TOWSON, Md. – Blair Pearre scored three second half goals but the #16/#13 Towson women's lacrosse team dropped a hard-fought 10-8 decision to #5/#8 Stony Brook at Tiger Field Sunday afternoon.
 
It was the first loss of the season for Towson (4-1), who on Monday moved into the Top 20 in both IWLCA Division I Coaches (#16) and Women's Division I Inside Lacrosse Media (#13) polls for the first time this season. The Tigers are #14 in the U.S. Lacrosse Women's Top 20 poll.
 
The Tigers led 2-1 after goals by Kerri Thornton and Nikki Sliwak. The Seawolves responded with a 5-0 run to end the half and took a 6-2 advantage into halftime.
 
Towson answered as freshman Lindsey Marshall scored back-to-back goals and Pearre added her first, on a free-position tally, to make it 6-5 with 18:52 to play.
 
Stony Brook then scored four of the next five goals to take a 10-6 lead. The Tigers battled back as Pearre and Thornton found the back of the net to cut the lead in half, but Stony Brook held on for the two-goal victory.
 
The Seawolves (4-2) got multiple points from five players, including All-American midfielder Ally Kennedy (2g, 1a). Stony Brook goalie Kameron Halsall made eight saves. Towson defender Erin Williams held All-American attacker Taryn Ohlmiller to one assist. Stony Brook's losses were to North Carolina and Syracuse, the top two teams in the nation.
 
Towson is winless in seven games versus Stony Brook. Four of the losses are by two goals or less.
 
In addition to scoring her second hat trick of the season, Pearre scooped up a career-high four ground balls and controlled three draws. The McDonogh graduate leads Towson with 13 goals.
 
Records: 

• Towson – 4-1
• Stony Brook – 4-2

 
Head coach Sonia LaMonica Postgame Quotes: 

• "I thought Stony Brook's goalie played a really solid game today and made a lot of great saves, but we just didn't capitalize on some of those opportunities. There is a lot I am pleased about. I think our defensive schemes did a great job in limiting some of their catalysts."
• "It was a game of runs. We swung that momentum coming out of the half. Our team settled in and played more of their game, but Stony Brook is a great team and they were not going to go away. It was a great battle and a lot we will learn from this game."
• "It stings because coming into this game, I really believed that this was a team we could handle. While Stony Brook is a great team, we just came up short in executing a couple things that we need to and that we can. A two-goal loss, to me, is encouraging. We have a great group. They are hungry and they are going to stay hungry. I think big things are to come down the line."

 
How it Happened: 

• Down 2-1, Sliwak found Thornton out front. The Long Island native finished with a quick stick goal to tie the score. 
• Four and a half minutes later, Sliwak scored on a quick stick feed from Kerri Liucci giving Towson its only lead of the day.
• Stony Brook scored the final five goals of the half to take a 6-2 advantage into halftime.
• Marshall scored back-to-back goals in a 4:46 span to make it 6-4. The first was a terrific individual effort to split the stingy Stony Brook defense. The second was on a free-position shot.
• Twenty-nine seconds after Marshall's second goal, Pearre got on the scoreboard with her own free-position goal. It was 6-5 with 18:52 to play.
• Stony Brook responded by scoring three of the next four goals in a four-minute span to make it 9-6.
• Sonia LaMonica inserted goalie Lindsay Posner into the game to provide a spark. After allowing a goal to Kennedy, the freshman from nearby Hereford High School, made three saves, denying both Kennedy and Ohlmiller, as Towson made one more run.
• Molly Lynch found Pearre on the doorstep to make it 10-7 with 6:24 to play.
• Thornton scored her second with 43.7 seconds to play, but Stony Brook won the ensuing draw control and ran out the clock.

 
Key Stats:

• Towson converted all 17 clear attempts. For the season, the Tigers have had successful clears in 103-of-106 attempts (97.2%), second best among all D1 teams.
• The teams tied at the draw with 10 apiece. Marshall, Pearre and Thornton each controlled three for the Tigers.
• Thornton returned after missing the previous three games to score a pair of goals.
• Marshall has produced multiple points and draw controls in all five games. The freshman now has 14 points (12 g, 2a) and a team-best 22 draw controls.

 
Inside the Numbers: 

• Pearre has now scored at least two goals in 10 of 11 games at the collegiate level. The sophomore scored a career-best four goals in the victory over UMBC last month. The former Under Armour All-American had four hat tricks in six games as a freshman.
• Towson All-American defender Sami Chenoweth caused one turnover to increase her school record total to 162.

 
Next Game: 
Towson will be on the road the rest of the month with scheduled games in Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and Delaware during March. First stop will be a trip to Philadelphia to face Temple (2-1) on Wednesday afternoon, March 10. The Owls opened the season with wins over Delaware and Villanova then lost to Drexel. The game will be televised on ESPN+.