Temple University Athletics
CHAMPIONS!! - Women's Lacrosse Wins 2008 A-10 Title
4.27.08 | Women's Lacrosse
April 27, 2008
AMHERST, MA - A four-goal effort by Britney Hoffman and a six goal first half propelled the Temple Owls to the Atlantic 10 Women's Lacrosse Championship over the UMass Minutewomen on Sunday afternoon at McGuirk Stadium with a 10-3 victory. The win gives Temple (13-5) its first Atlantic 10 title since 2004 and berth in the NCAA Tournament. Senior midfielder Whitney Richards was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after compiling five goal, six groundball, five draw control and six caused turnovers in two games.
The Owls jumped out to an early lead when Hoffman took a pass from Chelsea Rosiek and beat UMass goaltender Krissy Anderson just 4:05 into the first half. Temple continued to maintain possession throughout the first half, limiting the Minutewomen to seven shots on goal. The Owl defense forced UMass into committing 10 turnovers in the first half.
UMass tried to slow down the Temple attack during the first 30 minutes of play, and committed 14 fouls in the process. The Minutewomen were awarded three free position shots during the first half, but Temple netminder Bridget McMullan denied the UMass attempts to cut into the lead. Hoffman added another goal, along with two tallies from Whitney Richards to give Temple a commanding 6-0 lead at halftime.
The Owls continued to pressure in the early stages of the second half, scoring two goals in the first four minutes of the half on goals from Hillary Richards and Nicole Caniglia, both on free position shots. UMass got on the board 19 seconds later when Schreiner scored her 11th goal of the season. Hoffman responded with her third goal of the game with 21:46 to play in regulation, giving the Owls a 9-1 lead.
The Minutewomen tried to claw back into the game with 20:01 to play when Lyons scored her 15th goal of the year. Villapiano followed with a goal of her own nearly two minutes later. Hoffman closed out the scoring with her 25th goal of the season to seal to victory.
Statistically, UMass won the draw control battle 10-5, while also committing a season high 37 fouls to Temple's 11. The Owls went 5-7 on free position shots, while the Minutewomen went 0-3. The teams were even in shots with 18 a piece. McMullan made nine saves in goal for Temple and Anderson made four saves for UMass. Colleen Speth also saw time in goal for UMass, making one save. Berkley Summerlin led the Owls with five caused turnovers.
The Owls dominated the All-Tournament Team with Whitney Richards being named the Most Outstanding Player. Hoffman, McMullan, Rosiek and Berkley Summerlin were also voted to the All-Tournament Team.
Post Game Quotes:
On the goal of winning the A-10 Title
"The team was ready to go and they were determined and they've been that way since the moment I met them. The season started out with this goal in mind and they accomplished that."
On the difference between this year and last year
"It's the kids. They put their minds to what we wanted to do and they've been determined to take things step by step and Whitney [Richards] is a huge part of that."
On the team's success on free position shots
"Our team is really good at handling the physical pressure that UMass brings. We knew that was coming and our composure for most of the game was very key."
On the team's performance
"I think it was a real team effort. Our defense showed up and played excellent. [Brittany] Hoffman had a great game but overall I think it was a team effortn and we stuck with our game plan."
On the Temple senior class
"I think it's been an asset all year. They have a lot of knowledge, experience and know how to stay composed."
