Towson falls to Penn State
By: Karuga Koinange, Assistant Sports Editor
No.19 Towson fell to No. 7 Penn State 13-11 Saturday afternoon at Holuba Hall in State College, Pennsylvania, despite a second half surge.
The Nittany Lions came out firing as they opened the game with a 7-0 run.
The Tigers struck back at the 13 minute mark when senior attacker Samantha Brookhart scored off a well-timed feed from senior midfielder Michaela Duranti.
Sophomore attacker Natalie Sulmonte tacked on a second goal at the 9:44 mark, but Penn State scored the final two goals of the half and took a 9-2 heading into the locker room.
Towson started the second half looking to strike immediately. Towson won the opening draw and went right to the goal.
Towson scored thanks junior midfielder Emily Gillingham who found the back of the net off a pass from junior midfielder Kaitlyn Montalbano.
Gillingham’s goal sparked a 6-0 run and the Tigers pulled within one goal with 9:12 left in the game.
Montalbano scored both of her goals during that run, and freshman midfielder Shelby Stack scored her first career goal on a free position shot.
However, Penn State answered with a run of its own by scoring four unanswered goals and took a 13-8 lead with 3:41 left on the clock.
Towson rallied quickly, getting goals from Gillingham and Duranti within 32 seconds of each other to make it a three goal game with 2:16 left to play.
Sulmonte scored her second of the game with 1:21 to play which pulled the Tigers within two, but they could not complete the comeback.
Towson returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 15, as the team travels to local rival UMBC. Opening draw is set for 4 p.m.
(Editor’s note: Head Coach Sonia LaMonica could not be reached for comment.)
