Owls’ second-half defense leads to loss to Commodores

The same story has unfolded for Temple recently: It starts strong on both sides of the field but falters down the stretch. Saturday found the Owls scoring the first goal of the game against Vanderbilt, but then allowing the next four. However, they didn’t roll over and fought their way back. 

Temple was down by one in the back half of the second quarter until attacker Amelia Wright scored two consecutive goals in her first game since Feb. 19. The Owls’ offense endured a drought in the third quarter but once again heightened their play to keep the game level. 

The score was knotted at 11 with six minutes left to play until Commodores’ midfielder Kemper Robinson got the best of Temple’s defense. The Owls still had ample time to score but midfielder Sarah Gowman’s shot went wide as they dropped their fifth straight game. 

Temple (2-10, 0-3 American Athletic Conference) fell to Vanderbilt (6-7, 2-2 AAC) 12-11 Saturday afternoon at the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex in Nashville, Tennessee. Temple is on pace for its worst record under head coach Bonnie Rosen.

KEY MOMENTS

• Temple midfielder Erin King got the scoring started just 38 seconds into the contest when she beat Vanderbilt keeper Molly Joyce. The lead didn’t last long as Commodores’ midfielder Brooke Baker leveled the game at one less than three minutes later. 
• Baker followed it up by taking advantage of the man-up opportunity to give Vanderbilt their first lead of the afternoon. Temple’s defense started to fall apart as attackers Jamie Biskup and Nancy Halleron both beat net minder Taylor Grollman to take a 4-1 lead with eight-and-a-half minutes left in the first quarter. 
• Rosen tried to ice the Commodores with a timeout and that’s exactly what happened when Temple midfielder Sabrina Martin halted Vanderbilt’s onslaught as she beat Joyce on the man-up opportunity.
• Owls’ attacker Lexi Culp followed up Martin’s goal with one of her own to draw the game within one. However, Biskup put an end to the Owls’ momentum as she notched her second goal of the game to push her team’s lead to 5-3.
• Halleron beat Grollman for a second time but Temple midfielder Emily Liberio found the back of the net herself to close out the first quarter, down 6-4. 
• Gowman cut into the Owls’ lead to start the second quarter however, Vanderbilt attacker Molly Finlay beat Temple goalkeeper Colleen Berardino less than a minute later to get the Commodores on the board in the new quarter.
• The Owls were determined to not fall too far behind and King got past Joyce once again to try to stay in the game. Wright notched back-to-back goals to give her squad their second lead of the entire half and the 8-7 advantage going into the locker room.
• After a slow seven minutes to start the second half, Vanderbilt midfielder Anna Taraboletti beat Berardino to knot the game back up at eight. Baker and Halleron added to the run as they started to pull away from the Owls. 
• Temple midfielder Lily Caravela managed to get a shot past Royce to give the Owls their only goal of the third quarter, after scoring four goals in each quarter of the first half.
• Gowman got the Owls on the right foot to open up the fourth quarter, tying the game up at 10 as Temple looked to steer the game into the right direction. The hope was short-lived as Robinson found the back of the net to take the lead right back.
• Gowman notched her hat trick as she tied the game up at 11. However, the game continued its trend of Temple’s momentum being halted as Robinson got her second goal of the afternoon to take the lead back and force Rosen to call another timeout.
• The Owls were down by one with six seconds left when Gowman attempted the hat trick, but her shot went wide and sealed the Owls’ fate.

THE NUMBERS

• Grollman allowed six goals and couldn’t record a single save in the first 14 minutes of the game, so backup keeper Berardino found her way onto the field. Berardino had a career-high 11 saves and only allowed six goals.
• Vanderbilt gave the Owls’ defense issues, with two players recording a hat trick and four other Commodores finding the back of the net.
• The Owls’ offense was spread out, with seven players scoring at least one goal.
• Temple’s turnover problem was an issue with 18 compared to Vanderbilt’s 10.
• The Commodores won the ground ball battle 16 to 10.
• Wright returned for the first time in nine games and notched two goals and two assists. The goals put Wright tied as Temple’s second leading scorer.

ON TAP

Temple will return home to Howarth Field to face No. 12 James Madison (7-4, 3-0 AAC) on April 12 at noon.