Temple University Athletics
The Philosophy of Goaltending: How Lacrosse’s Maryn Lowell Makes it Work
3.28.18 | Women's Lacrosse
Goalkeepers are often known for being a bit... different. As the last line of defense in many team sports, the mental preparation of a goalkeeper often determines their success or failure. It's safe to say there is plenty going on in the brain of Temple lacrosse sophomore Maryn Lowell, who is not only a standout goalie but also the only student-athlete at the University who is majoring in philosophy.
While her teammates are primarily focused on the human body, communications, teaching or business, Lowell is considering her stance on the issues fundamental to human nature and existence. As a philosophy major, Lowell relies on her ability to think critically and hopes to use that power to make a real change in the world as a lawyer someday.
For now, Lowell focuses on her classes and on helping the Owls win on the lacrosse field. She's doing just fine on the former with a 3.93 cumulative grade-point average, and just as well on the latter. Lowell has recently earned national recognition as an ILWCA National Defensive Player of the Week, and has ranked first or second in total saves in NCAA Division I all season long.
Ten games into the season, Lowell has a 7-3 record and has made no fewer than seven saves in a game, with five double-digit save efforts including a career-tying 17 of them against #9 Princeton. In the Owls' first two BIG EAST Conference games, both one-goal wins, she made huge stops either at the end of regulation or in overtime to preserve Temple victories.
"It's cool," said Lowell on her standing in the national stats, "but I just want to win all the games. It helps to win games if you don't let the ball in the goal, but I just want us to win."
As someone who is constantly thinking, that can have a lot of power on her ability to do well.
"My position is very mental," said Lowell. "Physically, anyone can be a goalie. You don't have to be strong or fast. You need good reflexes, but anyone could learn to do it. It's more about the mental side. When it comes down to it, it's just you and the ball. Every time you fail, they mark a tally on the scoreboard. You can get really in your head about it."
Lowell's propensity to be in her own head is something she is trying to use to her advantage, and her experiences as a philosophy major are having a positive influence.
"Since I am in my head a lot, that can impact me negatively if I lose control of my emotions," she said, "but philosophy has helped me to think in a different way. I think about what I can be doing better. If you think you'll do badly you probably will, but if you think you'll do well, you have a better chance of that."
Studying game film of opponents is somewhat of a chore for many student-athletes, but Lowell's analytical mind enjoys it.
"I like to watch film and make sure I know as much as I can about who we're facing and who's going to shoot," she said. "You can really learn their tendencies and that helps me a lot. I'm trying to be in their heads too. It's hard, but it really does work."
Lowell got into the sport of lacrosse as an eight-year old when her dad brought home a flyer, and he later got more involved and started coaching her teams.
"I started goalkeeping around sixth grade because no one else wanted to do it," said Lowell. "People like to score and no one wanted to get hit with the ball. But it was my dad coaching, so he had to make me do it and not someone else's kid. I started having fun with it pretty early on and I wasn't bad at it so I stuck with it. Without my dad I might not even be playing lacrosse still, but I ended up really liking it."
Lowell's decision to major in philosophy was motivated primarily by a desire to find a path to law school that she would enjoy.
"I wasn't sure what path to take so I did some research about good majors and philosophy was one of them," she said. "When I started taking philosophy classes I just thought 'this is the most interesting thing I can do.' There's so much you can do with it. People don't think of philosophy as being relevant to things in general, but you can be a philosopher of anything. There's a lot of you can do with it. A lot of jobs focus on ethics and that's my favorite branch of philosophy."
In listening to Lowell describe her experiences in philosophy classes, it's clear that they inspire a true passion for learning.
"They're unlike any other classes," she says. "You really get to the heart of issues. It's not so much test-based, it's more about your opinion. We talk a lot about morals, ethics and not just right from wrong but how it applies in the environment and different industries. I've always enjoyed learning but I haven't necessarily enjoyed school. I feel like this is different because it's so based on what you want to do personally. I like to argue and debate and state my opinion. It helps you know what you stand for. I enjoy thinking about these things and I enjoy talking to other people and seeing what they think about them, too."
Lowell plans to be possibly an environmental lawyer, or on the corporate side but to work against big corporations instead of with them. She's also minoring in criminal law and will likely pick up another minor in economics.
"Philosophy teaches me how to think for myself," said Lowell. "I feel like most people rely on what other people say and the media, but it really teaches you how to think. So no matter what I decide to do, I know it'll help me. I'm not just memorizing from a book."
In addition to being outspoken with her views on major issues, Lowell is known for her daredevil tendencies and her sarcastic nature.
"Yeah, probably," she says, when asked if she'd do anything she was dared to do. "I'm not afraid and I don't care what people think. I don't back down from a challenge. I can be easily convinced to do just about anything. I like to prove people wrong, like if someone says I won't do something."
Her sarcastic sense of humor helps keep things a little bit lighter for someone who has to be so focused academically and on the field, at least if people get what she's going for.
"I'm pretty quick-thinking so I'll make the witty remark. I pretty much say whatever comes to my mind and I don't filter myself very well," she laughs. "Whenever someone says something, I usually have a quick response. Sometimes people don't understand sarcasm and it's not funny when you have to explain it. But people have learned not to take me too seriously."
All joking aside, Lowell is learning to be a leader on a team she takes great pride in, particularly with regards to the sophomore class she's a part of.
"We have the biggest class, so strength in numbers is one thing, but also the individual people - we all have a drive to win," she says. "I think the coaches knew that in recruiting us. They sat us down this year and told us we really have to lead the team and have everyone be the best at something. We all want to get better and it shows all over the field in every position. We are a young team, and it's good to know we still have two years left and this is where we are now."
Lowell has worked primarily on her own game so far at Temple, and is wary of calling herself a leader. But her play on the field is certainly inspirational to others.
"I focus on myself a lot," she said. "I still try to be directive and a leader of the defense and give input, but I don't know if leadership is something I'm really good at. I do try to be encouraging and help calm everyone down. Hopefully I can step up my leadership in the future, but I've had to really work on myself first and keep my emotions in check."
Lowell may be a slightly different breed as a goalkeeping philosophy major, but at the end of the day, she's just one vital part of a team effort focused on making a name for Temple lacrosse.
"We want to do as much as we can this year, but as a class we know the older we get we can be even more dominant in coming seasons," she said. "We all want to win and get to the NCAA Tournament. We have a lot of confidence."
While her teammates are primarily focused on the human body, communications, teaching or business, Lowell is considering her stance on the issues fundamental to human nature and existence. As a philosophy major, Lowell relies on her ability to think critically and hopes to use that power to make a real change in the world as a lawyer someday.
For now, Lowell focuses on her classes and on helping the Owls win on the lacrosse field. She's doing just fine on the former with a 3.93 cumulative grade-point average, and just as well on the latter. Lowell has recently earned national recognition as an ILWCA National Defensive Player of the Week, and has ranked first or second in total saves in NCAA Division I all season long.
Ten games into the season, Lowell has a 7-3 record and has made no fewer than seven saves in a game, with five double-digit save efforts including a career-tying 17 of them against #9 Princeton. In the Owls' first two BIG EAST Conference games, both one-goal wins, she made huge stops either at the end of regulation or in overtime to preserve Temple victories.
"It's cool," said Lowell on her standing in the national stats, "but I just want to win all the games. It helps to win games if you don't let the ball in the goal, but I just want us to win."
As someone who is constantly thinking, that can have a lot of power on her ability to do well.
"My position is very mental," said Lowell. "Physically, anyone can be a goalie. You don't have to be strong or fast. You need good reflexes, but anyone could learn to do it. It's more about the mental side. When it comes down to it, it's just you and the ball. Every time you fail, they mark a tally on the scoreboard. You can get really in your head about it."
Lowell's propensity to be in her own head is something she is trying to use to her advantage, and her experiences as a philosophy major are having a positive influence.
"Since I am in my head a lot, that can impact me negatively if I lose control of my emotions," she said, "but philosophy has helped me to think in a different way. I think about what I can be doing better. If you think you'll do badly you probably will, but if you think you'll do well, you have a better chance of that."
Studying game film of opponents is somewhat of a chore for many student-athletes, but Lowell's analytical mind enjoys it.
"I like to watch film and make sure I know as much as I can about who we're facing and who's going to shoot," she said. "You can really learn their tendencies and that helps me a lot. I'm trying to be in their heads too. It's hard, but it really does work."
Lowell got into the sport of lacrosse as an eight-year old when her dad brought home a flyer, and he later got more involved and started coaching her teams.
"I started goalkeeping around sixth grade because no one else wanted to do it," said Lowell. "People like to score and no one wanted to get hit with the ball. But it was my dad coaching, so he had to make me do it and not someone else's kid. I started having fun with it pretty early on and I wasn't bad at it so I stuck with it. Without my dad I might not even be playing lacrosse still, but I ended up really liking it."
Lowell's decision to major in philosophy was motivated primarily by a desire to find a path to law school that she would enjoy.
"I wasn't sure what path to take so I did some research about good majors and philosophy was one of them," she said. "When I started taking philosophy classes I just thought 'this is the most interesting thing I can do.' There's so much you can do with it. People don't think of philosophy as being relevant to things in general, but you can be a philosopher of anything. There's a lot of you can do with it. A lot of jobs focus on ethics and that's my favorite branch of philosophy."
In listening to Lowell describe her experiences in philosophy classes, it's clear that they inspire a true passion for learning.
"They're unlike any other classes," she says. "You really get to the heart of issues. It's not so much test-based, it's more about your opinion. We talk a lot about morals, ethics and not just right from wrong but how it applies in the environment and different industries. I've always enjoyed learning but I haven't necessarily enjoyed school. I feel like this is different because it's so based on what you want to do personally. I like to argue and debate and state my opinion. It helps you know what you stand for. I enjoy thinking about these things and I enjoy talking to other people and seeing what they think about them, too."
Lowell plans to be possibly an environmental lawyer, or on the corporate side but to work against big corporations instead of with them. She's also minoring in criminal law and will likely pick up another minor in economics.
"Philosophy teaches me how to think for myself," said Lowell. "I feel like most people rely on what other people say and the media, but it really teaches you how to think. So no matter what I decide to do, I know it'll help me. I'm not just memorizing from a book."
In addition to being outspoken with her views on major issues, Lowell is known for her daredevil tendencies and her sarcastic nature.
"Yeah, probably," she says, when asked if she'd do anything she was dared to do. "I'm not afraid and I don't care what people think. I don't back down from a challenge. I can be easily convinced to do just about anything. I like to prove people wrong, like if someone says I won't do something."
Her sarcastic sense of humor helps keep things a little bit lighter for someone who has to be so focused academically and on the field, at least if people get what she's going for.
"I'm pretty quick-thinking so I'll make the witty remark. I pretty much say whatever comes to my mind and I don't filter myself very well," she laughs. "Whenever someone says something, I usually have a quick response. Sometimes people don't understand sarcasm and it's not funny when you have to explain it. But people have learned not to take me too seriously."
All joking aside, Lowell is learning to be a leader on a team she takes great pride in, particularly with regards to the sophomore class she's a part of.
"We have the biggest class, so strength in numbers is one thing, but also the individual people - we all have a drive to win," she says. "I think the coaches knew that in recruiting us. They sat us down this year and told us we really have to lead the team and have everyone be the best at something. We all want to get better and it shows all over the field in every position. We are a young team, and it's good to know we still have two years left and this is where we are now."
Lowell has worked primarily on her own game so far at Temple, and is wary of calling herself a leader. But her play on the field is certainly inspirational to others.
"I focus on myself a lot," she said. "I still try to be directive and a leader of the defense and give input, but I don't know if leadership is something I'm really good at. I do try to be encouraging and help calm everyone down. Hopefully I can step up my leadership in the future, but I've had to really work on myself first and keep my emotions in check."
Lowell may be a slightly different breed as a goalkeeping philosophy major, but at the end of the day, she's just one vital part of a team effort focused on making a name for Temple lacrosse.
"We want to do as much as we can this year, but as a class we know the older we get we can be even more dominant in coming seasons," she said. "We all want to win and get to the NCAA Tournament. We have a lot of confidence."
Players Mentioned
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