HARRISONBURG, Va. — The Towson University women's lacrosse team is set to open Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) at James Madison on March 30 at 5 p.m.
The Dukes own the 30-13 all-time edge against the Tigers and have come out on top in the last five meetings. Towson's last win over JMU came in the 2016 CAA Championship game when the team won 14-6 to win their seventh conference title.
Records
- Towson — 3-5 (0-0 CAA)
- James Madison — 6-4 (0-0 CAA)
Last Time Out
With a career-high 16 saves, Goalkeeper Carly Merlo helped to power Towson to a 11-7 win over Georgetown on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers never trailed in the contest, staying in front for all but 1:35 of action.
Blair Pearre led the team with four goals while Kerri Liucci recorded a season-high of three goals. Kerri Thornton also secured two goals while Kaitlin Thornton and Gabby Garrett added a score each.
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 27 of 31 games at the collegiate level. She now has 93 career goals to crack the program's top 20 scoring list at No. 19, tied with Jess Dunn.
With her first goal in six games against Georgetown, Kaitlin Thornton also moved up to take sole possession of 16th place on the all-time top 20 scoring list with 97 goals.
Pearre also ranks seventh in program history with 122 career draw controls. She is now seven behind Nikki Marcinik (129).
Clearing Success
Towson has been exceptonal on clear 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 120-for-137 on clear attempts through seven games for a 87.6 percent success rate.
Reaching Triple Digits
With 97 career goals, Kaitlin Thornton is just three scores away from becoming the 15th Tiger to reach the century mark in program history. Blair Pearre follows closely behind with 93 career goals.
With 104 career points, Pearre is just one of two active Tigers, along with Kaitlin Thornton (136) to surpass the century mark.
Schedule Strength
The Tigers have a tough schedule 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. This past weekend the Tigers defeated Georgetown, who is now receiving votes.
The team has yet to face No. 12 James Madison (March 30), No. 20 Johns Hopkins (April 6) and (RV) Drexel (April 9).
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 is currently tied for second on the team with 18 goals. She has had five multi-goal games this season including four total hat tricks.
Zizakovic is tied for fourth on the team with nine goals. She has scored in in all but three games this season with a career-high three goals against Loyola. She ranks second on the team with 32 draw controls, securing a career high seven draws against Georgetown.
On defense, Sullivan has recorded nine draw controls, grabbed six ground balls and caused two 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.
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 was 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 were announced on March 11 and agaiin 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.
130 & Counting
After picking up her 125th win against George Mason last season, head coach Sonia LaMonica recently earned her 130th win against Georgetown (March 26). She ended 2021 with 127 career wins and currently stands with a 122-81 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.
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 16th on the all-time goals list with 97. With three 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 2022 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 154 goals and 61 assists for 217 points. The Liucci sisters have compiled 47 goals and 14 assists.
Scouting the Dukes
James Madison has won its past three games, all over ranked opponents beating No. 19 Richmond (3-10), No. Virginia (16-14) and No. 3 Maryland (13-8).
Isabella Peterson paces JMU with 35 goals and 42 points. Rachel Matey has also been a key contributor for the team with 47 draw controls. Peterson follows closely behind with 46 draws. In goal, Molly Dougherty has also been solid in net with 85 total stops and a 46.7 save percentage.
Looking Ahead
The Tigers will continue CAA play as they host Elon on Saturday April 2 at 12 p.m., the first of three straight home games at Tiger Field. The team will also celebrate their Alumni Appreciation game.
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.
