When: Thursday, May 4, 2023
Where: Tiger Field | Towson, Md.
Time: Thursday- 2:30 p.m.
Team Records: No. 2 Towson (10-6, 5-2 CAA) vs. No. 3 Drexel (12-4, 5-2 CAA)
Stream: Lacrosse TV
Series: Towson Leads 38-7                                                                                                                                       

TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's lacrosse team hosts the CAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. The Tigers host the No. 3 seed Drexel Dragons on Thursday afternoon.               
 
The Black & Gold have lost their last three games to close out the regular season including a 13-9 loss to Delaware last Saturday. Blair Pearre had a team-best four points including her 32nd hat trick of her collegiate career.
 
Heading into her 13th season at Towson Sonia LaMonica and the Tigers have won 138 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 second in the CAA in save percentage (43.8%) and third in goals against average (11.04). Torres also ranks second in the conference in total saves with 137.
 
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 four teams that are currently in the IWCLA Poll, including two top-ten opponents. The Tigers hosted #9 Loyola on Feb. 22nd in Towson's home opener. Towson played #21 Penn State and dropped a tight contest. The Tigers faced #22 Johns Hopkins on Tuesday under the lights. Towson lost 13-12 in overtime on Ava Angello's fifth goal of the game. The Black & Gold hosted #11 Stony Brook in a battle for first and fell 14-11. Towson plays seven teams that made the NCAA tournament last year: Mount St. Mary's, #9 Loyola, Saint Joseph's, Central Michigan, Drexel, #18 Johns Hopkins and #11 Stony Brook.
 
Highly Decorated
The CAA announced that several Tigers have earned All-CAA honors on Wednesday afternoon. Blair Pearre, Lindsey Marshall and Milana Zizakovic all earned All-CAA First Team honors. Jo Torres and Olivia Malamphy were named to the All-CAA Second Team while Ocea Leavy was voted to the All-Rookie Team.
 
Conference Recap
The Tigers recorded a 5-2 mark in CAA play this season finishing second in the CAA. The Tigers scored 13.1 goals a game while allowing 11.3 goals per game. Lindsey Marshall leads the team in CAA play with 25 goals while Milana Zizakovic has totaled 18 goals and tallied four assists to lead Towson. Gabby Garrett leads the team in assists with 14 while Blair Pearre has added 14 goals and 27 draw controls. Jo Torres has registered a .452 save percentage and averaged 8.7 saves 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 51 points surpassing last season's total. The midfielder ranks fourth in the CAA in goals with 37. Zizakovic is third on the squad in assists with 14. 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 145 career wins and has a 138-90 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 154 career goals to rank sixth place all-time in program history.
 
The former High School Under Armour All-American now has 32 career hat tricks and has scored at least two goals in 44 of 56 games at the collegiate level. Pearre also sits in third place in draw controls with 216 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 166. The midfielder sits third in the conference in goals with 42 while being tied for eighth in draw controls with 64. 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 Drexel
The Dragons finished as the No.3 seed after going 5-2 in conference play. Drexel won seven of its last eight games with their only loss coming against #6 Stony Brook 15-3. Corinne Bednarik won CAA Attacker of the Year after leading Drexel in goals, assists, draw controls and ground balls. Jenika Cuocco won CAA Goalkeeper of the Year and Rookie of the Year after leading the conference in saves and save percentage. Both players earned All-CAA First Team honors while Hayleigh Simpson and Maura Cissel were named to the All-CAA Second Team.
 
Looking Ahead 
If the Tigers advance, they will play the winner of the Stony Brook and Delaware in the CAA Championship on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on Lacrosse TV.