TOWSON, Md. — The Towson University women's lacrosse team will host its first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) home game of the season against Elon on Saturday, April 2 at 12 p.m.
The Tigers own the 8-1 all-time edge over the Phoenix and have won the last four contests. The team's only loss came in the 2017 CAA Tournament with a 10-9 overtime decision.
Records
- Towson — 3-6 (0-1 CAA)
- Elon — 5-6 (1-0 CAA)
Alumni Appreciation Day
Towson will be celebrating its Alumni Appreciation game against Elon, welcoming back over 30 alumni of the program.
The Black & Gold will also be honoring the 2005 CAA Championship team during halftime. The team was the first of 11 Tiger squads to win the conference and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Last Time Out
Towson fell in its conference opener to No. 12 James Madison on Wednesday evening, 14-8.
The teams kept it close through the first half as the Dukes led by just two goals after the first 30 minutes. JMU took over in the second half though, outscoring the Tigers 6-2 to come out with the win.
Paige Abbott scored the first two goals of her collegiate career in the outing while Gabby Garrett and Halley Koras added two scores apiece. Kerri Thornton and Kerri Liucci also scored in the outing.
Blair Goodrich had an exceptional day on defense, setting career bests with three ground balls, three caused turnovers and two draw controls.
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 32 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 a score 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 126 career draw controls. She is now three behind Nikki Marcinik (129).
Clearing Success
Towson has been exceptional 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 failed just one clear in their most recent outing against James Madison, going 19-20.
The team is 139-for-157 on clear attempts through seven games for an 88.5 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), (RV) Vanderbilt and No. 12 James Madison. This past weekend the Tigers defeated Georgetown, who is now receiving votes.
The team has yet to face 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 20 goals. She has had six multi-goal games this season including four total hat tricks.
Zizakovic is fifth on the team with nine goals and tied for third with four assists. She ranks second on the team with 34 draw controls, securing a career high of seven draws against Georgetown.
On defense, Sullivan has recorded nine draw controls, grabbed eight ground balls and caused three 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 again 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 122-82 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 155 goals and 63 assists for 218 points. The Liucci sisters have compiled 48 goals and 14 assists.
Scouting the Phoenix
Elon has won three of its last five games, most recently defeating league foe William & Mary, 17-12.
Gillian Curry plays a huge role in the Phoenix's offense as she paces the team with 27 goals and 15 assists for 42 points. She also leads the squad with 62 draw controls. Kailee Follete leads the squad with 19 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers.
Looking Ahead
Towson will play its final nonconference contest of the season against No. 20 Johns Hopkins on Wednesday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. The team will then get back into CAA play, hosting Drexel on April 9 for Senior Day. The game will also be streamed on LSN.
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.
