The loss last Saturday against No. 19 Louisville continues a trend for the lacrosse team against nationally-ranked opponents.
Temple generally schedules two to three games a season in an attempt to make it into the rankings themselves, but the team has not beaten a ranked opponent in four seasons. Rosen said she does not let that affect the way she prepares for the competition.
“Our preparation is just based on what our opponents do,” Rosen said. “Their ranking is just a nice little feature that if you end up winning it’s a big win in other people’s columns. We don’t do anything differently, but just study them and know what their strengths and weaknesses are.”
Current co-captain Nina Falcone holds a similar approach in her preparation as the fifth-year senior has learned to not overhype an opportunity against one of the league’s elite.
“I would say you go into every game and you respect their stats, but you try to take advantage of what your own team has been gaining,” Falcone said. “You bring your game and the rest doesn’t matter.”
While the program has seen little success against ranked competition, the match-ups create opportunities for unique and memorable moments.
“I remember in my freshmen or sophomore year we beat Princeton,” Falcone said. “Our team really stepped up and that was a really big deal.”
The Owls upset No. 17 Princeton on March 31, 2010, when Falcone was a freshman. In a 14-12 decision the Owls got hat tricks from Stephanie Markunas, Ann Stouffer and Charlotte Swavola.
“I know not too long ago we beat Penn State when they were ranked at some point,” said Rosen.
Rosen was just beginning her second season in this game when the Owls knocked off the Nittany Lions 8-7 in the season opener.
“I think you want to beat them because you are going to give everything you have and you have nothing to lose against a ranked opponent and they have everything to lose,” Falcone said.
The next chance for Temple to beat a ranked opponent will not arrive until next season at the earliest.
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