TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's lacrosse team used a 7-0 third quarter run and a career-best seven goals from junior Blair Pearre to earn its first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) victory of the season, beating Elon 20-8 at Tiger Field on Saturday afternoon.
 
Pearre, who also had seven goals versus William and Mary on April 10, 2021, became the 15^th player in program history to score 100 goals when she tallied with 10:30 remaining to make the score 15-5.
The former Under Armour All-American has 20 career hat tricks and has scored at least two goals in 28 of 33 games at the collegiate level.
 
"We knew Blair was an impact player from day one," head coach Sonia LaMonica said. "When she sets her mind to something, things happen."
 
Kerri Thornton had her fourth hat trick of the season and added an assist, while Gabby Garrett scored a goal and had a career-best three assists. Ten Tigers scored goals and 11 produced points. All 27 players who dressed received playing time.
 
The Towson defense held Elon scoreless for 19:31, including the entire third quarter. Starting goalie Carly Merlo made seven saves, while starting defenders Olivia Malamphy, Erin Williams, Blair Goodrich and Shannon Sullivan as well as defensive midfielder Nicole Liucci combined for nine ground balls and five caused turnovers. Gillian Curran, who leads Elon in goals and assists, did not have a point.
 
Thornton scored a pair of first quarter goals to give Towson an early 2-0 lead, but Elon tied it up after 15 minutes.
 
Pearre gave the Tigers the lead for good at 3-2 with an unassisted goal with 13:16 remaining in the half. She scored again off a Garrett feed with 5:08 remaining for a 5-3 advantage. Then with the score 5-4, Pearre picked up a loose ball after an Elon turnover and went coast-to-coast beating Elon keeper Paige Brown with 19.4 seconds left in the half for a 6-4 halftime lead.
 
"That was a huge momentum changer," added LaMonica. "Blair plays awesome defense. She is a true two-way midfielder. She makes plays on both ends of the field."
 
The Tigers jumped on Elon early in the third quarter. Milana Zizakovic scored on a free-position goal 66 seconds into the half then 52 seconds later fed fellow freshman Halley Koras on the doorstep to double the lead at 8-4 less than two minutes gone on the clock.
 
Pearre scored back-to-back goals to extend the lead to 10-4 with 9:14 remaining. Garrett, Thornton and Koras found the back of the net during the quarter for a 13-4 lead after three quarters.
 
In the final period, Pearre scored two more goals in the first four and a half minutes of play. The second was from free-position giving her 100 career goals with 48 coming via free-position.
 
LaMonica then began to empty her bench. In the final 5:12 of the game, freshman Mia Rehkemper scored twice, while Kamryn McNeal and Riley Brogan had their first career goals.
 
Towson welcomed back more than 30 former players Saturday and honored the 2005 CAA championship team at halftime. Led by Towson Athletics Hall of Famers Becky Trumbo and Shannon Witzel, the '05 squad was the first of 11 Towson teams to earn a spot in the NCAA Division I tournament.
 
"We hit it out of the park in the third quarter," said LaMonica. "It was great seeing everyone step up. Blair had a monster game, but I am so proud of our defense. We focused on being more disciplined. Overall, we did a good job. There was a lot of Tiger pride today with so many former players here."
 
Records: 

• Towson – 4-6 (1-1 CAA)
• Elon – 5-7 (1-1 CAA)

How it Happened: 

• Garrett found Kerri Thornton to give Towson an early 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
• With 4:18 left in the opening quarter, Thornton scored on a free position to make it 2-0.
• After Elon tied it at 2-all at the end of the first quarter. Pearre put Towson back on top for good with a great individual effort. She weaved through the defense and scored left-handed at the 13:16 mark.
• Lindsay Clarke gave the Tigers a two-goal lead with a free-position score.
• With the score 4-3, Garrett fed Pearre to give the Tigers a two-goal cushion with 5:08 remaining in the opening half.
• Elon made it a one-goal game at 5-4 and had the ball looking to hold it for one last shot. But Pearre grabbed a loose ball and went coast-to-coast, scoring with 19.4 seconds left on the clock giving Towson a 6-4 halftime lead.
• Zizakovic scored on a free-position goal 66 seconds into the half then 52 seconds later fed Koras on the doorstep to double the lead at 8-4 less than two minutes gone on the clock.
• Pearre scored twice in 60 seconds to push it to 10-4. The first was an unassisted goal when Towson was down a player. Then she finished a feed from Thornton.
• Garrett upped the lead to 11-4 with a nifty crease roll, left-handed score at the 5:17 mark.
• Thornton finished her hat trick two and a half minutes later with her second free-position goal of the game.
• With 1:59 left in the third quarter, Clarke found Koras on the doorstep to make it 13-4 after 45 minutes of action.
• Less than 30 seconds after Elon stopped the 8-0 run, Garrett connected with Pearre for the second time. It was 14-5 with 12:07 left on the clock.
• Pearre scored her seventh of the day and 100^th of her career with a free-position goal with 10:30 on the clock. Forty-eight of her goals are via free-position.
• Elon scored three straight goals to cut the lead to 15-8.
• Towson scored the last five goals of the game. First Brogan assisted McNeal at the 5:12 mark. Forty-three seconds later, Rehkemper scored the Tigers sixth free-position goal. Kaitlin Thornton then assisted Hannah Delahaye and Rehkemper for a 19-8 lead. Brogan scored unassisted with 15 seconds remaining for the final margin.

Key Stats:

• Pearre leads Towson in five categories: goals (28), points (31), draw controls (43), ground balls (22) and caused turnovers (13).
• Pearre, who entered the game with 93 goals, passed four players on the all-time scoring list today: Amy Middleton (95), Britt Woodfield (96), Kaitlin Thornton (97) and Nancy Etzel (98). Just ahead of her are Kim Wilson (101), Kathleen Stout (104) and Amy Buck (106). Pearre averages 3.03 goals per game.

Inside the Numbers: 

• Towson scored six free-position goals for the second time this season. The Tigers were also 6-of-8 from 8-meters versus Loyola.
• In Towson's four win, opponents have scored just 35 goals.
• Towson was 18-of-22 on clears and is now 157-of-179 (88.7%) on the season.
• The Thornton sisters had six points today, increasing their combined number to 224 (158 goals, 66 assists).
• Koras has multiple goals in seven of her 10 collegiate games.
• Delahaye established a new career-high with three draw controls.
• Sullivan set new career marks in ground balls (4) and caused turnovers (3).

Next Game: 
Towson will host two games next week. On Wednesday, April 6, No. 20 Johns Hopkins will visit Tiger Field and Saturday, April 9, the Tigers will welcome CAA foe Drexel.