FIL World Cup in 2005, 2009 and 2013. In addition, Nielsen was an assistant coach under LaMonica at Towson for two seasons in 2010 and 2011. During that time, the Tigers captured two CAA regular season titles as well as the CAA championship in 2011 when the team set a program record for wins in a season with 16.
 
Just A…. A Few Tough Opponents
With the sixth week of women's lacrosse nearing the end, Towson has at least two more ranked opponents on the schedule following Sunday's game. Currently Johns Hopkins is ranked 17/10/8 in the IWLCA, IL Media and US Lacrosse Magazine polls. The reigning national champion James Madison is ranked 7/7/6 respectively.
 
Tigers in the Community
In February, Towson University's athletic teams were celebrated as national champions after winning the NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Competition. The competition was open to all Division I programs and the Tigers finished on top with a total of 5,583 community service hours completed from September to November 2018 in the Greater Baltimore Area.
 
Join us at Unitas ® Stadium
Tickets remain on sale for all eight of Towson's 2019 home games. The Tigers will host Saint Joseph's (March 13), Yale (March 30), Johns Hopkins (April 2), Elon (April 12), William & Mary (April 14) and Drexel (April 21). Please contact Scott Casten for more information or visit our ticket website.
 
Up Next
Towson hosts Saint Joseph's next Wednesday night at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium. Opening draw is set for 7 p.m.