Villanova women’s lacrosse (4-4) dominated Temple University (5-4) in the first half Wednesday to win by a final score of 13-11 at Villanova Stadium.
The Wildcats took control of the tempo early, scoring seven goals in the first 12 minutes of the contest and then five more before the half was over to give themselves a comfortable 12-3 lead going into halftime.
Villanova dominated Temple in the shooting category, outshooting them 24-10 in the first half. The only offense from Temple in the first half was two goals from freshman midfielder Belle Mastropietro and sophomore attacker Abaigeal Ryan.
The second half was a completely different game. Temple outshot Villanova 20-3 and outscored the Wildcats 8-1. Senior attacker Meghan Hoffman helped the Owls with a hat trick in the second half.
“Our attack stepped up, our defense stepped up, it was an all around effort,” Hoffman said. “We started to switch up our game plan but it had a lot to do with coach [Bonnie Rosen] putting some inspiration in us.”
In the second half, Temple recorded 12 more ground balls, forced 15 Villanova turnovers and went a perfect 10-for-10 on clears. The only category that Temple did not beat Villanova in was saves, with Wildcats sophomore goalkeeper Alexa Moro making eight saves in the second half.
“We adjusted some gameplay, switched up the defenses and opened up some different offensive sets, but I certainly will not take credit for the second half, our players fought really hard and got after it, I could not be prouder,” Rosen said.
Rosen believes the Owls could have won the game if there had been five more minutes to play.
Temple’s season has been suspended due to COVID-19. The team was scheduled to travel to Maryland to face Mount St. Mary’s (6-1) on Saturday.
Be the first to comment