PHILADELPHIA — The top-seeded Towson University women's lacrosse team will face No. 2 (RV) Drexel in its first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship game since 2018 on Sunday, May 8 at 12 p.m.
The Tigers own the 37-6 all-time edge over the Dragons. The Black & Gold won the last meeting between the two teams in dramatic fashion, as Kerri Liucci scored in the first overtime period to give her squad the 16-15 victory in extra time on Senior Day.
Records
- Towson — 9-7 (5-1 CAA)
- Delaware — 11-7 (4-2 CAA)
Last Time Out
Towson punched its ticket to the 2022 CAA Championships with a 12-8 victory over No. 4 Delaware on Friday, May 6.
The contest was close through the first half of the action in very rainy conditions. The score wasn't separated by more than a goal in the first two quarters. The Blue Hens took an 8-6 lead to start the third, but the Tiger rallied, scoring six unanswered goals to come out with the 12-8 victory.
Blair Pearre led the way for Towson with five goals and an assist for six points. Kerri Thornton secured seventh hat trick of the season in addition to an assist for a total of four points.
The defense held Delaware scoreless for the final 25:51 of the game. Nicole Liucci led the unit with two caused turnovers while Olivia Malamphy paced the team with four ground balls.
Tigers in the CAA Title Game
This will be Towson's 11th CAA Championship game in program history. The team's last trip to the title game was in 2018 when the team fell to James Madison, 16-10. The Tigers still went onto the second round of the NCAA Tournament that same season.
Sonia LaMonica has been to the CAA Championship game eight times, including six straight appearances from 2011-2016.
Towson has won seven CAA tournament titles since its first in 2005, including four under LaMonica. The team won three consecutive titles in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The team was most recently crowded CAA Champions in 2016, defeating James Madison 14-6.
2021 CAA Tournament Recap
After defeating Elon in the opening round, 16-6, Towson dropped a heartbreaker to Drexel in overtime of the semifinals, 16-15.
A 4-0 run gave Towson a 14-11 lead on Blair Pearre's fifth goal of the game with exactly 11 minutes remaining. Drexel battled back to tie it and force overtime. Two of the three goals were scored with Towson serving a penalty.
To begin the overtime period, the Tigers were charged with delay of game and the Dragons were given possession. After a yellow card gave Drexel a two-man advantage, the opposition scored the golden goal on a free-position goal to send the Dragons to the championship game.
CAA Postseason Honors
The CAA announced 2022 Postseason honors Thursday morning before the start of championship weekend.
Head coach Sonia LaMonica earned her fifth CAA Coach of the Year award. Blair Pearre, Kerri Thornton and Olivia Malamphy were all named First Team All-CAA. Erin Williams and Milana Zizakovic were selected to the All-CAA Second Team. Zizakovic, Halley Koras and Shannon Sullivan all earned spots on the CAA All-Rookie Team.
Moving Up
Junior midfielder Blair Pearre continues to make her mark on the program.
Pearre became the 15th player in program history to reach 100 goals with seven scores against Elon (April 2) to tie her career high. With five scores against Delaware in the CAA Semifinals, she remains 12th on the top 20 scoring list with 117 career goals. She is now five scores behind Andi Raymond (122).
The former Under Armour All-American now has 24 career hat tricks and has scored at least two goals in 33 of 39 games at the collegiate level.
With four draw controls on Friday, Pearre now has 164 career draw controls to remain fifth in program history, four behind Becky Trumbo (168).
Reaching Triple Digits
Kaitlin Thornton made history against Drexel, becoming the 16th Tiger in program history to score 100 career goals.
She currently ranks 15th place on the top 20 scoring list with 102 career goals.
Clearing Success
Towson has been efficient on clearing attempts this season. The Black & Gold have now stayed flawless in five outings through 13 contests:
- Mount St. Mary's (17-for-17)
- Loyola (16-for-16)
- Vanderbilt (17-for-17)
- Johns Hopkins (17-for-17)
- Drexel (19-for-19)
The team is 262-of-295 on clear attempts through 16 games for an 88.8 percent success rate to rank 29th in the country
Schedule Strength
The Tigers have played nine teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the ILWomen/IWLCA poll this season. Towson has fallen to then-No. 9 Loyola (Feb. 23), then-No. 10 Michigan (Feb. 27), (RV) Penn State (March 15), (RV) Vanderbilt (March 21), No. 12 James Madison (March 30), No. 22 Johns Hopkins (April 6).. The Tigers defeated Georgetown (March 26) Saint Joseph's (March 5) and (RV) Drexel (April 9, who received votes in the weeks after meeting head-to-head.
First Year Phenoms
Freshmen Halley Koras, Milana Zizakovic and Shannon Sullivan made immediate impacts in their first years in the Black & Gold. The three freshmen have earned a collective five CAA Rooke of the Week awards, more than any other team in the league. All three also earned All-CAA Rookie honors.
Koras is currently third on the team with 25 goals and fourth with 27 points. She had eight multi-goal games in the regular season including four hat tricks.
Zizakovic is fifth on the team in goals (19) and tied for second in assists (8). She ranks second on the team with 51 draw controls, securing a career high of seven draws against Georgetown.
On defense, Sullivan ranks top-5 in three categories: ground balls (27-4th), draw controls (22-4th), and caused turnovers (9-5th).
136 & Counting
After picking up her 125th win against George Mason last season, head coach Sonia LaMonica recently earned her 135th win against Delaware (April 30). She currently stands with a 128-83 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 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.
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 183 goals and 69 assists for 252 points. The Liucci sisters have compiled 54 goals and 16 assists for 70 points.
Tewaaraton Award Watch List
Blair Pearre was named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List for the second consecutive season.
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. 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.
Preseason Praise
Rayna Deltuva and Blair Pearre both received Preseason All-CAA honors while Olivia Malamphy earned honorable mention recognition.
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.
Scouting The Dragons
No. 2 Drexel defeated No. 3 Hofstra in the later CAA Semifinal game on Friday night, 18-12. The Dragons scored four unanswered goals in the final five minutes of play to rally for the win. Karson Harris and Colleen Grady paced the team with three scores and an assist each. Harris also added four draw controls.
Harris leads Drexel with 60 goals and 68 total points. Corinne Bednarik also plays a key role with 26 assists and 88 draw controls. Belle McHugh heads up the Dragons' defensive unit with 40 ground balls and 26 caused turnovers.
Looking Ahead
After the CAA Championship game, the team will await their NCAA Tournament fate. The selection show will be streamed on ESPNU on Sunday, May 8 at 9 p.m.
