Temple University Athletics
Saturday, February 26
Princeton, NJ
12:00 P.M.
Temple University
at
Princeton
Photo by: Zamani Feelings
No. 20 Lacrosse Travels to No. 11 Princeton for Ranked Battle
2.24.22 | Women's Lacrosse
PHILADELPHIA- The No. 20 Temple lacrosse team (3-0) will head up the road to face No. 11 Princeton (1-0) in a marquee match-up. Both sides are undefeated and looking to make a statement on the national stage. The noon matchup will be streamed on ESPN+.
LAST TIME OUT
> Temple defeated Villanova 12-7 on Wednesday in head coach Bonnie Rosen's 200th career victory. The Owls took down Saint Joseph's 15-11 on Saturday to secure their fourth straight win over a Big 5 rival dating back to last season.
> Graduate transfer Quinn Nicolai had the best week of her collegiate career. The midfielder put up five goals and one assist in a dominant performance against Villanova. She then proceeded to top herself on Saturday with a career-high seven goals, the most any Temple player has scored since 2018.
> Belle Mastropietro scored two games before leaving the match with an injury against the Wildcats. She exploded with five goals on Hawk Hill, with four of them in the first 3 minutes of the match.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Temple has surged to No. 20 in the IWLCA/Inside Lacrosse Poll after being ranked at 22 for the first two weeks of the season.
> Quinn Nicolai is one of the best players in the nation right now. She is tied for 9thth in the nation in goals (15) and is ranked 9thth in the Statistical Tewaaraton advanced metric rankings. Nicolai is also tied for the AAC lead in ground balls per game (3). She was awarded AAC Midfielder of the Week and was named a finalist for the Inside Lacrosse National Player of the Week for her play.
> Belle Mastropietro is living up to her AAC Preseason Midfielder of the Year billing. She currently ranks 24th in the nation with 11 goals and is tied for fifth in the American in draw controls per game.
> Katie Shallow has been a force on the defensive side of the field. The sophomore is tied for the AAC lead in ground balls per game (3) and is ranked 19th nationally in caused turnovers per game (2.33).
> Defender Kessina Heyn played lockdown defense against two top notch opponents. The senior captain was tasked with guarding 2021 Second Team All-BIG EAST and preseason All-Conference selection Alexa Tsahalis against Villanova. She limited the midfielder to only two goals and a .364 shot percentage in the win. Saturday against Saint Joseph's, Heyn completely took 2021 Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and preseason All-Conference pick Lauren Figura out of the game. Figura was held to zero goals after scoring 42 last season and six on Wednesday against Lehigh, as well as zero assists. Figura has not been shutout of the Saint Joseph's offense since the Hawks played Lehigh at the beginning of last season.
> Mackenzie Roth has slid right into being the top distributor for the Owls offense. She leads the team with six assists to go with her three goals.
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SCOUTING PRINCETON
> Princeton opened the season up with a statement victory over the No. 10 ranked Virginia Cavaliers 17-11 on the road.
> The Tigers have not played a full season since 2019, where they advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. They played five games in 2020 before the season was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ivy League did not compete in 2021.
> Princeton is led by women's lacrosse legend Chris Sailer. Sailer has a record of 419-164 with three national championships, 11 Final Fours, and 26 NCAA tournament appearances during her time leading the Tigers. She is second among all NCAA Division I women's lacrosse coaches in wins. This is her final season leading the Tigers.
> Princeton is a very talented team. Kyla Sears leads the attack for the Tigers, she had twice been named Second Team All-America in her career. Princeton might have the best defense in the country. They return All-American Marge Donovan alongside seniors Olivia Pugh and Mary Murphy. In goal, Princeton has two-time All Ivy-League selection Sam Fish, Fish was named Ivy League Defender of the Week for the first week of the season.
SERIES HISTORY vs. PRINCETON
> Temple and Princeton are meeting for the 32nd time in series history. Temple holds a 7-24 record against the Tigers.
> The two last met in 2020 when the Owls took the No. 6 Tigers to the brink with a 16-14 battle.
> Temple last beat Princeton in 2010.
LAST TIME OUT
> Temple defeated Villanova 12-7 on Wednesday in head coach Bonnie Rosen's 200th career victory. The Owls took down Saint Joseph's 15-11 on Saturday to secure their fourth straight win over a Big 5 rival dating back to last season.
> Graduate transfer Quinn Nicolai had the best week of her collegiate career. The midfielder put up five goals and one assist in a dominant performance against Villanova. She then proceeded to top herself on Saturday with a career-high seven goals, the most any Temple player has scored since 2018.
> Belle Mastropietro scored two games before leaving the match with an injury against the Wildcats. She exploded with five goals on Hawk Hill, with four of them in the first 3 minutes of the match.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Temple has surged to No. 20 in the IWLCA/Inside Lacrosse Poll after being ranked at 22 for the first two weeks of the season.
> Quinn Nicolai is one of the best players in the nation right now. She is tied for 9thth in the nation in goals (15) and is ranked 9thth in the Statistical Tewaaraton advanced metric rankings. Nicolai is also tied for the AAC lead in ground balls per game (3). She was awarded AAC Midfielder of the Week and was named a finalist for the Inside Lacrosse National Player of the Week for her play.
> Belle Mastropietro is living up to her AAC Preseason Midfielder of the Year billing. She currently ranks 24th in the nation with 11 goals and is tied for fifth in the American in draw controls per game.
> Katie Shallow has been a force on the defensive side of the field. The sophomore is tied for the AAC lead in ground balls per game (3) and is ranked 19th nationally in caused turnovers per game (2.33).
> Defender Kessina Heyn played lockdown defense against two top notch opponents. The senior captain was tasked with guarding 2021 Second Team All-BIG EAST and preseason All-Conference selection Alexa Tsahalis against Villanova. She limited the midfielder to only two goals and a .364 shot percentage in the win. Saturday against Saint Joseph's, Heyn completely took 2021 Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and preseason All-Conference pick Lauren Figura out of the game. Figura was held to zero goals after scoring 42 last season and six on Wednesday against Lehigh, as well as zero assists. Figura has not been shutout of the Saint Joseph's offense since the Hawks played Lehigh at the beginning of last season.
> Mackenzie Roth has slid right into being the top distributor for the Owls offense. She leads the team with six assists to go with her three goals.
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SCOUTING PRINCETON
> Princeton opened the season up with a statement victory over the No. 10 ranked Virginia Cavaliers 17-11 on the road.
> The Tigers have not played a full season since 2019, where they advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. They played five games in 2020 before the season was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ivy League did not compete in 2021.
> Princeton is led by women's lacrosse legend Chris Sailer. Sailer has a record of 419-164 with three national championships, 11 Final Fours, and 26 NCAA tournament appearances during her time leading the Tigers. She is second among all NCAA Division I women's lacrosse coaches in wins. This is her final season leading the Tigers.
> Princeton is a very talented team. Kyla Sears leads the attack for the Tigers, she had twice been named Second Team All-America in her career. Princeton might have the best defense in the country. They return All-American Marge Donovan alongside seniors Olivia Pugh and Mary Murphy. In goal, Princeton has two-time All Ivy-League selection Sam Fish, Fish was named Ivy League Defender of the Week for the first week of the season.
SERIES HISTORY vs. PRINCETON
> Temple and Princeton are meeting for the 32nd time in series history. Temple holds a 7-24 record against the Tigers.
> The two last met in 2020 when the Owls took the No. 6 Tigers to the brink with a 16-14 battle.
> Temple last beat Princeton in 2010.
Players Mentioned
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