Temple was looking for any sort of separation five minutes into the third quarter in its game against Rider on Thursday. The Owls saw their four-point lead dwindle to just one before halftime and were trying to avoid a second straight collapse to begin the season.
The Owls’ offense started to click and they began to put the game out of reach. Temple piled on four straight after halftime and while Rider responded with four goals of its own, its fate was already decided. The Owls tacked on two straight goals in the fourth quarter and notched their first win of the season.
Temple (1-1, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) snuck by Rider (1-1, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) 15-12 Thursday afternoon at Howarth Field. Temple attacker Amelia Wright found the back of the net seven times during the match.
“It’s such an exciting day,” said head coach Bonnie Rosen. “To be at home and come away with the win is really nice.”
Early in the game, Rider struck first as attacker Elizabeth Shean found fellow attacker Selena Carrington to get the early goal. However, two minutes later, Temple defender Anastasia Ciminera found Wright to level the game.
The Broncs quickly regained their one-goal advantage when attacker Toni Gismondi received a pass from attacker Anna Devlin and swiftly scored. Temple attacker Erin King converted on a free position opportunity to tie the game again.
Wright found the back of the net again seven minutes into the opening quarter to give Temple its first lead of the afternoon. Rider attacker Katie Walsh came back on the other end for the Broncs, getting a third shot past Temple goalkeeper Taylor Grollman.
Wright scored four goals in Temple’s last game against Delaware on Feb. 7 and it only took her 11 minutes to record her second hat trick in as many games. Wright corralled a pass from King in front of the net and beat Rider goalkeeper Jamie Kubach to give Temple a 4-3 lead. Attacker Jenna Facciolli added to the Owls’ lead with a free position shot at the end of the first quarter.
The Owls carried their momentum into the second quarter when King found the back of the net to make the score 6-3 just 22 seconds in. Rider nearly stunted the run when Shean was awarded a free position shot, but Grollman stuffed the Broncs’ opportunity to continue the downward spiral.
“I just relied on the defense around me,” Grollman said. “I think the chemistry off the field translates in practice, we have hard practices so that’s when we learn to pick each other up when we’re struggling.”
The Owls kept their offensive onslaught going as midfielder Sarah Gowman found attacker Kali Saito to extend the lead. Rider finally got back on the board after Carrington dished a ball to Shean to halt the avalanche.
The Broncs pulled the game within two when midfielder Madison Moten committed a foul, which led to a free position shot that Carrington scored. Temple responded almost immediately when attacker Lexi Culp recorded an assist by finding Wright, who sent a shot into the back of the net. Just 10 seconds later, Temple continued its attack. This time, Wright found Gowman to make the game 9-5.
Rider started to find momentum with Carrington leading the way. She recorded a hat trick and not even a minute later, midfielder Madison Rothwein scored to bring the game within two goals. They rode the momentum into halftime as Walsh found Gismondi to make the game 9-8.
A goal from midfielder Kaitlyn Stankavage opened the floodgates for the Owls as they poured in three more goals. Midfielder Sabrina Martin got in on the action and was followed by Wright’s fifth goal of the game. Culp capped off the barrage to give Temple its largest lead of the game at 13-8.
The Broncs tried to make another run to take back the lead late in the third quarter. Walsh kicked the effort off with a goal and midfielder Elena Bontatibus followed it up when she found Devlin with under three seconds left on the clock to make the score 13-11 heading into the final 15 minutes.
Temple opened the final quarter hoping to keep Rider at bay, but the plan nearly unraveled four minutes in. Carrington cut the Owls’ lead to just one, ripping a shot that found the back of the net.
Wright found the back of the net again, as the Owls fended off Rider’s comeback attempt. Grollman stayed strong as she fought off multiple Rider shots to maintain Temple’s two-goal lead. Wright added another goal for good measure as the Owls successfully ended the Broncs’ hopes.
”Everyday in practice, trying out new things, using different people, seeing the space well, using all of the things that we practice everyday to our advantage,” Wright said. “We came in with a good game plan and we stuck to it.”
The Owls continue their short home stand when they take on Big 5 rival, Saint Joseph’s (0-2, 0-0 A-10 Conference) at Howarth Field on Feb. 19 at 3 p.m.
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