When: Friday, April 11, 2025 & Sunday, April 13, 2025
Where: James M. Shuart Stadium | Hempstead, N.Y. & Tiger Field | Towson, Md.
Time: Friday- 7:00 p.m. & Sunday- 3:00 p.m.
Team Records: Towson (6-5, 2-2 CAA) vs. Hofstra (7-5, 2-2 CAA) / Delaware (7-5, 3-2 CAA)
Stream: Friday- Lacrosse TV & Sunday- FloCollege
Series: Towson Leads Hofstra 28-18 & Delaware Leads Towson 32-25
TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's lacrosse team continues CAA play with two games this week starting off with Hofstra on Friday and closing out with Delaware on Sunday. Towson bounced back with a 15-10 win against William & Mary behind Milana Zizakovic's season-high seven points.         
 
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 eighth all-time in program history in draw controls with 149. She has finished with 50 or more draw controls in two of her three seasons with the Black & Gold. She is 19 behind Becky Trumbo for sixth.
 
Zizakovic is now tied for eighth all-time in program history in goals with 134. The midfielder has scored 40 or more goals in back-to-back seasons, including a career-best 44 last season. She trails Kaitlin Mantalbano for seventh by three goals.
 
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 ranks tied for second on the team with 21 goals and ranks second on the team in points with 32.
 
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. She has three ground balls and caused turnovers so far this season. Wojcik had 12 ground balls and ten caused turnovers in her first season with the Black & Gold. She has registered three goals and two ground balls this season while Aaron has nine ground balls and five caused turnovers.
 
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. The Black & Gold went 1-1 at Unitas this season.
 
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.
 
Instant Impact
Jenna Cardeno has made an instant impact for the Tigers this season. The freshman goalie has 118 saves in 11 games to rank for 21st in the nation and second in the CAA. The Orange, Calif. native is eighth in NCAA and second in the CAA in saves per game averaging 10.7 saves per game. She ranks second in the conference and ranks 14th in save percentage with a 49.0% mark. Cardeno was named CAA Rookie of the Week in back-to-back weeks and is the first player since 2022 to win the award in consecutive weeks since Shannon Sullivan did it. She is the third Towson player to win the award four times joining Natalie Sulmonte & Carly Tellekamp.
 
Staying Home
The 2024 squad has 13 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), Bella Wojcik (Perry Hall), Harli Hamlett (Sykesville), Halley Koras (Lutherville) and Louise Aloi (Towson), Cameron Levine (Baltimore) all represent their home state.
 
Scouting Hofstra
The Pride come into Friday's game with a 2-2 CAA record and a 7-5 overall record. Nikki Mennella leads the CAA in goals (45) and points (75) while ranking second in the conference in assists (30).  Hofstra started CAA play with 15-9 loss to Delaware, then bounced back with an 11-7 win over William & Mary. The Pride fell to Elon 14-12 and most recently Hofstra defeated Campbell 12-11.
 
Scouting Delaware
The Blue Hens are 3-2 in the CAA and have a 7-5 overall record. Delaney McDaniel leads the team in points (47) and assists (25) while ranking second on the team in goals (22). Delaware ranks fifth in the nation in caused turnovers per game averaging 12.3 while also ranking 14th in the NCAA in free position percentage converting 53.6% of free positions. The Blue Hens have picked up wins against Hofstra, Elon and Monmouth while falling to Drexel and #18 Stony Brook.
 
Looking Ahead 
The Tigers will have a quick turnaround and return home to host the Delaware Blue Hens on Sunday, April 13th at 3 p.m. The Tigers will then travel to North Carolina to take on the Elon Phoenix on Saturday, April 19th at 2 p.m. Both games will be streamed on FloCollege.