TOWSON, Md. — The Towson University women's lacrosse team will host Georgetown on Saturday, March 26 at 1 p.m.
The Tigers own the all-time 14-11 edge over the Hoyas and won the most recent meeting on March 13, 2021, 17-14. From 2018-2014 the Black & Gold won five straight meetings.
Records
- Towson — 2-5 (0-0 CAA)
- Georgetown — 5-4 (0-0 BIG EAST)
HEADstrong Foundation Game Hair Havoc
The Game Hair Havoc campaign is in its third season, giving a way for women's lacrosse teams across the country a way to compete against each other while helping families who are fighting cancer.
The campaign will started on Feb. 22 and will run through April 4, is an online fundraising campaign that encourages women's lacrosse players and teams to braid and style their game day hair to raise awareness and funds for the HEADstrong Foundation and families affected by cancer.
Game Hair Havoc is an interactive online fundraiser encouraging student-athletes to STYLE their HAIR and RAISE money to HELP families. Game Hair Havoc was created by former USA lacrosse player Stehpanie Finley while undergoing treatment for cancer. Marketed around Her passion for the game, she believed that game hair was a great way to make a difference while paying tribute to HEADstrong founder Nicholas Colleluori.
If you would like to support the Tigers' efforts you can donate here.
Last Time Out
Towson dropped a 14-8 decision to Vanderbilt on Wednesday afternoon.
The two teams were only separated by three goals (8-5) going into halftime, but a six-goal second half gave the Commodores the edge to secure the 14-8 victory.
Freshman Halley Koras recorded her third consecutive hat trick with goals in the second and fourth quarters. Blair Pearre added two scores while Kerri Liucci, Milana Zizakovic and Kerri Thornton also scored one goal apiece.
The Black & Gold were a perfect 17-for-17 on clears, their third unblemished performance this season. The team in turn held the Commodores to 16-of-23 clear attempts with seven failed clears.
Clearing Success
Towas was a perfect 17-for-17 on clears against Vanderbilt, its third unblemished performance this season.
The Black & Gold have been perfect on clears three times this season against Mount St. Mary's (17-for-17), Loyola (16-for-16) and now Vanderbilt (17-for-17). The team is 104-for-115 on clear attempts through seven games this campaign for a 90.4 percent success rate.
Moving Up
Junior midfielder Blair Pearre is well on her way to making her mark on the program.
The former Under Armour All-American has now scored at least two goals in 26 of 30 games at the collegiate level. She now has 89 career goals and is quickly approaching the program's top 20 scoring list. She is currently ranked No. 21, three scores behind No. 20 Jen DeVos (92). Pearre also surpassed 100 career points against Vanderbilt on Wednesday with two scores for two points.
Pearre also ranks seventh in program history with 121 career draw controls. She is now eighth behind Nikki Marcinik (129).
Schedule Strength
The Tigers have a tough schedule in front of them this spring, as they have eight teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the ILWomen/IWLCA poll on their schedule. Towson fell to then-No. 9 Loyola (Feb. 23), then-No. 10 Michigan (Feb. 27), (RV) Penn State (March 15) and (RV) Vanderbilt. The team has yet to face No. 15 James Madison (March 30), No. 20 Johns Hopkins (April 6), (RV) Drexel (April 9) and (RV) Hofstra (April 16).
First Year Phenoms
Freshmen Halley Koras, Milana Zizakovic and Shannon Sullivan have made an immediate impact in their first years in the Black & Gold.
Koras currently paces the team with 18 goals. Her 18 points also rank third. With three goals against Vanderbilt, the freshman attacker secured her third consecutive hat trick. She has had five multi-goal games this season including four total hat tricks.
Zizakovic is fourth on the team with nine goals. She has scored in five of seven games led by a career-high three goals against Loyola (Feb. 23). She ranks second on the team with 25 draw controls and secured a career high six draws twice this season against Mount St. Mary's (Feb. 12) and Penn State (March 15).
On defense, Sullivan has also been a big addition, recording nine draw controls, five ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Preseason Praise
In late January, the CAA announced Rayna Deltuva and Blair Pearre both received Preseason All-CAA honors while Olivia Malamphy earned honorable mention recognition.
The All-CAA Preseason nod marks the second of Pearre's career while the honor is the first for Deltuva and Malamphy.
In the order of finish, the Tigers were voted to end the season in third place with 26 points. James Madison was picked to finish first in the league with five first place votes and 35 total points. Drexel was slotted to end in second, with two first place votes and 32 points. Rounding out the poll was Hofstra (21), Elon (15), Delaware (10) and William & Mary (8).
The All-CAA teams and order of finish was voted on by the conference's head coaches.
Tewaaraton Award Watch List
Blair Pearre has been named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List for the second consecutive season. The Tewaaraton Foundation made the announcement on Feb. 10.
Since 2001, the Tewaaraton Award has been awarded to the most outstanding American college lacrosse men's and women's players across all three divisions of NCAA lacrosse. The watch list highlights 51 early contenders for the 2021 Tewaaraton Award. Additions to the list will be announced on March 11 and April 1, before the field will be narrowed to 25 men's and 25 women's nominees on April 21. Five men's and five women's finalists will be announced in early May and the Tewaaraton Award recipients will be chosen after the conclusion of the collegiate lacrosse season.
129 & Counting
Head coach Sonia LaMonica picked up her 125th win against George Mason last season (April 4). She ended 2021 with 127 career wins and currently stands with a 121-79 record at Towson.
In the previous 11 seasons with Sonia LaMonica at the helm, the Tigers have earned spots in the NCAA Tournament seven times, most recently last season. Towson has won seven Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament titles since 2005, including four under LaMonica.
Returning Starters
12 of 18 Tigers that started at least one game for the black & gold in the 2021 spring will be returning to the field in 2022.
Towson is retuning plenty of veteran leadership on defense as Rayna Deltuva, Olivia Malamphy and Erin Williams are the only current Tigers that started all 18 games last season.
Oh Captain My Captain!
Rayna Deltuva and Kaitlin Thornton were chosen by the coaching staff to lead the Tigers for this season. The two lone graduate students on the roster also served as captains during the 2021 season as well.
Thornton currently ranks 17th on the all-time goals list with 96. With four more scores she will become the 15th Tiger to score at least 100 goals in program history.
Staying Local
Of the 32-woman roster, a whopping 18 student-athletes call Maryland home. Rayna Deltuva (Manchester), Molly Lynch (Forest Hill), Sara Tyssowski (Finksburg), Paiton and Paige Abbott (Mount Airy), Mia Rehkemper (Catonsville), Jenna DiPeso (Forest Hill), Lindsay Clarke (Parkton), Blair Pearre (Pikesville), Blair Goodrich (Chester), Carly Merlo (Reisterstown), Emily King (Monrovia), Lindsay Posner (Monkton), Lindsey Marshall (Columbia), Halley Koras (Lutherville), Sarah Rhoads (Westminster), Olivia Malamphy (Crofton) and Erin Williams (Parkton) all represent their home state.
Oh, Canada
Two Tigers join the team from our neighbors to the north, Canada as well, in senior Julia Porter and freshman Milana Zizakovic who both hail from the province of Alberta.
Sister Sister
The 2021 squad features three sets of sisters, including two sets of twins. Seniors Kerri and Nicole Liucci as well as sophomores Paiton and Paige Abbott are twins while sisters Kaitlin and Kerri Thornton round out the group.
The Thorntons have combined for 151 goals and 61 assists for 210 points. The Liucci sisters have compiled 44 goals and 14 assists.
Scouting the Hoyas
Georgetown has won three of its last five games, most recently upsetting No. 17 Navy, 13-12. The Hoyas dropped decisions to three ranked opponents earlier in the season, No. 17 Rutgers (17-16), No. 20 Johns Hopkins (16-10), No. 9 Loyola (16-6).
Ali Diamond plays a key role for Georgetown as she paces the team with 17 goals and nine assists for 23 points. The team also has three student-athletes with double-digit draw controls in LizaBanks Campagna (66), Emma Driggs (34) and Jordyn Sabourin (16).
Looking Ahead
The Tigers will open Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play against James Madison on Wednesday, March 30 at 5 p.m.
Tigers in the Community
For the 7th consecutive year, the department exceeded 10,000 hours of community service to the Greater Baltimore region, finishing with 11,162 hours of community service in the 2018-19 academic season. Towson ranked #1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition. Towson had a 97% participation rate, attended 118 community service opportunities and volunteered with 19 organizations. The Tigers won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.
