When: Saturday, February 8, 2025
Where: Johnny Unitas® Stadium | Towson, Md.
Time: Saturday- 12 p.m.
Team Records: Mount St. Mary's (0-0) vs. Towson (0-0)
Stream: FloCollege
Series: Towson Leads 8-1
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's lacrosse team starts the 2025 season at Johnny Unitas® Stadium on Saturday against Mount St. Mary's. Towson will be starting off the season with the Mountaineers for the fifth consecutive year. 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.
 
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 tenth all-time in program history in draw controls with 108. She has finished with 50 or more draw controls in two of her three seasons with the Black & Gold. She trails Katie Leech for ninth all-time by one draw control.
 
Zizakovic is tied for 14th all-time in program history in goals with 106. 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 16 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.
 
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 Mount St. Mary's
The Mountaineers had an 8-10 overall record last season and went 5-4 in the MAAC. The Mount made the MAAC semifinals for the first time in program history last season. The Mountaineers were picked to finish in third place in the MAAC preseason poll with Mackenzi Furlong, Anna Salerno, Mackey Fick, and Molly Molchanoff earning Preseason All-MAAC honors. Furlong led the Mount in points (65), goals (46) and assists (19) while Salerno finished second on the team in goals (38) and points (43). Fick ranked second on the Mountaineers in ground balls with 40 while Molchanoff led the team in caused turnovers last season with 21.
 
Looking Ahead 
The Tigers will hit the road for the next three game starting with a trip to the nation's capital to take on Georgetown on Thursday, February 13th at 4 p.m. The game will be streamed on FloCollege.