DiTaranto’s return from injury leads to win

After three consecutive 1-0 losses, the Owls defeated Cincinnati 2-1 Thursday for their first win of conference play.  

After falling behind 1-0 in the first half, the Owls scored two goals in the final 35 minutes, including redshirt-junior midfielder Gina DiTaranto’s game-winning goal in the 70th minute.

It was DiTaranto’s first goal since Sept. 1 and the Owls first since Sept. 20.

“When you get the chance to go in you just have to make the best of it,” DiTaranto said.

After dislocating her kneecap Sept. 6 in a 3-2 loss against Lehigh University, coach Seamus O’Connor said DiTaranto has been working her way back into form.

“She has been working out extra on her own she’s been in the weight room working her socks off just to get close to 100 percent again,” O’Connor said. “It has also been strain on her mentally.”

“When Gina’s fit, she’s really special,” O’Connor added.

Temple struggled to find rhythm in the first half, registering one shot in the first 35 minutes.  DiTaranto came on as a substitute in the 40th minute for sophomore forward Gabriella McKeown and helped the Owls total seven shots in the second half.

“Today Gina came off the bench and made a huge difference,” O’Connor said.  “We weren’t able to do that well in the first half, but once Gina came in there we were able to do it.”

Prior to the game against Cincinnati, DiTaranto had gone 180 minutes without registering a point.  

“That was way more like her and not what we’ve seen in the past couple of weeks where she just wasn’t 100 percent,” O’Connor said.

Before the injury, DiTaranto, who transferred in 2014 after two years at the University of Delaware, had one goal, one assist, seven shots on goal and averaged one point every 84 minutes.  

Along with her goal Thursday, the redshirt junior assisted on sophomore midfielder Elana Falcone’s score in the 56th minute.

With her injury struggles behind her, DiTaranto was happy to pop up with an important goal for the Owls.
“I got my chance, I was in the right spot, and I capitalized on my time in there,” DiTaranto said.