Close to title, but no cigar

The field hockey team made it to the Atlantic Ten Championship but lost, 3-0, to Richmond.

The field hockey team fell one win shy of an Atlantic Ten title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament this weekend in Amherst, Mass. The Owls (9-12 overall, 4-2 A-10) advanced to the A-10 tournament on the strength of a 4-2 win against eventual champions the Richmond Spiders (13-8 overall, 5-1 A-10) on the final day of the regular season. The Spiders came back and bit the Owls, 3-0, in the championship game Saturday.

Temple entered the A-10 Championships riding a three-game winning streak, with victories against La Salle, Saint Louis and Richmond. Each victory proved crucial for the Owls, who came down the stretch needing every win to secure a spot in the tournament. With the win against Richmond on that last day of the regular season, Temple earned the third seed and faced Saint Joseph’s, while Richmond played defending champion Massachusetts. The Owls had beaten both Richmond and then-No. 10 UMass during the regular season, but in the first round, they drew the one team in the tournament they had not yet beaten, St. Joe’s, who beat the Owls, 4-0, back on Oct. 9.

Since the Owls’ first-round game against St. Joe’s took place 3 p.m. Friday, the Owls already knew their opponent would be Richmond should they win.

And as the game against St. Joe’s got underway, it didn’t take long for Temple’s offense to take control. Within the first six minutes of action, the Owls earned two corner opportunities. They capitalized on the second one when senior forward Kasey Ruth scored off an assist from senior defenseman Kristen Wanner to put The Owls on top, 1-0. Early in the second half, junior goalkeeper Sarah Dalrymple made a save on a Hawks’ attempt that would have tied the game. Not only did the save preserve Temple’s lead, it also gave the Owls possession, which led to a two-on-one goal by senior midfielder Charise Young thanks to an assist from freshman Katie Briglia.

Ruth would later score again to increase the lead to 3-0, the game’s final score.

“Perfect execution on her part,” coach Amanda Janney said of Ruth’s performance, especially her goal-scoring.

The 3-0 shutout, Dalrymple’s fourth of the year, sent the Owls to their first A-10 title game in six years and their first championship appearance with Janney as coach. Temple had not won an A-10 title since 1994, and that streak continued after the team faced Richmond. The Spiders’ only A-10 loss this season came to Temple, and they exacted revenge.

Neither team did much offensively. The Owls’ leading scorer, sophomore forward Bridget Settles, had a shot blocked 10 minutes into the first half. It seemed like defense would characterize this game, which was not a problem for Temple, which had only allowed six goals in its last six games.

Richmond broke the defensive dominance, as A-10 leading scorer senior defender Sarah Blythe-Wood scored the first goal, her 21st of the season, on a corner opportunity. Richmond wasted no time padding its lead and added another goal five minutes later on a two-on-one opportunity by sophomore forward Katelin Peterson. The Spiders eventually won, 3-0.

“[Despite the loss], I think with the returning crew we have [Settles and Dalrymple], I do expect to be in the final game next year,” Janney said.

Raymond Boyd can be reached at raymond.boyd@temple.edu.

Seniors stifle Spiders, streak into playoffs

The field hockey team defeated Richmond, 4-2, for the first time ever and advanced to the Atlantic Ten Tournament.

The field hockey team needed a win to qualify for the Atlantic Ten Tournament for the seventh straight season.

Unfortunately, the Owls faced the Richmond Spiders, whom they had never beaten. The Spiders entered the game without an in-conference loss and had surrendered just one goal in conference play.

But thanks to four penalty-corner goals on Senior Day, the Owls (8-11 overall, 4-2 A-10) defeated Richmond, 4-2.

With the win, Temple clinched the No. 3 spot in the A-10 Tournament.

Temple kicked off Senior Day at Geasey Field with a breakaway opportunity from sophomore forward Bridget Settles at the first half’s 32-minute mark. Although Settles was unable to score, the opportunity foreshadowed an offensive onslaught by the Owls.

About six minutes later, the Owls earned their first corner penalty opportunity. Senior defender Kristen Wanner scored a goal with assists from seniors Mandi Ruth and Charise Young. Wanner loaded up from the top of the circle and blasted a shot past Richmond’s defense and into the back of the goal.

The Owls and Spiders (11-8 overall, 5-1 A-10) went back and forth for the next 15 minutes without any offensive threats between them. At the 11:40 mark, the Owls forced another corner penalty opportunity but were unable to capitalize. Two minutes later, the Owls once again were set up on a corner penalty opportunity, and they decided to once again go to Wanner for the shot. The decision paid off, as Wanner notched her second goal of the day and Mandi Ruth and Young once again provided the assists.

Wanner’s two goals, which proved to be the difference in the contest, raised her season tally to four. Young entered the contest with a team-leading eight assists and raised her total to 10. Mandi Ruth’s six assists were good for second on the Owls.

The Spiders answered with a goal by senior forward Adrian Pickar on a fastbreak, but the Owls refused to allow them any momentum and forced yet another corner opportunity with 4:10 remaining in the half. Once again, the Owls got the ball to Wanner, but Wanner, instead of scoring, came away with the assist to Settles. Settles’ goal increased her team-leading total to 12 on the season.

Richmond started the second half with its own corner opportunity five minutes in, but senior forward Kasey Ruth made a tremendous block.

The Spiders did cut the Owls’ lead to one when senior back Sarah Blythe-Wood scored.

But with 11:30 remaining, Young scored a goal to seal the deal for the Owls.

“Most of the achievements are small compared to the memories,” said Young, who has been selected to compete in the Division I Senior All-Star Game. “Coming out to practice with a group of girls who are my best friends is what means the most to me.”

The Owls’ six seniors will celebrate the win and then begin a week of preparation for the A-10 Tournament.

“[The Owls’ six seniors] are just tremendous leaders, and they each lead in their own special way,” coach Amanda Janney said. “They’re fighters. They work hard. They train hard. They’re all very good athletes, and they hate to lose.”

The Owls’ quest for an A-10 title begins Friday at 3 p.m. at Massachusetts, where Temple will square off against Saint Joseph’s, who beat the Owls 4-0 earlier this season.

Janney admitted that Temple was outplayed and out-hustled by St. Joe’s but insisted that her team will come out with much more intensity this time around.

“[We are] very happy to be facing [St. Joe’s] in the first round.”

Raymond Boyd can be reached at raymond.boyd@temple.edu.

Winning shot ‘settles’ the score

Sophomore forward/midfielder Bridget Settles scored the lone goal, her eighth of the season, in the field hockey team’s 1-0 win against La Salle.

A trend seems to be emerging on the field hockey team’s scoresheet, and its name is sophomore forward/midfielder Bridget Settles.

Settles scored the lone goal in the Owls’ 1-0 win against inner-city rival La Salle (7-11, 2-3). Senior captain and midfielder Charise Young shot a thunderous penalty corner toward Explorers junior goalkeeper Emma Ruth in the second half. Settles tipped the shot to the upper right corner of the net for her team-leading eighth goal of the season.

“Charise had a great shot, and I was lucky enough to be in the right spot to hit it home,” said Settles, who is the reigning Atlantic Ten Conference Player of the Week.

The Owls, who improved to 6-11 overall and 2-2 in the A-10, started the first half a little flat, with no penalty corners and only two shots, neither of which were on goal. Senior defenders Kate Stewart and Kristen Wanner led a Temple defense that only allowed one penalty corner and two shots on goal by La Salle’s offense.

“The defense played great, and it’s great to see the girls come together like this and win,” coach Amanda Janney said. “We made their goalie look good. We kept shooting at her rather than around her. We had to change that up.”

Temple dominated the second half. The Owls forced seven penalty corners, including the one that registered Settles’ goal. Senior forwards Mandi and Kasey Ruth made some smooth passes in the first half, and Mandi Ruth, Young and Settles each notched four shots, with Ruth taking two shots on goal. Ultimately, though, the Owls had to wait until the second half to score.

Junior goalkeeper Sarah Dalrymple picked up her third shutout along the way. She made five saves in the game, one of them a diving stick save off a La Salle penalty corner.

“I felt pretty good out there,” Dalrymple said. “I’m there to back up the defense, and they played great and made sure there wasn’t too much pressure.”

Janney and company have two games left, one on the road against first-place Saint Louis and one at Geasey Field versus last-place Richmond. As it stands now, Temple occupies the fourth and final A-10 playoff spot.

“We need the A-10 to play in our favor at this point, but we’ll stay confident and keep playing our game,” Janney said.

Christian Audesirk can be reached at christian.audesirk@temple.edu.

Stewart’s first goal upsets No. 10 UMass

Senior defender Kate Stewart scored the game-winning goal, the first of her career, in the Owls’ 2-1 double overtime win against Massachusetts.

On a cold, wet and windy day at Geasey Field last Sunday, the field hockey team squared off against No. 10 Massachusetts.

Saint Joseph’s shut out the Owls in their Atlantic Ten Conference opener, but the Owls (5-10, 1-1 in conference) evened their conference record thanks to senior defender Kate Stewart.

At the 12:15 mark in double overtime, sophomore forward/midfielder Bridget Settles passed the ball to Stewart off a corner penalty opportunity, and Stewart worked the ball past UMass sophomore goalkeeper Alesha Widdell for her first career goal and the 2-1 victory.

Stewart’s goal came against the goalkeeper who leads the A-10 with six shutouts.

Coach Amanda Janney praised Settles for her unselfish approach as well as her smart play after the game, two attributes the Owls needed after losing senior captain and midfielder Charise Young to injury after a UMass shot struck her in the face at the second half’s 32:15 mark.

“The injury itself was kind of detrimental in terms of she’s our leader, she’s our senior captain and one of our top players,” Janney said.

Despite killing three corner penalty opportunities early, the Owls gave up their first goal on a corner penalty shot from junior defender/midfielder Makaela Potts shortly after Young’s injury and trailed, 1-0.

In the first half, the Owls had continuously created scoring opportunities for themselves, including two corner penalty chances in the first 10 minutes of action, but failed to take advantage of them.

Finally, with 20:30 remaining in the game, Temple started up the sidelines toward the goal, seeking a chance to tie the game. Settles gained possession in the corner and worked by a defender to set up senior forward Mandi Ruth in front of the goal. Ruth notched her third goal of the season thanks to Settles’ third assist, and the Owls tied the game at 1-1.

The ebbs and flows of the game continued, as Temple successfully denied penalty corner opportunities from UMass at the 19:10 mark and the 18:40 mark. UMass responded by denying Temple at the 15:50 mark and the 15:15 mark.

The Owls’ offensive attack forced one more corner penalty chance at the end of regulation. The shot went in, but officials ruled it too high.

The Owls entered the first seven-on-seven, 15-minute overtime period with a chance to upset UMass by one goal for the first time since the 2007 season.

The first overtime mirrored the majority of regulation, with tough defense and strong offensive aggression from both teams. Neither team scored.

The Owls produced the game-winning goal thanks to a Ruth-to-Settles-to-Stewart pass.

After the win, Janney said the Owls’ confidence is “through the roof right now,” and that Temple will try to ride that confidence into Friday’s game at West Chester.

Raymond Boyd can be reached at raymond.boyd@temple.edu.

St. Joe’s sticks it to field hockey

The Hawks shut out the Owls, 4-0, in Friday’s Atlantic Ten Conference opener. Temple is now 4-10 overall.

A week off might be exactly what coach Amanda Janney and the field hockey team need.

After the Owls (4-10) shut out Penn in their last contest, they found the goose egg beside their name on the scoreboard. Temple dropped last Friday’s Atlantic Ten Conference opener to Saint Joseph’s, 4-0. The Owls now have a week off to try and solve the equation of how to consistently win.

“Any loss is disappointing, but a conference game hurts even worse,” junior forward Taryn Nichols said. “We were so pumped and excited for the game in the locker room, but we just couldn’t translate it into our playing. We have our moments of great hockey. We just need to put it together for a full 70 minutes, and that’s how the wins come.”

Temple never got off on the right foot, as the defense proved unprepared for the Hawks’ revamped attack.

Junior goalkeeper Sarah Dalrymple had a season high nine saves on 13 St. Joe’s shots, but the Hawks eventually piled up on her in the first half. St. Joe’s junior forward Jen Wrublesky redirected a shot from the point into the cage. St. Joe’s (3-7) found its passing game by dissecting the Owls’ defense. St. Joe’s sophomore forward Ellen Rowe netted the second goal of the game from a one-time pass across the circle. A little less than four minutes later, senior forward/midfielder Kellie Walter found herself on the scoresheet by banging in a loose ball. The Hawks heavily outshot the Owls in the first half, 11-3. The Owls drew three penalty corners, their one bright spot.

The second half proved to be more of the same, as the Hawks’ pressure kept Temple on its heels. St. Joe’s senior midfielder Jenn Schultz provided the final stroke with a goal at the 45-minute mark. The Owls did look better in the second half with six shots and two forced corners.

“Our loss yesterday definitely makes the road to an A-10 Championship a little more difficult,” senior captain Charise Young said. “We have over a week until our next game, which allows us to really focus and make changes. Our practices leading up to that game need to be at a greater intensity level to ensure our best performance next Sunday.”

The Owls need to figure out how to win consistently if they want to see the postseason. Nichols said she knows Janney will run tough practices during the next week at Geasey Field.

“This upcoming weekend is huge for us, and this week at practice we have to test our weaknesses to get better and really focus in on corner execution,” Nichols said. “That’s always one of our strengths. We’re such a close group of friends and teammates that if we stay together and practice hard, we can come out and win this weekend.”

The Owls’ next test comes against Massachusetts at noon Sunday, Oct. 18 at Geasey Field.

Christian Audesirk can be reached at christian.audesirk@temple.edu.

Geasey Field almost ready for competition

Field hockey should return to action at home Sunday.

Construction on Geasey Field has been behind schedule for three weeks now, but Karen Auerbach, associate director of athletic communications, said it’s nearing completion and will be ready some time next week.

The new turf is down and set. All that remains are drawing the lines used for field hockey, lacrosse, softball, football and soccer.

Geasey Field has been shut down for the better part of the summer as crews took their time to make sure the renovations were up to par, Auerbach said.

The field hockey team was forced to play its home games at Drexel’s Buckley Field, and the lacrosse team has been practicing at the Edberg-Olson Hall Football Complex.

Christian Audesirk can be reached at christian.audesirk@temple.edu.

Janney earns 50th win in thriller

Senior forward Mandi Ruth scored two goals, including the game-winning one, to lead the field hockey team to a 4-3 win against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

T-U-F-H. That’s the acronym spelled out on the field hockey team’s shirts, and it sounds just like it’s spelled – tough

The Owls (3-3) proved that toughness Sunday, as they won a 4-3 thriller against the winless Rutgers Scarlet Knights (0-6), who were ranked No. 24 last year. The win gave coach Amanda Janney her 50th career victory.

Senior forward Mandi Ruth had two goals, the bigger one of which was undoubtedly the game winner with 1 minute, 47 seconds left in the game. Senior defenseman Kristen Wanner set up the game-winning goal and put one in the net herself earlier in the game.

“We played so well together,” Ruth said. “We had a deep bench, and everybody played a big part, not just the forwards, but the [midfielders] took good shots, too.”

It wasn’t an easy road to victory, though, as the Owls spent most of the match playing catch-up. Rutgers came out scoring with senior forward Sarah Dunn on a breakout rush. Ruth answered minutes later with her first goal, dribbling through four Scarlet Knights to set up a goal from 8 yards out.

Rutgers then took over the rest of the first half, as senior forward Jessika Hoh scored back-to-back goals on the Owls.

“I told them to pick up the intensity,” Janney said. “We played flat in the first half. We had to respond to their goals, and they just needed to wake up.”

The Owls seemed to get the message, as they pressed hard in the second half.
Wanner scored a goal off a penalty corner.

Senior midfielder Charise Young set up the goal, as Wanner beat Rutgers goalkeeper Vickie Lavell’s stick side.

Mandi Ruth’s sister, Kasey, got into the act off a one-timer from sophomore forward/midfielder Bridget Settles in the 55th minute to tie things up.

Janney’s squad kept up the rush off the restart, as the Owls got a two-on-one breakaway. Junior forward Taryn Nichols passed the ball to junior midfielder Kate Delaco to set up a one-timer.

Lavell made a highlight-reel save, though, as she dove from one side of the net to the other and took the shot right off the chest and out of play.

Following a combination of turnovers and penalty corners, Rutgers coach Liz Tchou made her way onto the field, yelling at her squad and eventually receiving a penalty of her own. Temple freshman Taylor Musser caused yet another penalty corner for the Owls.

Mandi Ruth and Wanner took over from there.

Janney took into account that the Rutgers defense would key in on Ruth and called in a play that had Wanner fake the shot, then pass it to Ruth for the game winner in the last two minutes of the game.
Rutgers had one last attempt, as the Scarlet Knights forced a penalty corner as time expired.

“I was scared,” Mandi Ruth said. “We scored late, and we lost our transition. We were all on the 50-yard line, praying it was over.”

Senior defenseman Kate Stewart said the communication in the box helped end the game and seal the victory.

“Communication is a big key,” she said. “We always play well when we’re talking and when we’re switching on cutters and knowing where the forwards are.”

“The strength of our team is the depth of our bench,” Janney said. “From the seniors to the freshmen down, we utilize all our players. Our forwards got aggressive. It was just a great job to win in the attacking end.”

The Owls are off until Friday, when they play at Delaware under the lights.

Christian Audesirk can be reached at christian.audesirk@temple.edu.

Defense spurs expectations

After dropping a 2-0 decision to Connecticut to open the season, the Owls downed Saint Francis, 4-1, at Drexel.

En Masse, pronounced “awn-moss,” is a French term meaning all together, a whole or as one. Fifth-year coach Amanda Janney may have not quite understood the term being tossed around the bench Sunday at the field hockey team’s evening matchup, but she would soon witness the Owls put the word into effect.

After dropping the season opener to Connecticut, 2-0, Janney’s 2009 team played as one cohesive unit, lending to a 4–1 victory Sunday over Saint Francis.

Temple capitalized on almost every Saint Francis mistake. The Owls dominated the Red Flash in the first half and allowed only four shots. The second half wasn’t much better, as Saint Francis had only two legit rushes and scored a five-hole goal with eight minutes to go. The Owls cashed in on a flurry of turnovers by the Red Flash for 25 shots and 12 penalty corners.

Great stick checking by sophomore Carissa Young and seniors Kasey Ruth and Kate Stewart proved that the defensive effort has taken the next step.

“It can get very physical out there,” Janney said. “We try to train our girls not to cause fouls, but sometimes you have to use your body to defend yourself out there.”

The victory also showed senior leadership in full effect. Between periods, senior goalkeeper Sarah Dalrymple guided younger players toward what needed to change in the second half. Janney said senior leadership like that will factor into winning an Atlantic Ten Championship.

“The whole senior class has to step up,” she said. “We expect a lot of them and have high expectations for the season. They worked so hard over the last few years, and they’ve trained hard to improve tremendously, and we are really looking forward to taking it to our strong schedule.”

Forwards Taryn Nichols and Bridget Settles will play a vital part in the offensive scheme this season. Nichols had a two-point day with a goal and an assist, while Settles stole the show with two goals and an assist. Senior Kristen Wanner put a goal in the back of the cage as well.

“You never really know what to expect out there, but you always hope for the best,” Settles said. “As long as we keep outshooting our opponents, it’ll go in eventually.”

Nichols shared views with her coach as the junior praised her versatile team.

“A lot of different people did a lot of great things,” she said. “Three different people played center back, made great passes and just made the game go for us.”

Temple is slated to finish second in the A-10, but senior captain Charise Young said she wants some hardware to come back to North Philadelphia. Sophomore midfielder Kaylee Keener and senior midfielder Kimmi Hanshue, along with the rest of team, displayed solid passing all game against Saint Francis. Janney said despite the team having minimal turnovers in the game, to get to the NCAA Tournament, the players will have to clean up a few things, including two-touch passing and pressing on defense.

“Right now, we’re focused on non-confernce, and when the A-10s come around, we’ll deal with it then,” Janney said. “We’re still working on some things, and we’re improving every game.”

The Owls play division foes La Salle, West Chester and top-ranked Massachusetts in the twilight of their season.

Christian Audesirk can be reached at christian.audesirk@temple.edu.

Championship bid ends on controversial OT goal

Not even déjà vu works like this.

For the fifth straight year, the field hockey team’s season ended in the Atlantic Ten Conference semifinals. Last Friday, the Owls lost to Richmond, 4-3, in an overtime shocker at Geasey Field.
Despite a remarkable late-game comeback, in which the Owls netted two goals in the final three minutes, their effort was rendered null by a controversial goal.

“Our defender made a great tackle,” coach Amanda Janney said. “She had her stick on the ball, and their forward ran her over, pushed her down, knocked her stick out of the way and proceeded to dribble through and hit the ball [into the net].”

With 2:32 left in regulation, Owls junior forward Dannah Brehm overwhelmed a back-pedaling Spider defense, scooped up the loose ball and sidestepped past Richmond senior goalkeeper Becca Weaver before tapping in the goal.

The pendulum continued to swing further in the Owls’ direction as a corner call was awarded with two minutes to play. The centering pass by junior forward Charise Young was botched, but the Owls quickly got back in position. Junior forward Mandi Ruth came up with the ball and slammed it into the back of the net to tie the game at 3-3.

“Momentum,” senior defender Mary Catherine Kinneman said. “We finally had them on their heels, and we were finally pressing them in. We were able to capitalize on a couple mistakes that they made.”
An explosion of emotion rippled through Owls’ players and fans alike, and when the horn sounded ending 70 minutes of play, they geared up for 15 more.

Unfortunately, the Spiders would only need 53 seconds. Overtime consists of six-on-six play and a goalie for each team. That left plenty of open field for Richmond junior forward Sarah Blythe-Wood to score the game-winning goal.

Janney believed there was foul play involved, and the “no-call” resulted in a disadvantage for her team.
“I felt like it was a foul against them, and we should have been getting a free hit instead of them allowing the goal to happen,” Janney said. “They were calling fouls like that earlier in the game, so I felt it was a little inconsistent.”

Regardless of the drama, the Owls were proud of the way they battled back.

“It was really important to me that as a team we didn’t give up, and I think that’s kind of been the theme of our whole season,” Kinneman said. “We’ve had some rough breaks, and we really haven’t given up.”

The game started like many others, with an ebb and flow between each team’s attacks. Then the fireworks began, as Spiders sniper Megan Thompson knocked home a goal at the 22:28 mark in the first half.

Another tally just minutes later had Owls fans reeling, and the scoreboard reading 2-0 in favor of the visitors. The Spiders continued to move the ball well in the first half and kept the Owls at bay with more pressure. The Cherry and White offense stalled due to poor stick-to-stick passing and the solid defensive fortification surrounding Weaver.

In the second half, both sides exchanged blows. First it was Brehm, who made a phenomenal stick-handling deke to get into the scoring circle and pounded a shot into the goal.

Next, it was Thompson who struck again, this time with 16:01 to play. The junior forward devilishly slipped behind the Owls’ defense for an easy cherry-picker goal. With the game now 3-1, it would take an error by the Spiders’ defenders and a heads-up play by Brehm to trim the lead.

The loss means the Cherry and White will finish their season 8-12 and under .500 for the first time in Janney’s four years at Temple. But the team rallied down the stretch to make a postseason game even possible.

“We’ve come a long way this season,” Janney said. “We’ve gotten better every game, which makes us happy as a coaching staff that they have really improved.”

Anthony Stipa can be reached at anthony.stipa@temple.edu.

Smiles all around in preparation for playoffs

Sitting near the top of the field hockey team’s checklist for 2008 was a win against Saint Joseph’s on Nov. 1.

Last season, the Owls were bounced from the Atlantic Ten Conference Tournament by the Hawks 3-2, and as rivalries typically go, emotions were high.

Saturday, the Cherry and White brought their sticks and pencils to scribble out the Hawks, 2-1, on Senior Day.

“It was a great feeling to know that we were able to somewhat avenge last year’s loss,” coach Amanda Janney said. “That was a huge disappointment for us, and we’ve always gone back and forth with St. Joe’s, and they give us a little bit more trouble than I think they should.”

Prior to the game, seniors Liz Watto, Erin Hanshue, Jamie Adams and Mary Catherine Kinneman were honored for four years of memories.

“It was awesome,” goalkeeper Hanshue said. “[Senior Day is] the one game of your whole career that you’re probably going to remember most.”

Utilizing the energy of family and friends in attendance, forward Watto cracked a pair of goose eggs at the 13:05 mark in the first half. Her goal came on a rocket shot by junior midfielder Kristen Wanner, and it was deflected high and into the back of the net.

“It felt great,” Watto said. “I’ve been waiting five years for Senior Day, so it was extra nice to score a goal.”

The game remained close throughout the first half with each team trading pressure. Bodies were flying, sticks were loose and play was physical. Janney voiced her frustration with the Hawks’ style of play.

“I wish some of their girls could control their bodies a little bit more because I think they are out of control, and they are fouling us,” she said. “Our girls do a good job not to push and foul.”
In the second half, the Owls nearly lost their lead.

Hawks’ senior forward Marisa Pizzi hit sophomore forward Jen Wrublesky with a pass that left a one-on-one with Hanshue. The result was a game-making dive and stop that preserved a 1-0 cushion.

“I was thinking, ‘Oh crap,’” Hanshue said. “I was trying to fake her out, and hopefully she would go to my right side because that’s my strongest side. If she would have passed the ball right I knew I had a better shot at getting it.”

St. Joe’s had a three-on-one breakaway just a couple minutes later but squandered the opportunity amidst the moans and groans of the Hawks’ fans in the crowd.

With 5:15 left in regulation, junior forward Mandi Ruth raked home her sixth goal of the season, giving the Owls room to breathe.

A goal by Hawks’ sophomore forward Hannah Rogers would be a comeback effort too late in the making.
The win put the Owls at 8-11, but more importantly, 4-2 in the A-10, good enough to leapfrog the Hawks, who are 11-8 and 3-3.

“It’s really great to get this momentum,” Janney said. “We kind of said that before the game that we really needed a win.”

Temple will be the No. 3 seed to St. Joe’s No. 4 status in this weekend’s A-10 Tournament at Geasey Field. On Friday at 11 a.m., the Owls will take on No. 2 Richmond, a team seniors Hanshue, Watto, Adams and Kinneman have never beaten.

In the 2006 A-10 semifinals, the Spiders defied the Owls’ title bid, 2-1. The team has lost in the A-10 semifinals each of the last four years. But this year, the team has a different mindset.

“It’s a huge deal, and yeah — we do think this is the year,” Hanshue said. “Especially with the Phillies winning, the Philly curse is broken, so it’s our turn.”

Home turf advantage could propel the Owls to their first conference championship since 1994. And it would be the ultimate check mark for the seniors who have experienced their share of disappointing Novembers.

Anthony Stipa can be reached anthony.stipa@temple.edu.

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