The Hawks fell to number one Towson on Nov. 5 in the CAA Championship.
Monmouth had a very successful road to get to this championship game after a win over Stony Brook in the quarterfinals and Hofstra in the semifinals. However, the Hawks were unable to tackle the Tigers, who won their regular season title.
Earlier this season, Towson and Monmouth faced each other during the regular season and both teams left empty-handed, 0-0.
Monmouth secured an early lead to jump ahead when senior Chloe Ferreira received a pass from fifth-year Julia Evernham in the penalty area and found the back of the net.
Towson would not allow the deficit to linger on for too long when CAA Attacker of the Year, Nia Christopher, sent the ball flying towards Monmouth goalkeeper Cassie Coster, who was unable to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. This leveled the score 1-1.
It was not until there were ten minutes remaining in regulation that viewers saw Towson’s Phoebe Canoles put Towson ahead with a one-touch goal off of a feed from Jasmine Hamid.
With just six seconds remaining, Monmouth had the opportunity to tie the game after drawing a penalty kick, although freshman Liza Suydam’s kick was reflected by Towson goalkeeper Riley Melendez, securing the win for Towson.
Despite the fact that Monmouth outshot Towson 14-12, Towson had a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks. According to the Monmouth Athletics Website, Head Coach Kylee Flynn claimed, “Tough one to swallow today as we had chances to put them away. Towson is a good team with special players. Although we wish it were us, no doubt, Towson will represent the CAA proudly in the NCAA tournament. Despite falling short of our goal of winning this championship, there is so much to be proud of this season. Our entire 25-player roster gave their all, not only today, but the entire season and that’s all we can ask for.”
Head Coach Flynn was not kidding when she said there is so much to be proud of this season. In just Monmouth’s second year in the CAA, they were able to advance to the championship—an accomplishment in and of itself. Liza Suydam, Marisa Tava, and Lauren Bruno were named to the CAA All-Tournament Team, and many more accolades presented themselves for this team over the course of the year.
The Hawks end their 2023 season with an overall record of 11-6-2, their 18th consecutive winning season as Towson will go on to the NCAA Tournament where they will represent the CAA.
