HARRISONBURG, Va. – In a game that featured seven ties and five lead changes, the Towson University women's lacrosse team lost a 15-14 overtime decision to top-seeded Drexel in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) semifinals at Sentara Park on Friday evening.
 
A 4-0 run gave Towson a 14-11 lead on Blair Pearre's fifth goal of the game with exactly 11 minutes remaining. Drexel battled back to tie it and force overtime. Two of the three goals were scored with Towson serving a penalty.
 
Towson was called for delay of game to begin the extra period, giving the Dragons possession. After a yellow card gave Drexel a two-man advantage, Courtney Dietzel scored on a free-position goal to send Drexel to the championship game.
 
"That one was a tough one to swallow," Towson head coach Sonia LaMonica said. "The team fought really hard and put together a solid effort. I am proud of how they competed, but ultimately some costly errors late in the game put us in a tough spot."
 
Pearre, who was injured battling for draw with 6:46 remaining, scored a game-high five goals and added an assist. Nikki Sliwak tied a career-high with four assists and added a goal. Kerri Thornton and Lindsey Marshall each had hat tricks. Marshall added six draw controls.
 
On the defensive end, Carly Merlo had a career-high 13 saves, while Sami Chenoweth scooped up four groundballs.
 
"It was a really great battle. Both teams played well," added LaMonica. "I thought Carly was outstanding tonight. It was an exciting playoff game. It is always heartbreaking to come up on the short end."
 
Coming off a dominating 16-6 victory over Elon in the opening round on Wednesday, Towson went toe-to-toe with the #10/#8 Dragons. After Drexel took a 4-2 lead, the Tigers scored the next four goals, including a pair by Thornton to give Towson a 6-4 advantage.
 
Drexel answered and took a 9-8 lead into halftime.
 
The second half was a seesaw affair with the teams exchanging the first four goals after the break. With Drexel leading 11-10, Towson went on a 4-0 run over the next 7:29 with Pearre scoring three times.
 
Drexel rallied to score three times in a one-minute span to tie the game at 14 with 6:46 to play. Both teams had chances to win it in regulation, including a shot by Sliwak that hit the crossbar with 4:16 to play. Merlo made a pair of saves down the stretch.
 
Lightning in the Harrisonburg area delayed the start of the game by 75 minutes.
 
Records: 

• Towson – 9-8
• Drexel  – 13-1

How it Happened: 

• Trailing 1-0, graduate students Shelby Stack and Abbe Mona connected to tie the score. Stack inverted behind the cage and fed Mona, who went low. Five of her six goals this season were against Drexel.
• Down 3-1, Pearre penetrated the Drexel zone and found a cutting Kerri Thornton to narrow the gap to 3-2 with 21:14 remaining.
• Merlo had four saves in the first 11 minutes of the game to keep things close.
• With the score 4-2, Towson scored four straight over an 8:35 period to take its first lead. Pearre got things started with her 30^th free-position goal of the season. Sliwak found Thornton for back-to-back goals to tie it and give the Tigers a 5-4 lead. Both times Sliwak threaded the needle with Thornton making terrific catches in traffic before finishing.
• Marshall put Towson up by two with a free-position goal at the 10:10 mark.
• After Drexel tied the score, freshman Hannah Delahaye ripped a free-position shot low to give Towson its last lead of the half.
• Drexel went on a 3-0 run to lead 9-7 before Sliwak found Marshall, who scored via quick stick with 14 seconds remaining on the clock, giving Towson some momentum heading into halftime.
• Merlo ended the opening 20 minutes with seven saves.
• One minute into the second half, Pearre tied the game at 10-all with her second free-position score. Twelve times this season, she has had multiple FP tallies.
• Drexel went up 10-9 but Sliwak answered with a crease roll goal, beating the keeper high to tie the score for the fifth time.
• Thirty-three seconds later, the Dragons went back ahead before Towson went on its second 4-0 run of the game.
• Pearre scored three of the four goals. She tied the game at 11-all with a beautiful stutter-step move then put Towson up 12-11 off a feed from Sliwak. Marshall gave the Tigers a 13-11 advantage with a free-position goal. Pearre ended the run with another unassisted goal.
• The score remained 14-11 for more than three minutes before Drexel scored three times in one minute to tie it at 14.
• After Drexel made it 14-all, Pearre was injured on the ensuing draw and did not return.
• Over the final 6:46 of regulation, Marshall, Sliwak, Mona each had chances to put the Tigers back on top, while Merlo denied Drexel twice in the final minutes.
• With 1:33 remaining after a successful clear, Towson called a timeout to set up the final possession. Marshall's shot was wide with 25 seconds to play and the game went to overtime.
• The Tigers were assessed a Green Card to begin OT then Drexel had a two-man advantage 40 seconds later after a Yellow Card. Dietzel scored the game-winner via free-position.

Key Stats:

• Towson is now 0-7 this season when trailing at halftime.
• Merlo's previous career-best was 12 saves against Loyola in February 2020. She had 11 saves in three games this season: Temple, Georgetown and St. Joseph's.

Inside the Numbers: 

• Pearre has scored at least two goals in 15 of the 17 games this season. Today was her 11^th hat trick and fifth time she has scored at least five times. The former Under Armour All-American leads Towson in goals (58), points (66) and groundballs (33) and is second in draw controls (68). She now has 31 free-position goals and ranks second nationally, averaging 1.82 free-position goals per game. The 58-goal season ranks seventh best in the 45-year history of Towson women's lacrosse.
• Marshall recorded her sixth hat trick of the season and won at least five draws for the 13^th time. Her 94 draw control wins is the second most in a single-season - trailing only Hillary Fratzke who won 107 in 2006.
• Sliwak also had four assists against George Mason on February 28. She is the only Tiger to have a point in all 17 games this season. The graduate student ranks second on the team with 52 points (30g, 22a).
• After 34 games without a hat trick, Thornton has produced back-to-back three goal games. Prior to the CAA Tournament, she scored two goals on 11 occasions.

Next Game: 
Towson will learn if it is one of the 14 at-large teams to receive a bid into the NCAA Tournament during the Selection Show on Sunday, May 9 at 9 p.m. The Tigers spent nine consecutive weeks (March 1-April 26). ranked in the IWLCA Division I Coaches Top 25 poll and were ranked as high as No. 11 in the Women's Division I Inside Lacrosse Media Top 20 poll (March 8).