Women’s Lacrosse: TU defeats Phoenix for third straight win

By: Jordan Cope, Associate Sports Editor 

No. 17 Towson defeated Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival Elon 11-9 Sunday at Rudd Field for its third consecutive victory. 

“Elon is a tough team,” Head Coach Sonia LaMonica said. “The game came down to the wire, but our girls hung on.”

The Tigers (9-2, 2-0 CAA) trailed the Phoenix (8-4, 1-1 CAA) 2-0 at the 15:44 mark in the first half.

However, freshman midfielder Natalie Sulmonte put Towson on the board and brought the team within one goal after burying a shot past Elon goalkeeper Rachel Ramirez.

Less than two minutes after Sulmonte’s goal, redshirt junior midfielder Michelle Gildea tied the game for the Tigers with 13:02 remaining in the first half.

Both teams continued to battle back and forth for the rest of the first half, but the Phoenix took a 5-4 lead into halftime.

“We weren’t playing bad in the first half,” LaMonica said. “But we weren’t playing our best. We were lacking energy and I thought in the second half the team brought the energy that we needed to win.”

In the second half, Towson scored just 10 seconds after the opening draw and tied the game 5-5 thanks to sophomore attacker Jenna Kerr.

Following Kerr’s goal, the Tigers went on to score four unanswered goals to take 9-5 lead over the Phoenix.

Three of Towson’s four goals came from the stick of freshman attacker Carly Tellekamp who now has 22 goals this season.

“Carly is a decisive finisher,” LaMonica said. “She has been finding success inside the 12-meter arc because she is a great target for her teammates to hit.”

Despite the Tigers 5-0 run, the Phoenix scored twice and pulled within two goals with 9:24 remaining in the game.

However, junior midfielder Samantha Brookhart scored what proved to be the game-winning goal with 7:42 left in the game to give Towson a 10-7 lead.

Elon registered a quick pair of goals to pull within one of Towson, but sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Montalbano added an insurance goal as the team went on to secure an 11-9 win.

Tellekamp finished the contest with three goals while freshman goalkeeper Angie Benson made seven saves and registered her eighth victory of the season.

Towson will have a quick turnaround as the team will hit the road Friday to take on CAA rival Hofstra at James M. Shuart Stadium.

Following their contest with the Pride, the Tigers will travel to Philadelphia to continue CAA play against rival Drexel.

Game time is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. at Vidas Field.

“We will look to rest and recover over these next two days,” LaMonica said. “That is critical for us at this juncture of the season. When we take the field Friday we will look to continue our momentum, execute the little things and play a full 60 minute game.”

Following its game against Drexel, Towson will return home to take on William & Mary.

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