Temple Lacrosse entered Thursday evening’s American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal game having lost three of its last four games to end the regular season. Despite working with little momentum, the Owls hoped to take down No. 18 James Madison to earn their first postseason and ranked win since 2021.
The Owls kept up with the Dukes in their last matchup on April 6, holding the lead for the majority of the first half before collapsing and losing by four. Thursday’s game was a different story, as JMU jumped to a 4-0 lead seven minutes into the game. The Dukes cruised the rest of the way and ended the Owls’ season.
Temple (9-7, 4-3 AAC) fell to JMU (14-4, 6-1 AAC) 16-7 at the Vanderbilt Sports Complex Thursday evening. Temple moved to an abysmal 0-6 against ranked opponents this season, getting outscored 68-35.
The Owls relied on their defense all season, entering the game with the 18th-ranked scoring defense in the country, but the Dukes were unfazed. JMU attacker Isabella Peterson opened the scoring just 12 seconds in, and the team quickly built a 4-0 lead.
Attacker Amelia Wright finally got Temple on the board with eight minutes left in the first quarter, but JMU continued to have its way, putting Temple in a 7-2 hole by the end of the period.
First team All-AAC goalkeeper Taylor Grollman was ranked 11th in the country in save percentage coming into the game. However, her first-quarter struggles forced head coach Bonnie Rosen to bring in Riley Horoshko, who had just seven minutes of game action on the season. Horoshko played the remainder of the game and finished with eight saves and nine goals allowed.
Temple’s goalkeeper change did not slow down the JMU attack, as the Dukes scored four more goals in the second quarter and took an 11-5 lead by halftime. JMU outshot Temple 19-10 in the first half and ended the game with 13 more shots than the Owls. Temple’s offense was unable to take care of the ball throughout the game, finishing with 20 turnovers.
JMU continued to build its lead in the third quarter, scoring two more goals and holding Temple scoreless for the first 10 minutes. The Owls’ defense stepped up in the fourth quarter, holding the Dukes to just two goals, but they couldn’t overcome the deficit.
Peterson, attacker Maddie Epke and midfielder Taylor Marchetti each had a hat trick for JMU in the blowout win. Wright and midfielder Maeve Tobin led the Owls with two goals apiece. Midfielder Belle Mastropietro, who led Temple with 39 goals this season, went scoreless in the final game of her career.
Temple ends the season with many starters and program record holders graduating from the program, including Mastropietro, defender Katie Shallow and attacker Mackenzie Roth. Replacing three of the best players in program history will not be easy, but Temple must fill their shoes to return to the postseason.
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