Temple University Athletics
Wednesday, March 9
Philadelphia, PA
6:00 PM
Temple University
vs
Rutgers
Photo by: Wayne Viener
No. 18 Lacrosse Opens Homestand with No. 13 Rutgers
3.8.22 | Women's Lacrosse
PHILADELPHIA- The No. 18 Temple lacrosse team (5-1) opens its longest homestand of the season Wednesday with a matchup with No. 13 Rutgers (6-0). This is the second ranked matchup of the season after then-No.20 Temple faced No. 11 Princeton two weeks ago.
LAST TIME OUT
> Temple won its second game in just three days with a 14-11 victory over UMBC.
> The Owls completed a blistering comeback after being down 9-3 at halftime. Temple outscored the Retrievers 11-2 in the second half in arguably the Owls' best half of the season.
> Quinn Nicolai powered Temple's comeback. She scored six goals, all in the second half, including a natural hat trick to open the rally for the Cherry and White.
> Mackenzie Roth scored two goals and passed for one assist. The attacker also tied her career-high with three ground balls.
> Two Owls set new career-high on the draw control circle. Katie Shallow shattered her career-high with five draw controls. Camryn Zavacky also set a new career-high in draw controls with four.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Temple is holding at No. 18 in the IWLCA/Inside Lacrosse Poll for the second straight week.      Â
> Nicolai is making a case as one of the best players in the nation this season. The grad-transfer midfielder ranks top 25 in seven different statistical categories nationally, including 5th in goals (25). She was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll this week after scoring nine goals total last week.
> Belle Mastropietro has also been playing at a top-tier level. The AAC Preseason Midfielder of the Year places top 25 nationally in five statistical categories, including ranking 15th in goals (21). She has scored a hat-trick in five of Temple's six games this season. The only game she did not net a hat trick in, she scored twice before leaving in the first quarter due to injury.
> Roth has built on a strong 2021 to become one of the top distributors in college lacrosse. She ranks eighth nationally in assists (13). The attacker tied her career-high in assists against Kennesaw State with four.
> Annie Carroll has starred for Temple in goal. Carroll leads the American in goals against average by nearly 4 goals (9.82).
Â
SCOUTING RUTGERS
> Rutgers is coming off a strong 2021 season. The Scarlet Knights played a loaded Big Ten only schedule which saw them play 12 regular-season games before advancing the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. Rutgers secured its first-ever NCAA tournament win last season.
> As its top-15 ranking would suggest, Rutgers has been very good thus far in 2022. The Knights are 6-0 with an average goal differential of 8.5 goals. The 6-0 start is the best in program history.
> Melissa Lehman is in her third season leading the Scarlet Knights. Lehman has already become one of the best coaches in the long history of Rutgers women's lacrosse. The team produced two All-Americans (the first since 2007) and ended the season ranked No. 14, its highest since 2010. Rutgers defeated six ranked teams in 2021, the most in program history. Lehman's current win percentage of .581 is the best in Scarlet Knights history.
> Rutgers has several players who have received national attention. Cassidy Spilis and Meghan Ball were both named Preseason All-Americans. Spilis was also named to the Preseason Tewaaraton Watchlist. Spilis is second on the Scarlet Knights in goals (22), while Ball leads the team in draw controls (35). Rutgers has other players of note, including Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week (2/22) Stephanie Kelly, and Preseason Big Ten watchlist attacker Taralyn Naslonski (23 goals).
SERIES HISTORY vs. RUTGERS
> The two sides have met 32 times. Rutgers is Temple's sixth most-played opponent.
> The Owls lead the all-time series 22-9-1. Rutgers is one of only six teams Temple has ever tied against, with the tie coming in Temple's first-ever season in 1976.
> The two sides last met in 2020, with Temple falling to the Scarlett Knights a 13-11. Prior to 2020, the Owls had won five straight matches between the two.
LAST TIME OUT
> Temple won its second game in just three days with a 14-11 victory over UMBC.
> The Owls completed a blistering comeback after being down 9-3 at halftime. Temple outscored the Retrievers 11-2 in the second half in arguably the Owls' best half of the season.
> Quinn Nicolai powered Temple's comeback. She scored six goals, all in the second half, including a natural hat trick to open the rally for the Cherry and White.
> Mackenzie Roth scored two goals and passed for one assist. The attacker also tied her career-high with three ground balls.
> Two Owls set new career-high on the draw control circle. Katie Shallow shattered her career-high with five draw controls. Camryn Zavacky also set a new career-high in draw controls with four.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Temple is holding at No. 18 in the IWLCA/Inside Lacrosse Poll for the second straight week.      Â
> Nicolai is making a case as one of the best players in the nation this season. The grad-transfer midfielder ranks top 25 in seven different statistical categories nationally, including 5th in goals (25). She was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll this week after scoring nine goals total last week.
> Belle Mastropietro has also been playing at a top-tier level. The AAC Preseason Midfielder of the Year places top 25 nationally in five statistical categories, including ranking 15th in goals (21). She has scored a hat-trick in five of Temple's six games this season. The only game she did not net a hat trick in, she scored twice before leaving in the first quarter due to injury.
> Roth has built on a strong 2021 to become one of the top distributors in college lacrosse. She ranks eighth nationally in assists (13). The attacker tied her career-high in assists against Kennesaw State with four.
> Annie Carroll has starred for Temple in goal. Carroll leads the American in goals against average by nearly 4 goals (9.82).
Â
SCOUTING RUTGERS
> Rutgers is coming off a strong 2021 season. The Scarlet Knights played a loaded Big Ten only schedule which saw them play 12 regular-season games before advancing the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. Rutgers secured its first-ever NCAA tournament win last season.
> As its top-15 ranking would suggest, Rutgers has been very good thus far in 2022. The Knights are 6-0 with an average goal differential of 8.5 goals. The 6-0 start is the best in program history.
> Melissa Lehman is in her third season leading the Scarlet Knights. Lehman has already become one of the best coaches in the long history of Rutgers women's lacrosse. The team produced two All-Americans (the first since 2007) and ended the season ranked No. 14, its highest since 2010. Rutgers defeated six ranked teams in 2021, the most in program history. Lehman's current win percentage of .581 is the best in Scarlet Knights history.
> Rutgers has several players who have received national attention. Cassidy Spilis and Meghan Ball were both named Preseason All-Americans. Spilis was also named to the Preseason Tewaaraton Watchlist. Spilis is second on the Scarlet Knights in goals (22), while Ball leads the team in draw controls (35). Rutgers has other players of note, including Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week (2/22) Stephanie Kelly, and Preseason Big Ten watchlist attacker Taralyn Naslonski (23 goals).
SERIES HISTORY vs. RUTGERS
> The two sides have met 32 times. Rutgers is Temple's sixth most-played opponent.
> The Owls lead the all-time series 22-9-1. Rutgers is one of only six teams Temple has ever tied against, with the tie coming in Temple's first-ever season in 1976.
> The two sides last met in 2020, with Temple falling to the Scarlett Knights a 13-11. Prior to 2020, the Owls had won five straight matches between the two.
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
D
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's LacrosseEp. 18: Men's Basketball Student-Athlete Olin Chamberlain Jr.
Tuesday, November 04
Ep. 17: Brian Thornburg, Executive Senior Associate AD for Development & NIL Strategy
Friday, October 31
Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary: Allan Haye Mic’d Up
Friday, October 31
Ep.16: Temple Football's Evan Simon
Tuesday, October 28
