When: Friday, February 21, 2025 & Sunday, February 23, 2025
Where: Rock Stadium | Jacksonville, Fla. & Corbett Stadium | Tampa, Fla.
Time: Friday- 3 p.m. & Sunday – 12 p.m.
Team Records: Towson (1-1) at Jacksonville (0-3)/South Florida (3-1)
Stream: ESPN+ (for both)
Series: Towson Leads Jacksonville 2-0, Towson-South Florida will be meeting for the first time
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's lacrosse team continues the 2025 season by heading down to Florida for a pair of games this week. Towson is coming off a 10-9 double overtime victory against Georgetown. The Tigers will be coming into Kristen Carr's second season as head coach for the Black & Gold.                   
 
The Black & Gold are coming off a 7-9 season and a 4-4 season in conference play. The Tigers were 5-2 at home last season led by Milana Zizakovic who finished with a career-high 58 points, which earned her All-CAA Second Team honors last season.
 
The Tigers also return senior defender Shannon Sullivan who finished with career-highs in ground balls (39), draw controls (31) and caused turnovers (29). She finished eight games with two or more caused turnovers The defender also ranked fourth in the CAA in ground balls, finishing seven games with four or more.
 
Instant Impact
Jenna Cardeno has made an instant impact for the Tigers this season. The freshman goalie has 29 saves in two games to rank for 12th in the nation and first in the CAA. The Anaheim, Calif. native is second in NCAA and first in the CAA in saves per game averaging 14.5 saves per game. She leads the conference and ranks fifth in the country  in save percentage with a 59.2% mark. Cardeno was named CAA Rookie of the Week this week for her 16-save performance in Towson's 10-9 double overtime victory against Georgetown.
 
Oh Captain! My Captain!
Junior midfielder Valerie Thompson, senior defender Shannon Sullivan, senior midfielder Milana Zizakovic, senior attacker Halley Koras and graduate defender Cameron Levine were named team captains for the 2025 season.
 
Climbing the Ranks    
Senior midfielder Milana Zizakovic is climbing up the ranks in multiple categories. Zizakovic is currently ninth all-time in program history in draw controls with 122. She has finished with 50 or more draw controls in two of her three seasons with the Black & Gold. She trails Nikki Marcinik for eighth all-time by seven draw controls.
Zizakovic is now 14th all-time in program history in goals with 107. The midfielder has scored 40 or more goals in back-to-back seasons, including a career-best 44 last season. She trails Andi Raymond by 15 for 13th all-time. 
 
Year Two at Towson
Towson will be welcoming back a few key freshmen from last season. Katie Roszko earned CAA All-Rookie Team honors last season after finishing third on the team in points with 32 in her first season. She totaled 21 goals to rank third on the team. She tallied 11 assists to rank third on the team. The sophomore midfielder added 16 draw controls and 15 ground balls. She currently leads the team with three points, totaling two goals and an assist in the season opener.
 
Defender Alexis Aaron and midfielder Bella Wojcik both return for their sophomore seasons. Aaron ranked fourth on the team in ground balls with 22. The Springfield, Pa. native had 14 caused turnovers, which was the third highest total on the team. Wojcik had 12 ground balls and ten caused turnovers in her first season with the Black & Gold.
 
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. In her second season with the Tigers, she will be welcoming Lyndsey Muñoz, Kristin O'Neill and Sylvie Waters to the staff.
 
O Canada
Milana Zizakovic returns for her senior season after being named to the All-CAA Second Team last season. The Calgary, Alberta native led the Black & Gold in points with a career-high 58. Zizakovic led the team in goals with 44 while ranking second on the team in assists with 14. The midfielder scored in 15 of the 16 games last season, tallying eight hat tricks last season. Zizakovic added 17 ground balls and eight draw controls last season. The senior midfielder became the 18th player in program history to score 100 goals at Towson.
 
Preseason Accolades
The Tigers were voted to finish in third place in the Coaches poll, earning 42 points, including one first-place vote. The Black & Gold were picked behind defending champion Stony Brook and Drexel. Senior midfielder Milana Zizakovic and senior defender Shannon Sullivan earned preseason honors for the Black & Gold.
 
Fresh Faces   
Kristen Carr welcomes a class of nine newcomers this season with eight freshmen and one graduate transfer. Carr brought in graduate defender Cameron Levine from Johns Hopkins where she coached her. Maci Shircel (att/mid), Elise Smith (midfield), Riley Padian (midfield), Gabrielle Bartels (midfield), Marin Colella (midfield), Gabby Bjugan (attack) and Jenna Cardeno (goalie).
 
Back at Unitas
The Tigers return to Johnny Unitas® Stadium for a pair of games this season for the second consecutive year. The Black & Gold will be hosting the Mount for the second straight year in Towson's season opener at Unitas. The Tigers will be hosting CAA foe Campbell at Unitas on Saturday, March 15th.
 
International Duty
Towson head coach Kristen Carr was selected to represent the United States in the inaugural 2024 World Lacrosse Box Championships. Carr helped the USA win the gold medal, going undefeated in the tournament and defeating Canada 10-7 in the championship.
 
Assistant Coach Rebecca Lane represented Australia at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Women's Lacrosse Championship earlier this year. Lane helped Australia win the silver medal after falling to Japan in the championship game.
 
Staying Home
The 2024 squad has 15 student-athletes that call Maryland home. Savannah Safchuck (Towson), Casey Meredith (Hampstead), Valerie Thompson (Sykesville), Mia Rehkemper (Catonsville), Katie Roszko (Bel Air), Elise Smith (Ellicott City), Kylie Ritter (Ellicott City), Sydney Casserly (Baltimore), Meghan Hoskins (Towson), Bella Wojcik (Perry Hall), Harli Hamlett (Sykesville), Halley Koras (Lutherville), Louise Aloi (Towson), Cameron Levine (Baltimore) and Alyssa Edwards (Perry Hall) all represent their home state.
 
Scouting Jacksonville
The Dolphins are 0-3 to start the season picking up losses to No.3 Michigan, Vermont and Cornell. Jacksonville is led by Shae Hagans who leads the team in points (6) and goals (5) while Brigid Manning has five points on three goals and two assists. The Dolphins are 14th in the nation in draw control percentage, winning 62.7% of their draw controls.
 
Scouting South Florida
The Bulls are 3-1 in their first season. South Florida is led by Sofia Chepenik who leads the team in goals with ten and points with 14. Juliana George ranks second on the team in points with 12 while Maggie Newton and Alison Harbaugh are tied for third on the team in points with ten. Paige Pagano ranks second in the nation in saves with 39 while leading her conference with a 50% save percentage. The Bulls opened the season with a 19-6 victory over Kennesaw State, then followed up with an 11-8 win against Mercer. South Florida defeated Lehigh 17-7, then most recently lost to No. 6 Florida 18-11.
 
Looking Ahead 
The Tigers will return home to Tiger Field on Saturday, March 1^st when they host the Loyola Greyhounds at 11 a.m. The game will be streamed on FloCollege.