TOWSON, Md. – When the final RPI rankings were revealed Monday morning, the No. 20 Towson University women's lacrosse team played the fifth toughest schedule during the 2021 season. The Tigers played 10 games versus teams who earned berths into the NCAA Tournament.

The season began with four consecutive victories, including wins over then #8/#10 Loyola and eventual Northeast Conference champion Mount St. Mary's. The Tigers were 8-2 after defeating William & Mary on April 10, but lost six-of-seven down the stretch. Four were by one or two goals and each loss was to a team in the NCAA field.

Towson (9-8) did enough to earn one of 14 at-large bids and will face eighth-seeded Stony Brook at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium Friday afternoon. First draw is at noon.

"I take a lot of pride in the schedule we play," Towson head coach Sonia LaMonica said. "I like to schedule tough teams and I know that we have a program that can compete. When it comes tournament selection, it is important that you have quality wins. Thankfully, we had some of those this year and even though we did not finish as we had hoped, our resume was good enough in the committee's eyes to warrant being in the tournament."

Towson is making its 11th appearance in the NCAA Division I playoffs and 10^th since the 2008 season. The Tigers have earned berths in seven of the 10 full seasons with LaMonica at the helm. The 2020 season was cut short due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Towson has victories in two of the last three trips to the tournament, beating OId Dominion (2016) and Wagner (2018).
As a player, LaMonica helped Maryland win the 2000 and 2001 NCAA titles. Assistant coach Shanna Brady won a pair of national titles at Maryland in 2014 and 2015 and reached championship weekend all four years.

Eight members of team have NCAA tournament experience, including graduate students Nikki Sliwak and Natalie Miller, who were members of Maryland's national championship teams in 2017 and 2019. All-American defender Sami Chenoweth has five caused turnovers, five groundballs and three draw controls in three NCAA games. Kaitlin Thornton scored five goals, including a hat trick against Northwestern, in the 2018 tournament. Abbe Mona, Hannah Hobbes and Shelby Stack all had goals in a win over Wagner in 2018.

Towson and Stony Brook have met twice in the NCAA tournament with the Seawolves winning both games: 8-6 in 2013 and 10-8 in 2014.

Stony Brook (14-2) enters the NCAA Tournament on a 12-game winning streak and ranked No. 6 in the IWLCA Coaches poll and No. 5 in the Inside Lacrosse Media poll. Stony Brook's losses were to North Carolina and Syracuse, two of the top three seeds in the tournament. 
 
The two teams have met in the regular season for five consecutive seasons. This year, Towson dropped a hard-fought 10-8 decision on March 7 at Tiger Field, despite a second half hat trick from leading scorer Blair Pearre. The Seawolves, who won the America East title for the eighth straight year, got multiple points from five players, including All-American midfielder and Tewaaraton Award finalist Ally Kennedy (2g, 1a). Towson defender Erin Williams held All-American attacker Taryn Ohlmiller to one assist.
 
"We have grown and learned a lot since that game," LaMonica said. "We are looking for a second opportunity."
 
Towson is winless in seven games versus Stony Brook. Four of the losses are by two goals or less.
 
"We have been playing them since my freshman year. We know their niche," said Chenoweth, who has 11 caused turnovers and nine groundballs in five games against the Seawolves. "The March game was the first that a team played a zone defense on us and we have improved significantly. On offense, all seven players of the players they have can score. We need to concentrate on limiting their opportunities."
 
The game will be televised on ESPN3 with broadcasters Jonny Wincott (play-by-play) and Kylie Ohlmiller (analyst). Ben Rosenbaum will have the audio call on TowsonTigers.com.
 
Drexel will face Rutgers in the second game at Stony Brook on Friday afternoon. The winners will play on Sunday, May 16 at 12 p.m. for a chance to advance to the quarterfinals. 

TOWSON TRENDS
Towson is 8-0 this season when leading at halftime and are undefeated in six games when holding the opposition to under 10 goals. The Tigers have a 7-1 record when controlling more draws and have won six-of-eight games when winning the groundball battle.
 
SCORING IN BUNCHES
Blair Pearre has scored at least two goals in 15 of 17 games this season, including 11 hat tricks, and enters the NCAA Tournament tied for 11^th in goals. She scored a career-best seven goals (on seven shots) in a win over William & Mary. The sophomore leads Towson in goals (58), points (66) and groundballs (33) and is second in draw controls (68). The former Under Armour HS All-American has 31 free-position goals and ranks second nationally, averaging 1.82 per game.
 
With the first of her four goals against Elon in the opening round of the CAA championship, she became the ninth Towson player to score 50 goals in a season. She joined Ruthie Gutridge (1984-1985-1986), Shannon Witzel (2005-06), Hillary Fratzke (2008 & 2010), Becky Trumbo (2005), Nikki Marcinik (2009), Andi Raymond (2014), Carly Tellekamp (2017) and Emily Gillingham (2018) in the 50-goal club.
 
THE RECORD HOLDER
Sami Chenoweth ranks seventh in the nation with 34 caused turnovers, increasing her school and league record to 184. With 31 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.
 
FRESHMAN SENSATION
Lindsey Marshall has been impressive with 50 points (35g, 15a) and a team leading 94 draw controls during her rookie campaign. The Catonsville graduate has six 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 13 occasions. The 94 draw controls ranks second on the Towson single season record books, trailing only Hillary Fratzke, who won 107 in 2006.
 
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Talented transfers Natalie Miller (Maryland), Nikki Sliwak (Maryland) and Olivia Malamphy (Boston College) made an immediate impact this season. Sliwak is second in scoring with 52 points (30g, 22a). The attacker scored a career-high five goals against William & Mary and handed out a career-best four assists two times. She is the only player to have a point in all 17 games. Miller, a starting defender, ranks second on the team with 15 caused turnovers, has picked up 18 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 (13) and draw controls (13).
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Towson has held six opponents to less than 10 goals this season. Twice, 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 118 groundballs and caused 95 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 318-of-352 clears (90.3%) this season, 14^th best among all D1 teams.
 
MISS CONSISTENCY
Kaitlin Thornton has multiple points in eight games this season. The senior, who has 129 career points (93g, 36a), has produced multiple points in 38 of 60 games in a Towson uniform.
 
HAT TRICK ALERT
After not having a hat trick in her first 34 games at Towson, Kerri Thornton scored three goals in both CAA tournament games. The junior has scored two goals on 11 occasions. She is third on the team with 28 draw controls and is three shy of 100 in her career.
 
STACKING GOALS
Shelby Stack scored her 50th career goal one minute into the season at Mount St. Mary's. She added tallies in 10 other games and has scored at least one goal in 30 of the last 39 games, dating back to the second game of the 2019 season.
 
ROCK SOLID IN THE CAGE
Carly Merlo ranks 27th nationally in save percentage (.459) and is 31st in goals-against average (10.84). The sophomore allowed just 24 goals and made 36 saves in wins over Mount St. Mary's (10-7), UMBC (12-5), Loyola (13-7) and Elon (16-6). She made 21 saves with a .512 save percentage during the CAA tournament.
 
LATE SEASON SURGE
Graduate student Abbe Mona and freshman Hannah Delahaye have provided a spark off the bench the last month. Mona, who scored seven goals against Ohio State last March, has found the back of the net in four of the last seven games. Delahaye, who scored 202 goals at Owen J. Roberts HS, had goals in both CAA tournament games and won a pair of draw controls against both James Madison and Hofstra.
 
THE RANKINGS
A dominating victory over Elon and an overtime loss to top-seeded Drexel in last week's Colonial Athletic Association championship propelled the Towson University women's lacrosse back into the national rankings. The Tigers are No. 20 in the Inside Lacrosse Media poll, released May 10. Towson has been ranked as high as No. 11 in the media poll this season and spent nine consecutive weeks(March 1-April 26) in the IWLCA Division I Coaches Top 25.
 
125 & COUNTING
Sonia LaMonica picked up her 125th victory as a head coach when Towson beat George Mason on April 4. She is now 119-75 (.613) at Towson and won eight games during one season at Mount St. Mary's. In her 11 seasons at the helm, the Tigers won four Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament titles and earned spots in the NCAA Tournament seven times.
 
TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
Blair Pearre and Sami Chenoweth were two of the 66 women's lacrosse 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. Neither player was on the list of 25 finalists.
 
ALL-CAA SELECTIONS
Four members of the Towson women's lacrosse team received Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) honors for the 2021 regular season. Defender Sami Chenoweth, midfielder Blair Pearre and midfielder Lindsey Marshall were named to the All-CAA First Team. Pearre, Marshall and defensive midfielder Olivia Malamphy earned All-Rookie honors. Pearre was selected as the CAA Rookie of the Year.
 
AWARD WINNERS
Towson received six 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 and May 3. 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.
 
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.
 
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, located three miles from Stony Brook's campus, during a five-year stretch between 2014-2018. The six have combined for 60 goals and 18 assists so far this season.
 
Kerri Thornton has scored a pair of goals the last two times Towson played against her hometown team, while her older sister and the Liucci twins all scored goals the last time Towson visited LaValle Stadium on March 5, 2020.
 
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 HS with Seawolves freshman Kristin Quinn. Towson's Emilee Downs and Stony Brook's Lindsay Rongo were teammates at Westhampton HS. The Liucci twins and Kerri Thornton were teammates with Stony Brook's Nicole Rizzo on the 2018 Long Island Top Guns Club lacrosse team.
 
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 second midfield for the Sea Gulls and is on the extra man unit.
 
SPEED DEMONS
Fifteen players have been clocked at speeds of at least 17 miles per hour during a game this season. 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 five times with top speeds against The Mount (17.80), UMBC (17.46), Loyola (18.35), James Madison (18.35) and Elon (18.43). Pearre has led the team three times: versus Georgetown (18.04), the first Drexel game (18.60) and the first Hofstra game (17.76). Marshall was the fastest in two games: the second Hofstra game (18.13) and versus Drexel in the CAA Tournament (17.85). 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).
 
NEW HOME VENUE
The Towson University women's lacrosse team played in the newly-renovated Tiger Field this season. 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
Towson University's 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.
 
Tickets went on sale on May 6 and are available through TicketMaster as well as NCAA.com: 
https://am.ticketmaster.com/towson/ism/TkNBQVdMMjE=#/
 
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.