TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's lacrosse team saw Abbe Mona net seven goals and Kaitlin Thornton score five as the Tigers took down Ohio State 21-14 on Tuesday night.
 
Towson (2-4) raced out to a 7-1 lead in the opening 25 minutes.  Ohio State (5-4) chipped away with a four-goal run into the second half, but Towson kept the lead and outscored the Buckeyes 9-4 in the final 17 minutes.
 
This game is the best offensive performance of the season and the most goals scored in a single contest since Apr. 4, 2019 when the Tigers defeated William & Mary 22-12.
 
Key Stats:

• Five Tigers scored multiple goals with four having at least a hat trick.  As a team, Towson scored 21 times on 27 shots on goal (77.8%) and converted seven of nine free position shots.
• Abbe Mona's seven goals is more than double her season total coming into tonight, netting those scores on nine total shots.  Kaitlin Thornton netted five goals, including both free positions, while Nicole Liucci had four goals, all in the second half.  Julia Porter notched seven of the team's 11 assists on the night to four different goal-scorers.
• The win in goal went to Carly Merlo with two saves and nine goals allowed.  Sara Tyssowski played in the cage in the final 20:37 with two saves and five scores.
• For Ohio State, Ali Beekhuizen was the main offensive threat, tallying four goals and an assist.  Jill Rizzo had the loss, allowing 18 goals and saving six shots.

How It Happened:

• Towson looked to break the Ohio State zone defense while on its own defense going man-to-man.  Towson won the opening two draws and converted for goals, seeing Abbe Mona score on a run towards the cage then Blair Pearre coming from left hash to the middle of the goal circle for a free position goal to give Towson a 2-0 lead in the opening 2:45.
• Towson's pressure and strong defense continued to cause problems for Ohio State.  The other end, Mona added her second goal on the pass from Rayna Deltuva, then Mona converted a free position to make it 4-0 Towson 11 minutes in.
• Ohio State scored its first goal after a timeout.  Towson responded with three straight goals, all on free positions, the first by Pearre then two in a row from Kaitlin Thornton, the first off an empty net after a foul on OSU keeper Carly Merlo, to lead 7-1.
• An exchange of goals, including Pearre's third score off a feed from Julia Porter, made the score 8-2 Towson with 5:08 left in the 1^st.
• Ohio State's fast-paced offense got the Buckeyes three goals in a row in a span of 92 seconds to cut the Towson lead down to three.  Towson led 8-5 at the break.
• The visitors continued riding their momentum into the second half with Ali Beekhuizen scoring in the opening minute to complete the 4-0 run.  Towson started to even up the draw controls and go back and forth with the Buckeyes, keeping a lead.
• At 10-8 Towson, Nicole Liucci made a pair of incredible goals, the first a catch and shoot to the top right corner from Kerri Thornton and the second on a dodge to the right side, rebuilding the lead to four with 21:23 remaining.
• After Ohio State got two goals back, again Towson responded with three goals in a row from Shelby Stack, Mona and Liucci in succession to get the advantage to five.  After the run was ended by a goal from Janie Cowley, Towson's next 3-0 run, sandwiched by two more Mona goals, built the largest lead of the night for the Black & Gold at 18-11 with 9:52 left.
• Ohio State had a final run with three consecutive goals to pull within four at 18-14.  Sonia LaMonica called a timeout and Towson responded with two quick goals, effectively putting away the Buckeyes.  One more goal in the closing minutes from Kaitlin Thornton gave Towson the 21-14 advantage, the eventual final score.

Inside the Numbers:

• Mona and Liucci, who each came into the game with three goals on the season, each had career-highs in goals scored.
• Porter has a new career-high in assists and has a combined 11 assists in her last two games.
• Gabby Biondi had her first career start on the Towson defense.
• Towson improves to 2-0 all-time against Ohio State having defeated the Buckeyes 16-6 on Apr. 27, 1996.

Next Game:
Towson returns to Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Saturday at noon as the Tigers take on No. 19 UMass.  This is the first half of a doubleheader at Unitas with the men's lacrosse team playing No. 8 Duke at 3 p.m.  Tickets remain on sale all season long to watch Towson women's lacrosse. Visit the ticket link on our schedule page, or call 1-855-TU-Tiger today to purchase tickets.
 
- TowsonTigers.com –