Lacrosse Comes up Just Short at #13 Massachusetts After an Impressive Effort

Friday, April 12

Amherst, Mass.

4:00 PM

Temple University

8-5, 3-1 A-10

Massachusetts

12-2, 4-0 A-10

Temple

Massachusetts

Jaymie Tabor scored five goals at #13 UMass

Lacrosse Comes up Just Short at #13 Massachusetts After an Impressive Effort

4.12.13 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. - After climbing back from a big early deficit, Temple lacrosse could not overcome the efforts of #13 Massachusetts' Katie Ferris, who scored all six of her team's second-half goals in a 12-10 win. The Owls (8-5, 3-1) were previously undefeated in the Atlantic 10, as was UMass who stays perfect at 4-0 along with a 12-2 overall record.

Jaymie Tabor was outstanding for the Owls, scoring five goals in her first appearance in a conference game this season. She suffered a concussion at Delaware back on March 27 and had not seen game action since. Kellee Pace and Kelly Syphard scored two goals apiece, while Stephany Parcell recorded a goal along with three assists.

Senior goalkeeper Meghan Clothier, the reigning A-10 Defensive Player of the Week, tied her career high with 10 saves. She made seven of those in an impressive first-half effort to keep the Owls from falling even further behind than they did. Clothier was not the only Owl with a strong defensive game, as Nina Falcone recorded five caused turnovers along with three ground balls.

Nothing went the Owls' way on offense early in the game. At the midway point of the first half, UMass had a 5-0 lead on the scoreboard, a 13-1 advantage in shots, and a 5-1 edge in draw controls.

The Owls' early possessions were brief, and despite the seven saves by Clothier, it seemed that every turnover by Temple led to another goal for UMass.

With nine minutes remaining in the first half, Tabor got the Owls on the board by converting on a free-position opportunity. Rachel Schwaab controlled the next draw, and before even a minute had passed, Tabor was lining up for yet another free-position shot. This time, Tabor faked out the UMass defense on her way towards the net, and put the ball in the back of the cage to narrow the margin to 5-2.

Over five minutes passed with no scoring by either team, but the momentum stayed with the Owls who had three shots in that span as well as a two-minute, man-up opportunity. UMass was able to kill the penalty, but a turnover near the three-minute mark by the Minutewomen led to Temple's third goal.

Charlotte Swavola picked up the ground ball on the turnover and ran the length of the field, eventually finding the stick of Kathryn Skahan who passed to Syphard for a goal. After a draw control for the Minutewomen, they committed another turnover that led to a Temple goal.

Syphard took a feed from Parcell with 1:36 remaining to put the Owls within a goal, 5-4, and Parcell got the next draw. She would take it down and pass to Pace, who tied the game at 5-5 with 43 seconds remaining.

UMass got a little momentum back as Sam Rush scored her second goal of the game in the remaining time, sending her team into halftime up by one, 6-5.

After Clothier's ninth save of the game early in the second half, Temple cleared the ball quickly and Pace scored her second goal thanks to a Syphard assist at 25:45. Pace's goal tied the game, and just after nine minutes had passed in the second half, the Owls got their first lead on a free-position goal by Parcell.

Tabor completed the hat trick with an unassisted goal at 18:36 to put Temple ahead by two, 8-6. Ferris finally put UMass on the board in the second half with a goal at 17:01, but Tabor answered to push the margin back to two, 9-7 at 15:17.

Shortly after Tabor's fourth goal, Ferris began to take charge for the Minutewomen. Her offensive display was impressive, as she scored three goals in a 37-second span, and added another one three minutes later. Her 4-0 run put UMass up 11-9 with 10:04 remaining, and the Owls managed just one goal the rest of the way.

The final goal for Temple was Tabor's fifth, cutting the deficit to 11-10 at 7:59. The Owls not only killed a penalty over the next few minutes, but also had a free-position opportunity. That shot did not go, and the final minutes saw another goal by Ferris. UMass was able to hang onto the ball after getting the last draw control, and Temple could not come up with another chance on offense.

The Owls will look to recover quickly, and will come back closer to home to play at La Salle at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 14.