Tigers falls short against Penn in final non-conference game 

By Jonathan Totten, Contributing Writer

The Towson Tigers welcomed the No.15 University of Pennsylvania Quakers to Tiger Field on April 23 for their final non-conference game of the season.  Despite keeping things close for most of the game, a poor first quarter would put this game out of reach, as the Tigers would fall 15-6. 

Penn started off with a hot stick, scoring four goals on four shots. Despite good ball movement, the Tigers failed to get on the board in the early minutes of the first quarter. Quakers goalie Orly Sedransk defended the net well, racking up three saves on Towson’s four shots on goal. Despite Penn committing more turnovers, the Tigers failed to capitalize on their mistakes. 

Towson midfielder Milana Zizakovic opened the lid for the Tigers, scoring in the final seconds of the first quarter after controlling a draw. That goal gave the Tigers an energy boost and something to build on going into the second quarter. 

Towson controlled the draws in the second quarter, a positive turnaround from the first quarter. As a result, more shots opened for the Tigers, leading to two more goals being scored in the second quarter thanks to Ocea Leavy and Katie Roszko, their 20 and 27 goals respectively.  

“We put more pressure on them,” coach Kristen Carr said. “We were working on doubling off of any sort of dodge and making sure that we were closing the gap and getting in their hands. You have to make sure your rotations are quick on the backside when you double the ball carrier, and we felt like that was a great gameplan to cause some chaos on our defensive end so we could get the ball and push it the other way.” 

However, Penn was more aggressive on ground balls, allowing them to go on a run, using fast break opportunities to build a 10-3 lead going into the half.  

Coming out of halftime, the Tigers remained poised to build on a promising second quarter. In the third quarter, Towson’s offense attempted six shots on goal, resulting in goals from Valerie Thomspon and Zizakovic 

Thompson scored with 8:18 left in the third quarter to cut the deficit to six. With just under three minutes left in the third, Zizakovic scored their second goal of the day to cut the deficit to five. In the third quarter, the Tigers had more shots, ground balls and saves compared to the Quakers, allowing Towson to play at their own pace. 

“We made some really good adjustments in the second quarter, and we wanted to build off that momentum going into the third quarter,” Carr said. “The team did a great job stepping up, staying the course, and trusting the process and we were able to create some momentum off of those plays.” 

In the fourth quarter, the Quakers resuscitated their offense, scoring four goals. Zizakovic scored their third goal of the game with 3:50 left on the clock to make it a 14-6 game. A late Penn goal would cap off a dominant display from the Quakers, as the Tigers would lose 15-6. 

Zizakovic was the Tigers best player on the day, scoring a hattrick to bolster their team leading goal count to 38. Zizakovic also led the team with seven draw controls and four points. 

The Tigers are now 6-9. Towson will face the Monmouth Hawks on April 26 in their final game of the season on Senior day. The game is set for 12 p.m. at Tiger Field.