TOWSON, Md. – The Towson women's lacrosse team will host George Mason for the second time this season at Tiger Field on Sunday afternoon. First draw is 5 p.m. The game 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.  
 
Towson was originally scheduled to play High Point this weekend, but that game was canceled on Tuesday, March 30 due to COVD-19 issues within High Point's program. One day later, George Mason became available when its game against Richmond was postponed due to a COVID-19 issue within the Richmond program.
 
For the fifth consecutive week, Towson (6-2) is ranked in the IWLCA Division I Coaches poll. The Tigers are ranked No. 15. After spending three weeks in the Women's Division I Inside Lacrosse Media Top 20, the Tigers dropped to 24^th. Towson is No. 18 in U.S. Lacrosse Women's Top 20 poll.
 
The Patriots are 1-7 this season, but four of the losses are to teams currently ranked in the Top 20 – Virginia, Navy, James Madison and Towson.
 
Towson and George Mason met on Feb. 28 with the Tigers winning 18-4. Nikki Sliwak led a balanced attack with a career-high six points (2 g, 4a). Molly Lynch scored a career-best three goals and added an assist. Lindsey Marshall had a hat trick and controlled five draws.  Blair Pearre (2g, 1a), Kaitlin Thornton (2g, 1a) and Shelby Stack (1g, 1a) also had multiple point games.
 
Towson is getting balance on offense with 14 players scoring at least one goal with Blair Pearre (25g, 3a), Lindsey Marshall (19g, 5a) and Nikki Sliwak (13g, 9a) leading the way. Marshall and Pearre have also combined to control 68 draws in eight games.
 
TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
Sophomore midfielder Blair Pearre was one of 57 players named to the Tewaaraton Watch List on March 11. Since 2001, the Tewaaraton Award has been awarded to the most outstanding American college lacrosse men's and women's players. Pearre, one of five sophomores on the list, leads Towson in goals (25), points (28), groundballs (13) and is second in draw controls (28).
 
DAZZLING D
The 2021 Tigers are 16th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 8.9 goals per game. Towson has held four opponents under 10 goals this season - Mount St. Mary's (10-7), UMBC (12-5), then #8/#10 Loyola (13-7) and George Mason (18-4).
 
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 60 groundballs and caused 47 turnovers.
 
In the win over Loyola, Chenoweth held All-American attacker Livy Rosenzweig to two assists. Against Stony Brook, Williams held All-American attacker Tayrn Ohlmiller to one assist.
 
CLEARING WITH CONFIDENCE
Towson has converted 152-of-166 clears (91.6%) in the first eight games of the season, seventh best among all D1 teams.
 
DRIVE FOR 125
The 6-2 start has improved Sonia LaMonica's record at Towson to 116-69 (.627). In her 10 previous seasons, the Tigers have won four Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament titles and earned spots in the NCAA Tournament six times with LaMonica at the helm. Overall, she has 124 coaching victories.
 
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Talented transfers Natalie Miller (Maryland), Nikki Sliwak (Maryland) and Olivia Malamphy (Boston College) have made an immediate impact this season. Sliwak ranks third in scoring with 22 points (13g, 9a). The attacker scored a career-high four goals against Loyola then handed out a career-best four assists versus George Mason. She has scored a goal in all eight games. Miller, a starting defender, has caused six turnovers and picked up nine groundballs. Malamphy, Towson's defensive midfielder, is tied for second in groundballs (12), ranks third in caused turnovers (7) and is fourth in draw controls.
 
THE RECORD HOLDER
Sami Chenoweth has caused 18 turnovers in the first eight games of the season, increasing her school and CAA record to 169. 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 five goals in back-to-back victories over Georgetown and St. Joseph's. The sophomore has scored at least two goals in 13 of 14 games at the collegiate level, including all eight 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 24 points (19g, 5a) and 40 draw controls in her first seven games. The Catonsville graduate has four hat tricks, including a career-high five goals versus Georgetown. The midfielder has won a season-best eight draw controls against Georgetown and St. Joseph's.
 
MISS CONSISTENCY
Kaitlin Thornton has multiple points in four games this season. The senior, who has 113 career points (80g, 33a), has produced multiple points in 34 of 51 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 four other games and has scored at least one goal in 25 of the last 30 games, dating back to 2019.
 
ROCK SOLID IN THE CAGE
Carly Merlo ranks in the Top 20 nationally in both goals-against average (9.32) and save percentage (.496). The sophomore allowed just 19 goals and made 28 saves in wins over The Mount (10-7), UMBC (12-5) and Loyola (13-7). Freshman Lindsay Posner has a .583 save percentage and 5.44 GAA in three relief appearances.
 
SPEED DEMONS
So far this season, 13 players have been clocked at speeds of at least 17 miles per hour during a game. Olivia Malamphy, Nicole Liucci, Blair Pearre, Rayna Deltuva, Kaitlin Thornton, Lindsey Marshall, Erin Williams, Natalie Miller, Kerri Liucci, Julia Porter, Molly Lynch, Shelby Stack and Nikki Sliwak have reached the number. Malamphy has been the fastest player three times with speeds of 17.80 (The Mount), 17.46 (UMBC) and 18.35 (Loyola). Nicole Liucci had the best time against George Mason (17.68). Deltuva was the fastest versus Stony Brook (17.92). Porter had the top time against Temple (17.82). Pearre led the team versus Georgetown (18.04). Miller had the top time against St. Joe's (17.96).
 
AWARD WINNERS
Towson has received four Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Week honors in the first six weeks of the season. Sophomore Olivia Malamphy was named Defender of the Week on February 16. Freshman midfielder Lindsey Marshall has earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors on March 2 and March 23. Junior Erin Williams was named Defender of the Week on March 16. 
 
PRESEASON PICKS
All-American defender Sami Chenoweth and midfielders Blair Pearre and Shelby Stack were selected Preseason All-CAA by the league coaches. Chenoweth was named Third Team preseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse.
 
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.
 
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. The six have combined for 28 goals and six assists so far this season.
 
ROSTER MAKEUP
Eighteen student-athletes on the 2021 roster are from the Baltimore metropolitan area. Seven played in the powerful IAAM A Conference, five 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 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 Samantha 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.
 
DID YOU KNOW?
The brothers of Olivia Malamphy and Lindsay Posner are teammates at Salisbury, the No. 2 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.
 
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.