When: Saturday, April 15, 2023
Where: Tiger Field | Towson, Md.
Time: Saturday- 2:30 p.m.
Team Records: Towson (9-3, 4-0 CAA) vs. Monmouth (8-6, 2-2 CAA)
Stream: FloLive ($)
Series: Towson Leads 5-0
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's lacrosse team hosts newcomers Monmouth on Saturday afternoon for Senior Day.
The Black & Gold faced off against William & Mary last Saturday and defeated the Tribe 13-10 with
Lindsey Marshall scoring four goals with
Milana Zizakovic adding four points.
Heading into her 13th season at Towson
Sonia LaMonica and the Tigers have won 137 games and earned spots in the NCAA Tournament seven times, most recently in 2021. Towson has won seven Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament titles since 2005, including four under LaMonica.
Instant Impact
Junior goalkeeper
Jo Torres was selected as the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Defensive Player of the Week. In her Towson debut, Torres made 12 saves as the Tigers defeated the Mount 11-4 in the season opener. The junior from Prince Frederick, Maryland, totaled a 75% save percentage on Saturday. Four goals are the fewest amount of goals allowed by Towson in a season opener since 2016. Torres made seven saves in the second half while only allowing one goal. She also added three ground balls. She ranks fourth in the CAA in save percentage (43.7%) and fourth in goals against average (10.32). Torres also ranks third in the conference in total saves with 93.
Oh Captain My Captain!
Blair Pearre and
Gabby Garrett were selected as team captains for the 2023 season. This is the first time that both seniors have been selected as captains.
Hard Mode Activated
The Tigers have a tough schedule ahead of them this season. Towson plays three teams that are currently in the IWCLA Poll, including two top-ten opponents. The Tigers hosted #11 Loyola on Feb. 22nd in Towson's home opener. Towson played #18 Penn State and dropped a tight contest. The Black & Gold will host #7 Stony Brook on April 22nd. Towson plays seven teams that made the NCAA tournament last year: Mount St. Mary's, #11 Loyola, Saint Joseph's, Central Michigan, Drexel, RV Johns Hopkins and #6 Stony Brook.
Preseason Accolades
In late January, the CAA announced that
Jo Torres and
Blair Pearre both received Preseason All-CAA honors in addition to an honorable mention for
Olivia Malamphy,
Lindsay Clarke and
Milana Zizakovic. The All-CAA Preseason honor marks the third of Pearre's career while Torres earns her first in the CAA.
In the order of finish, the Tigers were voted to end the season in second place with 43 points. Stony Brook was picked to finish first in the league, receiving seven first-place votes and 49 total points. Defending champion Drexel was picked third, then Hofstra, Delaware, Monmouth, Elon and William & Mary in descending order. The All-CAA teams and order of finish were voted on by the conference's head coaches.
Fast Start
The Tigers are off to a 4-0 start in CAA play for the first time since the 2018 season when the Black & Gold started 5-0 in conference play. The Tigers are scoring 12.8 goals a game while allowing only 9.5 goals per game.
Lindsey Marshall leads the team in CAA play with 13 goals while
Milana Zizakovic has totaled 12 goals and tallied three assists each to lead Towson.
Gabby Garrett leads the team in assists with nine while
Blair Pearre has added eight goals.
Jo Torres has registered a .462 save percentage while allowing only 8.94 goals per game.
Fresh Faces
Sonia LaMonica beings in a class of ten freshmen to Towson for the upcoming 2023 season. She brought in
Savannah Safchuck (midfield),
Valerie Thompson (midfield),
Rory Turner (goalkeeper),
Luca DeMaio (midfield),
Emma Baker (midfield),
Hannah Glawe (defense),
Meghan Hoskins (attack),
Molly Jacobson (midfield),
Ocea Leavy (midfield) and
Jessica Lampasone (defense).
Transferring In
The coaching staff added one transfer this season in goalkeeper
Jo Torres from Navy. Torres comes to Towson after two seasons at Navy, where she was named Second Team All-Patriot League last season after recording 155 saves across 20 games. The Prince Frederick, Maryland native registered a 47.7% save percentage, which ranked 17th in the nation and had a 9.12 GAA, eighth best in the NCAA. Torres accumulated double-digit saves in six contests, including a season-high 14 against Saint Joseph's.
Staying Home
The 2023 squad has 16 student-athletes that call Maryland home.
Savannah Safchuck (Towson),
Valerie Thompson (Sykesville), Paiton and
Paige Abbott (Mount Airy),
Mia Rehkemper (Catonsville),
Jenna DiPeso (Forest Hill),
Lindsay Clarke (Parkton),
Blair Pearre (Pikesville),
Blair Goodrich (Chester),
Emily King (Monrovia),
Lindsay Posner (Monkton),
Hannah Glawe (Frederick),
Meghan Hoskins (Towson),
Lindsey Marshall (Columbia),
Halley Koras (Lutherville) and
Olivia Malamphy (Crofton) all represent their home state.
O Canada
Milana Zizakovic represented Canada in the Super Sixes Event last October. The sophomore midfielder has continued where she left off last season leading the Tigers with 44 points and 31 goals, surpassing last season's total. The midfielder ranks second in the CAA in goals per game (2.58) and sits ninth in the CAA in assists per game (1.08). Zizakovic is second on the squad in assists with 13. Last season after starting in all 17 games and scoring in 13. She ranked fifth in goals (25), third in assists (8), second in draw controls (52) and sixth in points (29) last season.
Winning Tradition
Head coach
Sonia LaMonica is the winningest coach all-time in Towson Women's Lacrosse history. She has totaled 144 career wins and has a 137-87 record at Towson. She is also the longest-tenured coach in the CAA.
Climbing the Ranks
Senior midfielder
Blair Pearre continues to write her name all over the record book. Pearre became the 15th player in program history to reach 100 goals with seven goals against Elon (April 2) to tie her career high. Pearre has racked up 144 career goals to rank sixth place all-time in program history.
The former High School Under Armour All-American now has 28 career hat tricks and has scored at least two goals in 40 of 51 games at the collegiate level. Pearre also sits in third place in draw controls with 197 trailing Natalie Sulmonte for second place.
Returning to the Field
Junior midfielder
Lindsey Marshall returns to action after missing her sophomore season due to an injury. The Columbia, Maryland native is sixth all-time in draw controls at 155. The midfielder averages the fourth most draw controls per game in the conference with 4.42 over 12 games. In her first game back for Towson, Marshall picked up where she left off scoring a first-half hat trick, tallying two assists, a team-best nine draw controls and two caused turnovers. In her first season at Towson, Marshall was named All-CAA First Team and CAA All-Rookie Team after leading the team with 102 draw controls, the second Tiger to ever accomplish that. The midfielder from Columbia, Maryland finished second on the team in goals (38) and third in points (53). Marshall totaled ten hat tricks, including a hat trick against the Mount in her collegiate debut.
Scouting Monmouth
The Hawks have earned an 8-6 overall record and sit tied for third in the CAA with a 2-2 conference record. Monmouth won its season opener 18-9 over George Mason, then fell 11-5 to #8/7 Rutgers. The Hawks lost 15-9 to Navy but bounced back with a 14-3 win over Manhattan. Monmouth won three consecutive games picking up wins against Columbia (12-9), Wagner (13-7) and Sacred Heart (13-9). The Hawks dropped back-to-back games against #23 Johns Hopkins (20-6) and Georgetown (18-16). Monmouth closed out non-conference play with a 15-12 victory against George Washington, then started CAA play with a 12-11 win over Elon. The Hawks lost 13-12 to Delaware in overtime but defeated Hofstra 17-16 in overtime. Monmouth is coming off a 20-5 defeat to #6/7 Stony Brook. The Hawks average 9.2 caused turnovers per game to rank 17th in the nation.
Looking Ahead
Towson travels down the road to face Baltimore-rival Johns Hopkins on Tuesday, April 18th at 7 p.m.
