TOWSON, Md. – The Towson women's lacrosse team fell to Mount St. Mary's in its season opener on Saturday afternoon, 14-11.  

Five Tigers found the back of the net as freshman Halley Koras led the group with a career-best four goals in her first collegiate game. Kaitlin and Kerri Thornton added two goals apiece in addition to Blair Pearre who added two free position goals.  

Rookie Milana Zizakovic also made an immediate impact as she secured six draw controls, two assists and a ground ball.   
 
Records   

• Towson – 0-1 (0-0 CAA)   
• Mount St. Mary's – 1-0 (0-0 NEC)   

How it Happened   

• Towson got off to a hot start, scoring the first two goals of the contest. Kaitlin Thornton found the net for the first score of the spring just 13:31 into action. Top 2021 goal scorer, Pearre followed with her own goal less than three minutes later.  
• The Mount answered but the Tigers stood strong as Koras got her first goal of the game to take the 3-1 edge. Both teams registered one more score before the end of the first 15:00. 
• After an early powerplay goal from Koras, the Mountaineers went on a four-goal run to take their first lead of the game, 6-5. Koras had the answer once again as she secured the hattrick in her first collegiate game with just over 3:00 to play in the first half.  
• Mount St. Mary's added two more goals before the end of the second quarter to amass a game-high six goals in the span. The explosive performance gave the Mount the slight 8-7 into halftime.  
• To begin the third, the teams traded goals, going two-for-two. Gabby Garrett made a great move in front of the net to score her third career goal. Kerri Thornton added one more for the Tigers to keep the game within one point going into the fourth quarter. 
• Following a string of green cards for the Tigers, the Mountaineers started off the final 15:00 with two goals to take the 12-9 edge. Pearre cashed in on her second free position goal of the day to give her team its 10th goal and put the score within two points. 
• Koras contributed one more score off a feed from Zizakovic to get her to a team-high four points. The effort wasn't enough as Mount St. Mary's scored twice more to end the game with the 14-11 victory.  

Inside the Numbers    

• With the win, Mount St. Mary's secured its first ever program win over Towson siince they teams first met in 2000. The Tigers still own the 6-1 all-time edge.  
• Five Tigers registered a multi-point game in Koras (4), Pearre (3), Kaitlin Thornton (3), Zizakovic (2) and Kerri Thornton (2). Garrett and Paige Abbott also earn one point each. Rookies Koras and Zizakovic accounted for six of Towson's 16 total points.  
• Pearre and Erin Williams led the squad with two caused turnovers a piece while Jenna DiPeso paced the team with two ground balls.  
• Sara Tyssowsk played the majority of the contest in the cage, totaling eight saves. Carly Merlo replaced her in net for the final quarter to tally one save.  
• Towson was a perfect 17-17 on clear attempts, picking up where they left off last season as they were 15th ranked clearing unit in the nation.  
• Both teams were perfect on man-up opportunities, as the Tigers went 2-0 and the Mountaineers went 3-0.  
• The Mount won the draw control battle in the first half, 12-5 but the Tigers bounced back in the second to only trail by one, 6-5. Three different Tigers in Kerri Thornton, Blair Goodrich and Hannah Delahaye stepped in the circle to attempt the draw for the Black & Gold. Zizakovic also secured a career-high six draw controls.  

Next Game   
 
After a week off, the Tigers will make the short trip on Wednesday, Feb. 23 to face No. 10 Loyola at 3 p.m. The team will play one more game in the month of February as they return to Tiger Field to welcome No. 23 Michigan on Feb. 27 at 1 p.m.