TOWSON, Md. – The last time the Towson University women's lacrosse team started the season with four consecutive victories was 2016. Sonia LaMonica's 2021 squad looks to do the same when it hosts George Mason (0-1) Sunday afternoon at Tiger Field.
 
Game time is 1 p.m.  The game will be streamed on Towson Sports Network with Ben Rosenbaum on the call. Live stats will be available on TowsonTigers.com.
 
On Wednesday evening, the Tigers held #8/#10 Loyola scoreless for more than 35 minutes during a 13-7 victory.  Nikki Sliwak scored a career-best four goals and Kerri Liucci had her second career hat trick to lead the offense. Towson controlled 15-of-23 draws against Loyola with Blair Pearre, Lindsey Marshall and Olivia Malamphy combining to win 14 at the circle. Carly Merlo made 10 saves. The starting defense of Sami Chenoweth, Rayna Deltuva, Erin Williams and Natalie Miller combined to cause six turnovers and scooped up five ground balls.
 
After starting the season with back-to-back victories over Mount St. Mary's (10-7) and UMBC (12-5), Towson received votes in the latest Women's Division I Media Poll announced Monday by Inside Lacrosse. The Tigers are one of six teams outside of the Top 20 to receive votes. Towson also garnered votes in the U.S. Lacrosse Women's Top 20 poll.
 
Towson holds a 12-7 advantage in the all-time series versus George Mason. The Tigers have won 11 of the last 12 meetings. The two teams played at least once for 17 consecutive seasons (1997-2013), but this is the first matchup since.
 
2021 PREVIEW
In the previous 10 seasons with Sonia LaMonica at the helm, the Tigers have won 110 games and earned spots in the NCAA Tournament six times. Towson has won seven Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament titles since 2005, including four under LaMonica. 
 
LaMonica's team features 10 starters from last year's squad, including All-American defender Sami Chenoweth and top goal scorers Blair Pearre and Shelby Stack. Those three student-athletes were selected Preseason All-CAA by the league coaches. Chenoweth was named Third Team preseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse.
 
The 2021 team has 13 fresh faces, including talented transfers Natalie Miller (Maryland), Nikki Sliwak (Maryland) and Olivia Malamphy (Boston College).
 
THE RECORD HOLDER
Sami Chenoweth has caused seven turnovers in the first three games of the season, increasing her school and CAA record to 158. With a team-high four ground balls against UMBC, the Manchester Valley product moved ahead of Towson Hall of Famer Shannon Witzel for 10th on the all-time list. She recorded her first career point with an assist versus Loyola in her 66th career game in a Towson uniform.
 
SCORING IN BUNCHES
Blair Pearre scored a career-best four goals in the victory over UMBC. The sophomore has scored at least two goals in eight of nine games at the collegiate level, including all three games this season. The former Under Armour All-American had four hat tricks in six games as a freshman.
 
FRESHMAN SENSATION
Lindsey Marshall has been impressive with nine points (7g, 2a) and 14 draw controls in her first three games. The Catonsville graduate has scored three points in each contest, including hat tricks versus The Mount and UMBC. The midfielder has also won five draw controls in two of the three victories.
 
MISS CONSISTENCY
Kaitlin Thornton has multiple points in both games this season. The senior, who has 107 career points (75g, 32a), has produced multiple points in 32 of 46 games in a Towson uniform.
 
STACKING GOALS
Shelby Stack scored her 50th career goal one minute into the season at Mount St. Mary's. She added tallies against UMBC and Loyola and has scored at least one goal in 23 of the last 25 games, dating back to 2019.
 
ROCK SOLID
Carly Merlo ranks ninth nationally in both goals-against average (6.33) and save percentage (.596) through the games played through Feb. 25. The sophomore has allowed just 19 goals and made 28 saves in wins over The Mount (10-7), UMBC (12-5) and Loyola (13-7).
 
SPEED DEMONS
So far this season, eight players have been clocked at speeds of at least 17 miles per hour during a game. Four have reached the mark each time - Olivia Malamphy, Blair Pearre, Nicole Liucci and Rayna Deltuva. Kaitlin Thornton, Lindsey Marshall, Erin Williams and Natalie Miller have also hit the number. Malamphy has been the fastest player each game with speeds of 17.80 (The Mount), 17.46 (UMBC) and 18.35 (Loyola).
 
AWARD WINNER
Sophomore Olivia Malamphy was named Colonial Athletic Association Defender of the Week by the league office on Feb. 16. In her first game in a Towson uniform, the Boston College transfer had a game-high four ground balls, caused two turnovers and won a draw control in the Tigers season opening 10-7 victory over Mount St. Mary's.
 
SISTER, SISTER, SISTER, SISTER   
Towson's roster includes four sets of sisters: Kaitlin and Kerri Thornton and three sets of twins – seniors Hannah and Madison Hobbes, juniors Kerri and Nicole Liucci and freshman Paige and Paiton Abbott. 
 
WARD MELVILLE SOUTH 
The Thornton, Hobbes and Liucci sisters all played at Ward Melville High School on Long Island during a five-year stretch between 2014-2018.
 
ROSTER MAKEUP
Nineteen student-athletes on the 2021 roster are from the Baltimore metropolitan area. Seven played in the powerful IAAM A Conference, six are from Carroll County schools, four played for Baltimore County programs with Howard County and Kent County being represented by one player each. Thirteen of the other 17 are from New York, including eight from Long Island.
 
DID YOU KNOW?
The brothers of Olivia Malamphy and Lindsay Posner are teammates at Salisbury, the top ranked team in Division III. Brett Malamphy is an All-American faceoff specialist, while Logan Posner runs first midfield for the Sea Gulls.
 
FAMILIAR FACES
Several members of the Towson lacrosse program have connections with the George Mason team. Towson's Rayna Deltuva and Mason's Ali Johnston are stepsisters. Deltuva's mother is married to Johnston's father. The two were teammates at Manchester Valley, along with Sami Chenoweth. Towson's Sam Intrieri and Patriots defender Lauren Donofrio played together at Wissahickson, while Tiger freshman Blair Goodrich and George Mason's Morgan Gunn were teammates at Kent Island.
 
NEW HOME VENUE
Starting this season, the Towson University women's lacrosse team will be playing in the newly-renovated Tiger Field. A new grandstand and press box were completed last summer. The facility also has all-new lighting, allowing for night games. The lights include the MUSCO Show-Light package for programmed light shows and effects. Tiger Field is part of the Lower Fields Complex, which also includes two practice facilities.
 
FINAL FOUR
The Tigers' former home, Johnny Unitas® Stadium, will be the home for the NCAA Division I 2021 Final Four. The semi-finals are scheduled to be played May 28 with the national championship two days later. Unitas Stadium previously hosted the Final Four in 208, 2009, 2010 and 2014.
 
CAA CHANGES 
The CAA is using a divisional format this season to reduce travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Towson is in the North Division with Hofstra, Drexel and Delaware. The Tigers were picked to finish second in the division, behind Hofstra.  Five teams – the top two in each division plus one at-large selection – will advance to the league tournament hosted by James Madison on May 6, 7 and 9.
 
LSN BROADCASTS
Towson will appear on Lax Sports Network's (LSN) Game of the Week package two times during the 2021 season. The Tigers host William & Mary on April 10 at Tiger Field. Eight days later, Towson's second showing takes place at James Madison.
 
TIGERS IN THE COMMUNITY    
The Towson University athletics department deems community service as one of its highest priorities to give back to the Greater Baltimore area. Towson was on track to have its 8th consecutive year of over 10,000 hours of community service in 2019-20 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all activity.  Towson finished with 7,527 hours last year, good for third in the NCAA Teamworks Helper Helper competition. Towson ranked #1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition.  Towson also won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.