TOWSON, Md. – Back in the national rankings, the Towson women's lacrosse team wraps up a four-game homestand on Sunday afternoon when #5/#8 Stony Brook visits Tiger Field at 1 p.m. The Top-20 showdown will be streamed on Towson Sports Network with Ben Rosenbaum on the call. Former Towson star Carly Tellekamp, who scored 128 career goals in 61 games, will provide color commentary.  
 
After opening the season with four consecutive victories, including a 13-7 win over then #8/#10 Loyola last week, Towson moved into the Top 20 in both IWLCA Division I Coaches (#16) and Women's Division I Inside Lacrosse Media (#13) polls. Towson is ranked for the first time since the first week of March 2019. The Tigers are #14 in the U.S. Lacrosse Women's Top 20 poll.

The win over Loyola was the first over a ranked opponent since knocking off Johns Hopkins in 2018. That season, Sonia LaMonica's squad also took down #4 Penn State and #6 Florida. The 4-0 start has improved LaMonica's record at Towson to 114-67 (.630). Overall, she has 122 coaching victories.
 
The last time the Towson University women's lacrosse team started the season with four consecutive victories was 2016. That team won six straight games to begin the season, captured the Colonial Athletic Association title for the fourth consecutive season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in a row.
 
The 2021 Tigers are fifth in the nation in scoring defense, through March 5, holding all four opponents under 10 goals this season - Mount St. Mary's (10-7), UMBC (12-5), Loyola (13-7) and George Mason (18-4).
 
Towson is getting balance on offense with 14 players scoring at least one goal with Nikki Sliwak (8g, 6a), Blair Pearre (10g, 2a) and Lindsey Marshall (10g, 2a) leading the way. Marshall and Pearre have combined to control 31 draws in four games.
 
Starting defenders Sami Chenoweth, Rayna Deltuva, Erin Williams and Natalie Miller as well as defensive midfielder Olivia Malamphy and top reserve Gabby Biondi have scooped up 33 groundballs and caused 27 turnovers.
 
Goalkeeper Carly Merlo is sixth nationally in both goals-against average (5.71) and save percentage (.592) through games played March 5.
 
The Tigers have converted clears in 86-of-89 attempts (96.6%), which is second among all D1 teams.
 
Towson is winless in six games versus Stony Brook. Three of the losses were by two goals or less. The first two meetings, 2013-14, were in the NCAA Tournament. The team started playing each season in 2017.
 
The 2021 Seawolves (3-2) have lost to North Carolina and Syracuse, the top two teams in the nation, and own victories over Boston University, then #15 Southern Cal and UMBC.  In Friday's victory over UMBC, All-Americans Ally Kennedy and Taryn Ohlmiller combined for 10 points.
 
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 10 turnovers in the first four games of the season, increasing her school and CAA record to 161. 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.
 
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 nine of 10 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 12 points (10g, 2a) and 19 draw controls in her first four games. The Catonsville graduate has scored three points in each contest, including hat tricks versus The Mount, UMBC and George Mason. The midfielder has also won five draw controls in three of the four victories.
 
MISS CONSISTENCY
Kaitlin Thornton has multiple points in three games this season. The senior, who has 110 career points (77g, 33a), has produced multiple points in 33 of 47 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 in the other three games and has scored at least one goal in 24 of the last 26 games, dating back to 2019.
 
ROCK SOLID
Carly Merlo ranks in the Top 10 nationally in both goals-against average (5.71) and save percentage (.592). The sophomore has allowed just 20 goals and made 29 saves in wins over The Mount (10-7), UMBC (12-5), Loyola (13-7) and George Mason (18-4). She only played the opening half against Mason.
 
SPEED DEMONS
So far this season, eight players have been clocked at speeds of at least 17 miles per hour during a game. Olivia Malamphy and Nicole Liucci have reached the mark each time. Blair Pearre, Rayna Deltuva Kaitlin Thornton, Lindsey Marshall, Erin Williams and Natalie Miller have also hit the number. Malamphy was the fastest player three times with speeds of 17.80 (The Mount), 17.46 (UMBC) and 18.35 (Loyola), while Liucci had the top time against George Mason (17.68).
 
AWARD WINNERS
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.
 
Freshman Lindsey Marshall was named Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie of the Week on March 2. In victories over #8 Loyola and George Mason, she scored four goals, assisted on two others and won 10 draw controls.
 
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. Twelve of the other 17 are from New York, including eight from Long Island.
 
FAMILIAR FACES
Several members of the Towson lacrosse program have connections with the Stony Brook team. The Thornton, Hobbes and Liucci sisters all played at Ward Melville with Seawolves freshman Kristin Quinn. Towson's Emilee Downs and Stony Brook's Lindsay Rongo were teammates at Westhampton. Many of the players on both teams from Long Island were teammates at the club level.
 
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.
 
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 HelperHelper competition. Towson ranked #1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the HelperHelper NCAA Team Works Competition.  Towson also won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.