When: Friday, March 22, 2024 & Sunday, March 24, 2024
Where: Kessler Stadium & Delaware Stadium | West Long Branch, N.J. & Newark, Del.
Time: Friday- 12 p.m. & Sunday- 12 p.m.
Team Records: Towson (2-5, 0-1 CAA) at Monmouth (4-4, 0-1 CAA) / Delaware (7-2, 0-1 CAA)
Stream: FloSports
Series: Towson Leads Monmouth 6-0, Delaware Leads Towson 34-24
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's lacrosse team continues conference play with a pair of CAA matches, starting with a Friday afternoon match against Monmouth. The Tigers are coming off an 11-8 loss to #15/14 Stony Brook in the conference opener.
Lindsey Marshall led Towson with four points which included her second hat trick of the season.
The Black & Gold are coming off an 11-7 season, finishing in second place in the CAA with a 5-2 record. Towson defeated Drexel in the CAA semifinals and reached the CAA Championship where the Tigers fell to Stony Brook.
The Tigers return All-CAA First Team midfielder
Milana Zizakovic. Towson brings back last season's goal and draw control leader in
Lindsey Marshall. The Tigers also bring back senior defender
Blair Goodrich, who led the team in caused turnovers with 31 last season. Senior goalkeeper
Jo Torres returns for second season in the crease for the Black & Gold after earning All-CAA Second Team honors.
Oh Captain! My Captain!
Shannon Sullivan,
Milana Zizakovic,
Lindsey Marshall and
Blair Goodrich were selected as team captains for the 2024 season.
Climbing the Ranks
Senior midfielder
Lindsey Marshall is climbing up the record book in draw controls. The Catonsville, Maryland currently ranks fourth all-time in draw controls with 187. Marshall sits behind former teammate
Blair Pearre for third place, trailing by 29. The midfielder led the Tigers in draw controls last season with 72 and finished 102 draw controls in her freshman season, the second highest total in a season by a Tiger.
Instant Impact
Senior goalkeeper
Jo Torres made an instant impact last season after joining the Tigers. Torres was named to All-CAA Second Team after ranking second in the CAA in total saves with 151. She finished four games with double-digit saves, including a season-high 13 saves against Johns Hopkins and Delaware. The senior goalkeeper ranked second in the conference in save percentage (43.2%) and third in goals against average (11.19). In her Towson debut, Torres made 12 save and totaled a 75% save percentage against the Mountaineers, which earned her CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors. Four goals are the fewest amount of goals allowed by Towson in a season opener since 2016. This season, Torres has finished with double-digit saves in six of the seven games this season.
Welcome to Towson!
Kristen Carr was named the Women's Lacrosse Head Coach in July 2023. The two-time gold medalist has made assistant coaching stops at North Carolina, Delaware, Stanford, Ohio State and Johns Hopkins. Carr was an IWLCA All-American defensive midfielder at North Carolina, where she made four NCAA Tournament appearances She added
Kelyn Freedman,
Rebecca Lane and
Shelby Harrison to her coaching staff.
O Canada
Milana Zizakovic returns for her junior season after being named to the All-CAA First Team last season. The Calgary, Alberta native led the Black & Gold in points with a career-high 56. Zizakovic finished third on the team in goals and assists with 41 goals and 15 assists. The midfielder ranked second on the Tigers last season in draw controls with a career-best 57 draw controls. Zizakovic registered a point in 17 of the 18 games last season while adding 22 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers. So far this season, she leads the Tiger in goals (17) and points (20).
Preseason Accolades
The Tigers were voted to finish in third place in the Coaches poll, earning 51 points, including one first-place vote. The Black & Gold were picked behind defending champion Stony Brook and Drexel. Senior attacker
Lindsey Marshall, senior defender
Blair Goodrich and junior midfielder
Milana Zizakovic all claimed preseason honors.
Fresh Faces
Kristen Carr welcomes a class of nine freshmen to Towson for the upcoming 2024 season. She brought in
Casey Meredith (midfield),
Hailey Waldron (midfield),
Katie Roszko (midfield),
Kylie Ritter (defense),
Sydney Casserly (attack),
Bella Wojcik (midfield),
Alexis Aaron (defense),
Louise Aloi (attack) and
Alyssa Edwards (goalkeeper).
Back at Unitas
The Tigers return to Johnny Unitas® Stadium for the first time since 2020. Unitas plays host to two games this year for the Black & Gold with the first game being the season opener against the Mount, which the Tigers won 14-10. The second game will be against Hofstra on March 30th.
International Duty
Sophomore midfielder
Ocea Leavy was called up to the U20 Australian team for the 2024 World Lacrosse U20 Women's World Cup. Leavy is the only returning member of the 2019 Australian U19 team which claimed bronze at the 2019 World Lacrosse U20 World Championship held in Peterborough, Canada. She earned CAA All-Rookie honors last season after scoring six goals, 11 ground balls, and two caused turnovers.
Midfielder
Milana Zizakovic was selected to the final roster for the Canadian Women's National Box Lacrosse Team last week. Zizakovic was selected along with 47 athletes that range from national team players to current college players.
Staying Home
The 2024 squad has 20 student-athletes that call Maryland home.
Savannah Safchuck (Towson),
Casey Meredith (Hampstead),
Valerie Thompson (Sykesville), Paiton and
Paige Abbott (Mount Airy),
Mia Rehkemper (Catonsville),
Katie Roszko (Bel Air),
Lindsay Clarke (Parkton),
Blair Goodrich (Chester),
Kylie Ritter (Ellicott City),
Sydney Casserly (Baltimore),
Lindsay Posner (Monkton),
Hannah Glawe (Frederick),
Meghan Hoskins (Towson),
Bella Wojcik (Perry Hall),
Lindsey Marshall (Columbia),
Halley Koras (Lutherville),
Louise Aloi (Towson),
Jo Torres (Prince Frederick) and
Alyssa Edwards (Perry Hall) all represent their home state.
Scouting Monmouth
The Hawks have a 4-4 overall record and are 0-1 in CAA play. Caroline Brennan ranks second in the CAA in goals per game averaging 3.25. Gia Mitchell currently ranks second in the conference in goals against average with an 8.34. The Hawks started the season with wins against Bryant and FDU scoring 20 goals in both games. Monmouth fell to #24 Rutgers, but bounced back with a one-goal win against Columbia. The Hawks lost to Rider, then defeated Quinnipiac 12-7. Monmouth fell to #21 Princeton and lost its CAA opener to Elon 16-13.
Scouting Delaware
The Blue Hens have a 7-2 record, but have a 0-1 record in conference play. Madison Hrancika leads the nation in caused turnovers per game averaging 4.44. Hrancika leads the conference and ranks third in the country in ground balls per game, picking up 4.44. Steph Marszal ranks fifth in the NCAA in save percentage with a .539. Delaware opened the season with three straight wins, before losing to Temple 13-8. The Blue Hens finished non-conference play with four consecutive wins, which included a 13-11 victory over Georgetown. Delaware started CAA play with a 13-5 loss to Drexel.
Looking Ahead
The Tigers will return home to host Jacksonville for a non-conference matchup on Thursday, March 28th at 4 p.m. The game will be streamed on FloSports.