Temple University lacrosse nearly pulled off the upset against Princeton University, which is ranked fifth in the NCAA women’s lacrosse rankings.
Temple (1-2) was tied with Princeton (1-0) 13-13, with seven minutes remaining in the game but Tigers sophomore attacker Kate Mulham, junior attacker Kyla Sears and freshman midfielder/attacker Kari Buonanno all scored in the final seven minutes to give the Tigers the 16-14 win on Saturday afternoon at Howarth Field.
Freshman attacker Riley McGowan and junior midfielder Bridget Whitaker led the Owls’ offense with four goals each. Junior midfielder Jen Rodzewhich added three goals in the loss.
McGowan has an arsenal of different types of shots, including a behind the back shot, which she used to score against Princeton.
McGowan believes her hard work is paying off and she is now comfortable playing on the field.
“As a freshman it’s kind of hard to get your confidence up, the past couple of games I was just afraid to have the ball and afraid to shoot,” McGowan said. “Once you get one or two under your belt, it makes it a lot easier and the girls make it really easy. They’re all very supportive.”
Princeton was aggressive during the entirety of the game. Sears and Buonnano led the Tigers with four goals. Mulham added three goals and freshman attacker Grace Tauckus scored two times.
Rodzewhich said she believes this game will help prepare the Owls in the future when they face other physical opponents, including Florida University, who won the American Athletic Conference last year. The Gators are currently ranked No. 12 in the country.
“It’s preparing us for the rest of the season because teams like Florida are just as aggressive,” Rodzewhich said. “You just have to handle it. Protect your stick and prepare yourself for the shoves and what not.”
Coach Bonnie Rosen was satisfied with her team’s performance against the Tigers.
“I’m really proud of the way we played the game from start to finish,” Rosen said. “ When you talk about wins, even when you lose, today was one of those days.”
Rosen is excited moving forward as her team competed with one of the best teams in the nation and she hopes her team realizes how good they could be, she said.
“For our players to have a chance to see that they competed fully through the whole game, is the confidence we need to develop and take and run with,” Rosen said. “I hope we took today to earn our own respect of what is possible.”
Next, the Owls will play Saint Joseph’s (1-2) at Howarth Field on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
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