Katie Shallow entered Temple Lacrosse’s game against Delaware on Feb. 21 at the brink of making history. The Owls defender stepped on the field tied with Shelly Wosczyna for the program record in caused turnovers with 98.
Forcing takeaways is routine for Shallow, so it wasn’t a shock when she checked Blue Hens defender Madison Hranicka with three minutes remaining in the quarter, forced a turnover and secured the record, which previously stood for 22 years.
Shallow finished the game with four turnovers and has continued to dominate since, sitting at 119 caused turnovers with six games left in the season.
She achieved yet another milestone that game and became the eighth active Division I player to force 100 turnovers in a career. The feat signifies her dedication and importance to the Temple Lacrosse program.
“I’m honored to be a part of a program where I can do that,” Shallow said. “A lot of what I do, I owe it to the people behind me and doing the work for me to be in position to cause a turnover.”
While lacrosse wasn’t Shallow’s first sport, she found a natural home in it on the defensive side due to her athletic experience. Shallow played basketball until her sophomore year of high school before deciding to pick up the stick. Her defensive instincts on the court converted perfectly onto the field.
“A lot of the stuff I learned from basketball translated over, especially on defense, like sliding and IQ,” Shallow said. “It did not come easy, it definitely took some work but in the end, I’m very happy I picked up the stick.”
Shallow quickly found success despite starting late. She was put onto Temple Lacrosse head coach Bonnie Rosen’s radar by her high school coach. As soon as Rosen saw her play, she knew she had to get Shallow in the Cherry and White.
“She had all of the instincts of defenders that I love,” Rosen said. “She looked for interceptions, she looked to jump on ground balls, she could move quick and fast and she was competitive. I saw out of her someone that really loved to play the game.”
Rosen got Shallow to North Broad for the 2021 season, and Shallow immediately hit her stride. She started every game of her freshman season and helped Temple make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008.
Shallow has continued to develop and elevate her game each season. She started every game of her career, becoming the anchor of the Owls’ defense, and racked up awards on top of her record.
She was named to the All-AAC Tournament team in 2021, earned second-team All-Conference in 2022 and moved up to first-team All-Conference in 2023. She was also the AAC preseason defensive player of the year and preseason all-conference entering this season.
“Every time we are playing defense she is reading for how we are going to get the ball,” Rosen said. “It is that mentality and her ability to spot things and quickness to jump on them that makes her a really effective defender.”
Shallow is living up to the expectations so far this season. She caused 36 turnovers, which is already a new career high. Shallow ranks third in the country in caused turnovers and caused turnovers per game at 4.00.
She also ranks third in the country in ground balls and ground balls per game at 37 and 4.11 respectively. She currently sits sixth all-time in program history in ground balls at 155.
“She sees the field so much better than most lacrosse players I know,” said defender Maddie Barber. “She is always one step ahead of the opposing attackers.”
Barber, who is also a senior, has helped anchor the Owls’ defense alongside Shallow during their tenure at Temple.
The duo came in and started nearly every game together throughout the last four years. The pair has the Owls sitting third in the country in caused turnovers with 119, and when Shallow was closing in on the record, Barber made sure she was on watch for when Shallow could break it.
“I was one of the only people that knew she was going to break it,” Barber said. “I made the announcement after she tied it and after her first caused turnover of our next game everyone just exploded. I was really glad she got that recognition and love because she deserves all of it.”
The legacy Shallow is creating for herself puts her among the best in program history. The senior has improved her game each season and now holds the record for one of the most important parts of lacrosse while continuing to climb the ranks in ground balls.
Shallow still has one more chapter to write in her stellar career. She helped lead Temple to the AAC Tournament in her first two seasons, but they failed to qualify last season when it was hosted at Howarth Field. Shallow hopes to get back to that stage while continuing to make memories in her final months as an Owl.
“I definitely want to get back to the AAC Tournament,” Shallow said. “We didn’t qualify last year when it was literally hosted here. I just want to keep making memories and being the defense we are, and keeping that strong resilient reputation.”
Be the first to comment