Temple suffers first loss against No. 21 Yale

Temple Women’s Lacrosse’s 4-0 start had been its best since the 2013 campaign, and the team had a lot of momentum before facing No. 21 Yale, its toughest opponent yet

However, the Owls could not ride the momentum of their hot start to the year. They scored the first goal of the game, but the Bulldogs put up 10 straight points and held a nine-point lead until late in the third quarter, finishing the contest on top.

Temple (4-1, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) picked up its first loss of the season against Yale (3-0, 0-0 Ivy League), falling 13-5 on Saturday afternoon at Howarth Field. The Owls scored double-digit points in every game to open the season, but they came out flat against the Bulldogs’ strong defense.

“Obviously, the result is not what we wanted,” said Temple head coach Bonnie Rosen. “But I was really excited with the fight we had. Our biggest challenge was obviously figuring out their zone, and it wreaked havoc for a while on us, but I really credit our defense for keeping the game in reach.”

Temple seemed to be off to a good start when midfielder Belle Mastropietro scored her 11th goal of the season just six minutes into the first quarter. Yale quickly shut down the Owls’ momentum when attacker Sky Carrasquillo responded in less than a minute with a goal of her own and opened the floodgates. Carrasquillo and Taylor Everson both recorded three goals for Yale in the offensive onslaught. 

The Owls went scoreless for more than 38 minutes of play before midfielder Emily Liberio scored with 30 seconds left in the third quarter. Yale was already leading 10-1 with 15 minutes left in the game by the time Temple broke the drought.

“They came out with a lot of defensive pressure,” said Temple attacker Amelia Wright. “That first goal, we were two or three men up, so we had an advantage. Then when we were even again, their zone came out in full force and took away a lot of our options in the middle.”

Temple finally found some offensive momentum in the fourth quarter. Wright scored two goals in the frame, and Mastropietro earned her second of the game.

The Owls were severely outshot as they only fired off 16 shots compared to Yale’s 38. Temple goalkeeper Taylor Grollman saved a career-high 15 shots, but still allowed 13 to find the back of the net. The Owls’ defense helped force 14 Bulldog turnovers with defender Katie Shallow leading with three. 

“Taylor has been playing so well in the goal cage, and I think she did again today,” Rosen said. “I think the shots she saw that went in were tough ones to see. I think she made a lot of big saves for us, keeping us in the game, and we couldn’t ask for more from her.”

The Owls’ aggressive defense resulted in nine fouls, but they did not allow any of Yale’s free-position shots find the back of the net. Yale only committed one foul throughout the game.

Saturday’s game showed the Owls what they need to work on this season, but Rosen feels her squad is prepared for their next matchup with a ranked opponent.

Temple will remain at home to take on No. 14 Penn (2-0, 0-0 Ivy League) on Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.

“Penn is a really strong opponent and it will be a similar style game,” Rosen said. “They play a zone as well, and we know the game plan. We just have to work on how we are going to execute it at a higher level.”