BALTIMORE – The ninth-ranked Loyola University Maryland women's lacrosse team held off Towson for a 13-11 win in the Greyhounds' home opener at Ridley Athletic Complex Wednesday afternoon.
 
Sophomore Sydni Black led all players with a career-high five points, while her three goals marks her second collegiate hat trick. Senior Jillian Wilson also contributed three goals for her 14th career hat trick.
 
Graduate student Livy Rosenzweig tacked on two goals for Loyola (2-0 overall), while classmate Elli Kluegel contributed one goal and two assists for three points. Junior Catie Corolla, junior Meg Hillman, junior Emily Wills and freshman Georgia Latch all finished with one goal for the Greyhounds.
 
Wilson also helped Loyola maintain its dominance on the draw, winning nine draw controls, while Black picked up five, Rosenzweig added three and freshman Chase Boyle finished with two. For the game, Loyola won 19 of 27 draw controls.
 
In goal, graduate student Kaitlyn Larsson finished with five saves, four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
 
For Towson (0-2), Gabby Garrett, Kerri Thornton and Milana Zizakovic all scored three times.
 
The Greyhounds won all eight draw controls of the first quarter and used six different goal scorers to race out to a 6-0 lead. Latch netted her first goal at Ridley Athletic Complex at the 13:46 mark, followed by goals from Kluegel, Hillman, Wilson, Black and Corolla, respectively. Black assisted both of Kluegel and Corolla's goals throughout the run.
 
Towson halted the Greyhounds' streak with a free-position goal at the 1:36 mark of the first quarter carried the momentum into the second quarter. Despite giving up a free-position goal to Rozenzweig to start the second quarter, the Tigers rattled off four-straight goals to pull within two, 7-5, by halftime.
 
Rosenzweig opened the second-half scoring just 2:16 into play, but that's the lone goal the Greyhounds would score until the 14-minute mark of the fourth quarter, when Wills found the back of the net. Wilson followed it up with her second of the game but Towson kept the Greyhounds from going on a run with a goal at 10:34.
 
A pair of goals from Black within a 42-second span stretched Loyola's lead back to five, at 12-7, with 7:54 play, but the Tigers scored four of the game's final five goals to account for the 13-11 final.
 
The Greyhounds will have a week before their next contest, as they travel to No. 19 Penn next Wednesday for a 5 p.m. contest at Franklin Field.