Towson Eyes a Return to the Top
By Glenn Kaplan, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of towsontigers.com
There is unfinished business for the Tigers heading into the 2019 season after they lost 21-17 to the Northwestern Wildcats at home in the second-round of the postseason last year.
“It’s definitely one of our driving motivators,” said Head Coach Sonia Lamonica.
She will be entering her ninth season at the helm. Towson finished with a solid 16-5 record last season, falling to the James Madison Dukes in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title game last season.
The Tigers were ranked 11th in the country to start the season, but fell to Penn State 13-7 in their season opener.
“I like how we get underestimated year after year,” Lamonica said. “We feed off of being underdogs.”
Some of the key opponents Towson will be facing this season are the Dukes, the Loyola Greyhounds, the John Hopkins Blue Jays and the Navy Midshipmen.
“It’s a necessity in order to become a nationally prominent program,” LaMonica said. “We want to come out on top.”
Towson returns several key players, including sophomore attacker Kaitlin Thornton and senior attackers Natalie Sulmonte and Carly Tellekamp.
“They have good leadership on the field,” LaMonica said. “They are competing at a high level in practice.”
Sulmonte scored 50 goals and recorded 25 assists last season. Tellekamp contributed 46 goals and added four assists last season. Thornton tallied 31 goals and posted 16 assists last season.
Junior defenseman Olivia Conti was the CAA Defensive Player of the Year last season. She is also the preseason CAA Defensive Player of the Year. She led the NCAA last season with 52 caused turnovers.
The Tigers’ home opener will be on Friday, March 1 against the Stony Brook Seawolves. Towson opens conference play on the road on Sunday, April 7 against James Madison.
