Climbing the conference
By: Karuga Koinange, Sports Editor
File photo by Brendan Felch/ The Towerlight
Towson women’s lacrosse extended its winning streak to seven with two convincing victories on the road against Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opponents.
The Tigers (12-2, 4-0 CAA) displayed their explosive offense in a 17-5 victory over the Tribe (4-10, 0-3 CAA) Sunday afternoon at Martin Family Stadium.
Junior attacker Carly Tellekamp scored the first goal of the game for Towson, but William & Mary evened the score just under two minutes later.
Junior attacker Natalie Sulmonte quickly answered back with a goal to regain the lead and spark a 7-0 run for Towson. Four different Tigers scored during that run, helping the team take an 8-1 advantage with nine minutes left in the first half.
“It’s fun to watch [this offense],” LaMonica said. “We have high expectations so we continue to challenge this group to get better, which is necessary if we want to continue playing very deep into the tournament this year.”
The home team showed a pulse with a score on a free position opportunity, but Towson closed out the period with three more goals and took an 11-2 lead into the break.
William & Mary kicked off the second half with a goal less than 30 seconds into the stanza, but Towson rattled off a 4-0 run midway through the period to seize the win.
The visitors got contributions from a multitude of players as Sulmonte and Tellekamp combined for seven goals, while sophomore goalkeeper Kiley Keating continued her strong season with seven saves on the day.
The team took advantage of its opportunities and stayed disciplined defensively as they were rewarded 14 free position shots while, William & Mary only mustered four.
Towson grinded out a tough 10-4 win over Elon Friday afternoon at Rudd Field.
The Tigers started off strong, taking an early 2-0 lead over the Phoenix (2-10, 1-2 CAA) after two free position goals.
Elon responded with a goal, but Towson answered back with two scores. The second Towson score gave Sulmonte her 100th career goal.
“Natalie has been an impact player for us in her finishing ability and her ability to create scoring opportunities,” LaMonica said. “She has been an outstanding player for us and being a junior there’s going to be more to come from her. It’s been really great to see her growth and the chemistry that the offensive unit has been playing with.”
The Tigers closed out the first half with two goals in the final four minutes and took a 6-2 lead going into halftime.
The road team came out aggressive defensively in the second half with physical play as sophomore defender Olivia Conti forced two turnovers in the first eight minutes of the period. She finished the game with seven caused turnovers.
“I think she’s one of the best defenders in the country and I see that every game,” LaMonica said. “She’s very smart, agile and athletic. She makes great reads and [is] a determined competitor.”
Keating also had another solid showing as she registered 10 saves on the day, marking her fourth double-digit save performance of the season.
“Kiley has such [great] composure,” LaMonica said. “She continues to make big plays for [the defense]. She is really steady, highly consistent and makes the saves she should as well as some bonus saves that set her apart from the crowd.”
Towson held Elon to just two goals in the stanza as the team held on for the victory.
Towson looks to build upon its winning streak as the team returns home to face CAA foe Hofstra Friday night at Johnny Unitas Stadium. Opening draw is slated for 6 p.m.
