Temple lacrosse gets road win

Freshman midfielder Belle Mastropietro’s five-goal performance helped Temple University lacrosse (4-3) beat Columbia University (0-5) 15-12 at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium in New York City. This is the Owls’ third consecutive win.

The Owls led only 8-7 at halftime. Then, in the second half, the Owls edged out the Lions 7-5.

Senior midfielder Jen Rodzewich contributed to the victory with four goals, along with senior attacker Olivia Thompson and senior midfielder Meghan Hoffman who scored two goals each. 

Lions junior attacker Alexandria Absey led Columbia’s offense with five goals. Junior attacker Chelsea Witteck scored a hat trick, while junior midfielder Devon Stuzin and senior midfielder Fallon Quinn added two goals each.

“From start to finish, Belle Mastropietro helped anchor a lot of the big moments on the field, but there were contributions everywhere,” coach Bonnie Rosen said. “There were caused turnovers in transition that allowed us to get a ball back and there were some important saves at times.”

The momentum in the game began to shift once the Owls slowed down Columbia’s effective draw control. Columbia controlled the draw for the majority of the game and won 19 draws compared to Temple which won 10.

“Our whole draw team, between Belle Mastropietro, [senior defender] Kara Nakrasius and [junior midfielder] Bridget Whitaker on the circle, once they figured it out, that really changed the game a lot,” Rosen said.

The Owls’ offense moved the ball well and got everyone involved, which helped the team find openings in the defense that made it easy to score, Rodzewich said.

“I think our offensive ball movement was a big factor that played into the amount of goals that we got,” Rodzewich added. “We were able to find the open man and get the open goals. The ball movement really helped.” 

The Owls won their first away game of the year, which is very important, Mastropietro said.

Next, the Owls will take on the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (2-2) at Howarth Field on Saturday at 1 p.m.