TOWSON, Md. –  The Towson University women's lacrosse team outscored Arizona State 8-1 in the third quarter to earns its third victory in four games downing the Sun Devils 17-10 at Tiger Field on Sunday. The Tigers (3-1) trailed 8-7 at the half before exploding in the third quarter – scoring eight goals on 14 shots.
 
Milana Zizakovic scored a career-high five goals, Blair Pearre added a season-best five goals and moved into the top 10 on the all-time goal scoring list and Lindsay Clarke had a career-best five assists to lead the way. Lindsey Marshall won nine draw controls, including four during the pivotal third quarter.
 
"We talked at halftime about taking control of the game," Towson head coach Sonia LaMonica said. "It was a mental shift. Lindsey Marshall gets the first draw, we score and that set the tone. We did a better job of converting when we had those possessions."
 
With the score tied at 9-all, Towson went on a 6-0 run to end the third quarter and added another goal 20 seconds into the final frame to break open a close game.
 
Pearre scored twice in the first half to tie Nikki Marcinik (125 goals) for 10^th place on the all-time scoring list, but the Tigers trailed 9-8 at halftime. The half featured seven ties and eight lead changes. The senior produced her 26^th career hat trick (in 44 games) on a goal that gave Towson a 9-8 advantage to pass Marcinik. With the scored tied at 9-all, the former Under Armour All-American gave the Tigers the lead for good. She added her fifth goal early in the fourth quarter to tie former teammate Carly Tellekamp (128) on the all-time goals list.
 
"She is a catalyst," LaMonica added. "She's got a winning mindset. Blair will not shy away from anything. She loves pressure situations and that showed again today."
 
Zizakovic, a sophomore from outside Calgary, also scored five goals. The sophomore from outside Calgary leads Towson in points with 12 goals and three assists. She had hat tricks against Mount St. Mary's and Georgetown to begin the season.
 
"She started to figure out the off-ball movement," LaMonica said. "One of the big keys we talked about at halftime was two-pass off a dodge. When we do that, we make it easy on ourselves. That opens up a lot. The seven players on offense are all capable of being a threat to score."
 
Clarke assisted on two of Zizakovic's goals, both in the third quarter. The junior from nearby Hereford High School was involved in five (1g, 4a) of the eight goals in the third quarter. Her previous career-high in assists was four in a win over UMBC last season.
 
The Towson defense held ASU allowed just two second half goals and forced six turnovers. Blair Goodrich led the way by forcing a career-high by four.
 
"We made it really difficult for ASU to find good looks in the second half," LaMonica said. "That confidence was important coming off the loss to Loyola."
 
Records: 

• Towson – 3-1
• Arizona State – 1-2

 
How it Happened: 

• Pearre opened the game with an unassisted goal just 36 seconds into the game.
• After ASU scored back-to-back goals, Zizakovic scored her first on a free-position goal to tie the score at 2-all with 5:14 left in the opening quarter.
• Clarke notched her first assist of the day – finding a cutting Halley Koras to give Towson a 3-2 lead.
• The Sun Devils scored twice in the last 1:18 of the opening quarter to take a 4-3 lead after 15 minutes of play.
• Zizakovic tied things up just 67 second into the second quarter with an unassisted goal.
• Marshall scored off a Gabby Garrett feed at the 12:26 mark to put the Tigers up 5-4.
• After ASU countered to tie things up, Pearre scored unassisted to make it 6-5 Towson.
• Arizona State scored back-to-back goals to take a 7-6 lead.
• Mia Rehkemper tied things up at 7-all with a free position score at the 5:32 mark.
• ASU took its last lead on a goal with 1:53 left into the half.
• After Marshall won the opening draw of the second half, Clarke weaved her way through the Sun Devils defense to tie the score at 8-all.
• After another draw control win, Pearre scored unassisted for a 9-8 advantage.
• Arizona State converted a failed clear to tie the score at 9-all with 11:15 remaining in the third quarter.
• Garrett connected with Pearre to give Towson the lead for good at the 10:14 mark.
• Then Clarke assisted four of the next five goals as Towson seized control. First, she found Koras, who scored with a quick stick at the 7:34 mark. On the next possession, she fed freshman Luca DeMaio, who rifled one home. Zizakovic scored unassisted to complete a hat trick at the 3:43 mark. Exactly one minute later, Clarke found a cutting Zizakovic. The pair duplicated the feat with 51.8 seconds remaining for a 15-9 lead after 45 minutes of play.
• Pearre scored her fifth goal with another unassisted goal just 20 seconds into the final frame.
• After being held scoreless for almost 15 minutes, ASU stopped the run with a goal at the 11:43 mark. They would not sure again.
• Marshall scored her second goal of the game with 2:06 remaining to cap the scoring.

 
 
Inside the Numbers: 

• In addition to 26 career hat tricks in 44 games, Pearre has scored at least two goals on nine other occasions.
• Marshall had nine draw controls for the second time this season, one shy of her career-best versus William & Mary during her freshman campaign.
• Goodrich also had four caused turnovers in the season opening with over The Mount. She leads the Tigers with 14 caused turnovers this season, seven more than any other player. She also had a team-high three ground balls.
• This was the first meeting between the schools. ASU started its women's lacrosse program in 2018.

 
Key Stats:

• Towson converted all 17-of-19 clear attempts.

Next Game: 
Towson will head to Philadelphia to play St. Joseph's on Wednesday March 1 at 4 p.m.