WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – The Monmouth women's soccer team battled through a scoreless opening 65 minutes before a pair of second-half goals lifted Towson to a 2-0 victory on Sunday afternoon at Hesse Field on The Great Lawn.
The loss moved Monmouth to 7-4-5 overall and 2-3-3 in CAA play, while Towson improved to 9-5-2 and 6-2-0 in conference action, clinching a berth in the CAA Tournament. The Tigers held a 13-8 advantage in shots and a 5-3 edge in shots on goal, while Monmouth controlled 52 percent of possession.
Monmouth generated the first opportunity of the afternoon when Ashley Lavrich had a shot blocked in the seventh minute. Lavrich entered the match as the Hawks' leading scorer with six goals and four assists this season
Towson responded with the first shot on goal just under 10 minutes in, but Hawks netminder Tallulah Miller turned aside Angel Reid. Miller and the Monmouth defense remained busy over the next several minutes, with a team save denying Sophie Thibeault before Miller stopped Emely Rubio in the 17th minute.
The Hawks began creating more sustained pressure midway through the period. Brooke De Almeida, who has one goal and two points this season, had an attempt blocked in the 23rd minute before Maddie DeMaio forced Towson goalkeeper Teagan Gardner into a save in the 26th.
Monmouth earned four corner kicks in the opening half and finished the period with a 5-4 advantage in shots, but the teams went into the break scoreless.
Towson began to control more of the attacking play after halftime, producing five shots over the opening 20 minutes of the second period.
The Tigers eventually broke through 21 minutes into the second period. Sophie Thibeault set up Meron Koro, who converted her fourth goal of the season to give Towson a 1-0 advantage.
Monmouth looked for an equalizer and produced its best second-half chance in the 77th minute. Evangeline Perdomo put an attempt on target, but Gardner made the save. Perdomo remains second on the team with three goals and 11 points while sharing the team lead with five assists.
Towson added an insurance goal at with seven minutes to play and pushed the Tigers' lead to 2-0.
The Hawks continued to press in the final minutes. Emily De Almeida forced Gardner into a save in the 88th minute before Lavrich sent Monmouth's final attempt high with just over a minute remaining.
DeMaio and Lavrich led Monmouth with two shots apiece. DeMaio, Perdomo and Emily De Almeida accounted for the Hawks' three shots on goal. Chloe Messer, who owns four goals, one assist and nine points in 2026, also added an attempt for Monmouth. Miller played all 90 minutes and was credited with two saves, while the Hawks also registered one team save.
The Hawks will wrap up the regular season next Sunday against Northeastern. Kickoff from Boston is set for 1 p.m.
