Temple Throttles Vanderbilt in American Tournament Semifinals

Thursday, May 6

Gainesville, FL.

7:25 PM

Temple University

12-4, 7-3AAC

Vanderbilt

12-6, 7-3AAC

Temple

Vanderbilt

Temple Throttles Vanderbilt in American Tournament Semifinals

5.6.21 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Temple lacrosse team (12-4, 7-3 AAC) made a statement win in the American Athletic Conference semifinals, defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores 16-11 (12-6, 7-3 AAC). The win avenges Temple's loss to Vanderbilt from two weeks ago and puts the Owls in their first conference final since 2016.

Recapping the Game
> Neither team was able to get much traction early, with no goals in the first five minutes. The Commodores got on the board first to take a 1-0 lead.
> Two minutes later, the Owls evened the score with a goal from Bridget Whitaker. Soon after, Charessa Crosse gave Temple their first lead of the night, 2-1. They never trailed again.
> Vanderbilt controlled possession, but goalkeeper Shana Hecht made four critical saves to keep the score locked at one-all.
> Crosse launched the Owls into a 4-1 run. Lauren Zinkl, Gabrielle Kirsch, Belle Mastropietro, and Crosse all found the back of the net to build a 6-2 advantage.
>Vanderbilt began to creep back into the game, scoring two to trim the lead (6-4). Temple was quick to respond with a 2-0 run of their own to enter halftime with an 8-4 advantage.
> Temple came out of the break on fire. Meghan Hoffman, Crosse, and Mastropietro scored four unanswered goals to extend the lead to eight early in the second half (12-4).
> Vanderbilt quickly retaliated with two goals to shave the lead, but the Owls slammed the door on the potential comeback with three-straight to give Temple a nine-goal cushion.
> The Commodores again attempted a comeback, scoring two unanswered goals. Whitaker found Jen Rodzewich deliver the dagger 16-8 with 8:34 remaining.
> Vanderbilt scored three late goals to make the final score 16-11.

Statistically Speaking
> Mastropietro led Temple with four goals, while Whitaker and Crosse both scored hat tricks. Hoffman and Lauren Zinkl both added two goals, while Kirsch and Rodzewich scored one each.
> Hoffman passed for two assists, and Mastropietro, Whitaker, Kirsch, and Rodezewich all had one.
> Temple dominated the draw circle 18-11. Whitaker led all players with 10 draw controls, with Courtney Taylor contributing seven. With her 10 draw controls, Whitaker now holds the record for most draw control wins in a season.
> Shana Hecht and Olivia Martin were both rock-solid in goal. Hecht had six saves while Martin had five. Hecht led all players in ground ball pickups with four.
> Katie Shallow was magnificent. Her six caused turnovers were double second-ranked Nicki Dadino's.

Quotable
> " I am so proud of this team! We knew it would be a battle against an outstanding Vanderbilt team. To put together this performance tonight was special."-- head coach Bonnie Rosen

Next Up
> Temple will face off against Florida in the AAC finals Saturday. The noon match will be streamed on ESPN+.