TOWSON, Md. – Lacrosse is part of the culture in both the Baltimore metropolitan area and on Long Island. Seven members of the #25 Towson University women's lacrosse team are Long Island natives and will return home on Saturday afternoon as the Tigers take on Hofstra at James M. Shuart Stadium in an important Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) North Division game.
 
This will be the second match-up between the teams in a seven-day period. Last Sunday, the Pride rallied for a 10-9 victory in Towson.
 
Seniors Hannah Hobbes and Madison Hobbes, senior Kaitlin Thornton and junior Kerri Thornton and juniors Kerri Liucci and Nicole Liucci played at Ward Melville School, which is less than 45 miles from Hofstra, with Pride sophomore backup goalie Samantha Tarpey. The six Towson players were teammates on the 2017 and 2018 Long Island Top Guns Club team with eight members of the Hofstra squad, six starters and two key reserves.
 
Graduate student Nikki Sliwak grew up less than 10 miles from the Hempstead campus and was high school teammates with Hofstra starting defenders Darcie Smith and Anna Kaufmann at Wantagh. Sliwak and Smith played on the 2016 Long Island Top Guns with Pride stars Alyssa Parrella and Alexa Mattera.
 
"We are really fired up," Sliwak said. "It is super exciting to be going home. I played many high school games in that stadium. Just being back on Long Island to end the regular season is special. It is one big reunion, like old times at summer tournaments. It is a good reminder of where I came from."
 
This is not the first time Sliwak, who has scored 25 goals with a team-high 15 assists this season, has played a home game during her collegiate career. During her four years at Maryland, she played at Hofstra twice and the 2018 Final Four was held at Stony Brook.
 
The Hobbes, Thornton and Liucci sisters returned home in 2019 - helping Towson beat Hofstra, 13-12, combining for four goals and three assists. In four career games versus Hofstra, Kaitlin Thornton has six goals and three assists. Her younger sister had a season-best four points (1g, 3a) last weekend.
 
The CAA is using a divisional format this season to reduce travel due to the pandemic. Towson (8-6, 0-3 CAA North) and Hofstra (5-5, 1-2 CAA North) are battling for second place in the North Division. Drexel (12-1, 4-0 CAA North) has clinched the regular season title. Delaware suspended its season on April 1 after COVID-19 violations.
 
The CAA's South Division features James Madison (3-1), Elon (2-1) and William & Mary (0-3). Towson defeated William & Mary 20-10 on April 10, lost a 14-12 decision at James Madison but did not face Elon this spring.
 
Five teams – the top two in each division plus one at-large selection – will advance to the league tournament. The game featuring the fourth and fifth seeds will be played either May 4 or 5. The semifinals and championship games are in Harrisonburg, Virginia on May 7 and 9.
 
"CAA play hasn't gone the way we have wanted it to," added Sliwak. "It comes down to this game and it is a must-win for us. We are not ready for the season to be finished. We really enjoy playing lacrosse and being together. We have it in us to win this game."
 
THE RECORD HOLDER
Sami Chenoweth has caused 29 turnovers this season, increasing her school and CAA record to 180. With 26 groundballs, the Manchester Valley product has moved into 6th place on Towson's all-time list. She recorded the first two points of her career with assists versus Loyola and George Mason.
 
SCORING IN BUNCHES
Blair Pearre scored a career-best seven goals, on just seven shots, in a win over William & Mary. The sophomore has scored at least two goals in 17 of 20 games at the collegiate level, including 12 games this season. The former Under Armour All-American has eight hat tricks in 2021 and leads Towson in goals (43), points (47) and groundballs (32) and ranks second in draw controls (56). She leads the CAA with 24 free-position goals and ranks third nationally, averaging 1.71 free-position goals per game.
 
FRESHMAN SENSATION
Lindsey Marshall has been impressive with 40 points (27g, 13a) and a team leading 77 draw controls during her rookie campaign. The Catonsville graduate has four hat tricks, including a career-high five goals versus Georgetown. The midfielder won a season-best 10 draw controls against William & Mary and has won at least five draws on 10 occasions.
 
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Talented transfers Natalie Miller (Maryland), Nikki Sliwak (Maryland) and Olivia Malamphy (Boston College) have made an immediate impact this season. Sliwak is tied for second in scoring with 40 points (25g, 15a). The attacker scored a career-high five goals against William & Mary and handed out a career-best four assists in the first George Mason game. She is the only player to have a point in all 14 games. Miller, a starting defender, ranks second on the team with 14 caused turnovers, has picked up 15 groundballs and added an assist. Malamphy, Towson's defensive midfielder, ranks in the top five on the team in three categories: groundballs (18), caused turnovers (11) and draw controls (6).
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Tigers are 26^th in the country in scoring defense, holding opponents to 10.54 goals per game. Towson has held five opponents to less than 10 goals this season. Twice this season, the Tigers have held opponents scoreless for more than 35 minutes in a game- Loyola (February 24) and George Mason (April 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 101 groundballs and caused 85 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. Malamphy held Hofstra All-American Alyssa Parrella to one goal in the first meeting between the teams.
 
CLEARING WITH CONFIDENCE
Towson has converted 263-of-292 clears (90.1%) this season, 14^th best among all D1 teams.
 
TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
Towson had two players named to the Tewaaraton Watch List. Since 2001, the Tewaaraton Award has been awarded to the most outstanding American college lacrosse men's and women's players. On March 11, midfielder Blair Pearre was one of 57 players named. On April 2, All-American defender Sami Chenoweth was one of nine players added. Neither player was on the list of 25 finalists, announced April 23.
 
MISS CONSISTENCY
Kaitlin Thornton has multiple points in seven games this season. The senior, who has 124 career points (90g, 34a), has produced multiple points in 37 of 57 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 nine other games and has scored at least one goal in 29 of the last 36 games, dating back to the second game of the 2019 season.
 
ROCK SOLID IN THE CAGE
Carly Merlo ranks in the Top 30 nationally in goals-against average (10.60) and is 33^rd in save percentage (.459). 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 9.95 GAA in seven appearances.
 
THE RANKINGS
Despite two losses last week, Towson remained in the IWLCA Division I Coaches Top 25 poll for the ninth consecutive week. The Tigers are ranked No. 25 by the coaches but for first time since mid-February failed to receive any votes in the Women's Division I Inside Lacrosse Media Top 20 poll.
 
125 & COUNTING
Sonia LaMonica picked up her 125th victory as a head coach when Towson beat George Mason on April 4. She is now 118-73 (.618) at Towson and won eight games during one season at Mount St. Mary's. 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.
 
SPEED DEMONS
So far this season, 15 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, Nikki Sliwak, Sami Chenoweth and Kerri Thornton have reached the number. Malamphy has been the fastest player four times with top speeds against The Mount (17.80), UMBC (17.46), Loyola (18.35) and James Madison (18.35). Pearre has led the team three times: versus Georgetown (18.04), the first Drexel game (18.60) and the first Hofstra game (17.76). Nicole Liucci had the best time in the first George Mason game (17.68). Deltuva was the fastest versus Stony Brook (17.92). Porter had the top time against Temple (17.82). Miller had the top time against St. Joe's (17.96). Chenoweth had the best time in the second George Mason game (17.84). Kaitlin Thornton was the fastest against William & Mary (17.68). Williams had the top time in the second Drexel game (18.43).
 
AWARD WINNERS
Towson has received five Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Week honors this 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. Blair Pearre earned Rookie of the Week honors on April 13. For spring sports, the CAA ruled that true freshman who played a shortened season last year are eligible this season for Rookie of the Week since the league did not name an All-Rookie team in 2020.
 
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.
 
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 49 goals and 16 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
In addition to the Long Island lacrosse reunion, several members of the Towson lacrosse program have connections with the Hofstra team. Towson assistant coach Shanna Brady was on the Hofstra staff in 2017 and 2018. Towson's Kamryn McNeal and Hofstra's Camryn Faith were teammates at Garnet Valley.
 
DID YOU KNOW?
The brothers of Olivia Malamphy and Lindsay Posner are teammates at Salisbury, the No. 3 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
The Towson University women's lacrosse team is 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.
 
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.