Temple University Athletics
Saturday, April 23
Gainesville, FL
12:00 P.M.
Temple University
at
Florida
Photo by: Zamani Feelings
Lacrosse Set to Battle No. 10 Florida for AAC Regular Season Title
4.21.22 | Women's Lacrosse
PHILADELPHIA- The Temple lacrosse team (10-4, 3-0 AAC) will head to Gainesville, Fl. Saturday to face off against No. 10 Florida (10-4, 3-0 AAC). The winner of this matchup will claim a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season championship, as well as the No. 1 seed in the AAC tournament.
LAST TIME OUT
> Temple defeated East Carolina 15-10 to remain perfect in conference play.
> The Owls trailed early, falling behind 6-0 in the first eight minutes of the contest.
> Quinn Nicolai and Riley McGowan sparked a comeback with two goals each to cut into the deficit.
> Temple took the lead in the fourth quarter and never looked back. The Owls outscored ECU 15-4 after the initial 6-0 run by the Pirates.
> This was the second time this season Temple has rallied from a deficit of at least six goals to take the win. The first was a 9-3 halftime deficit against UMBC.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> For the third straight week, the Owls received votes in the IWCLA/Inside Lacrosse Coaches/Media poll.         Â
> Belle Mastropietro has been a force in all phases of the game. The Tewaaraton Watchlist addition currently ranks top ten in the American in six different statistical categories, including goals (40), assists (16), points (56), and is the conference leader in draw controls. Her 77 controls place her 3rd on Temple's all-time single-season list.
> Mackenzie Roth is a firm contender for AAC Attacker of Year. Roth was named to the AAC Honor Roll for the second consecutive week after racking up five points against Cincinnati. She now has 32 assists this season, tying her for third all-time on Temple's single-season assists list. She is 13th nationally and 2nd in the conference in both total assists and assists per game (2.29).
> Quinn Nicolai returned to the spotlight this week, winning AAC Midfielder of the Week. The grad transfer tied for the game-high in goals (5) and scored a natural hat trick in the second half against ECU to tie the game. She leads Temple in goals (43) and ranks 5th in the conference in goals per game (3.07).
> Katie Shallow continues to star for the Cherry and White defense. Shallow is tied for second in the American ground balls (32) and first in caused turnovers (27). She forced a critical turnover late in the fourth quarter to help secure the victory against East Carolina.
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SCOUTING FLORIDA
> The Florida Gators have been one of the most successful programs in women's lacrosse since starting up in 2010. They have won seven straight conference titles in the BIG EAST/AAC.
> Last season was one of Florida's best. The Gators won the American with an 18-3 record (10-0, AAC). After blowing out Mercer, 23-5, and Jacksonville, 17-3, Florida advanced to the Elite Eight where they fell to national runner-up Syracuse 17-11. This season the Gators are 10-4, they have routinely defeated unranked opponents by large margins, but are 1-4 against top 25 foes.
> Florida has a talented team, featuring some of the best players in the AAC. Danielle Pavinelli leads the team in goals with 48. She was the 2021 AAC Freshman of the Year and a 2022 Preseason All-Conference selection. Emma Wrightman was named Preseason Defender of the Year, she leads the Gators in both caused turnovers (25) and ground balls (26). The star of the show thus far for Florida though, has been freshman Emma LoPinto. LoPinto leads the Gators in assists (24) and tied for the lead in points (68). She has won eight AAC Weekly Honors.
> Florida is led by Temple lacrosse alumnus Amanda O'Leary. O'Leary was an All-American with the Owls and a member of the 1988 national title team. Excluding her first season, she has had the Gators ranked no lower than 13 in the final poll every year during her tenure. Florida has a record of 196-52 during her time in the Swamp.
SERIES HISTORY vs. FLORIDA
> Florida and Temple are meeting for the 13th time in series history. Temple has never defeated the Gators, with an all-time record of 0-12.
> The teams met three times in 2021 including the AAC title game, Florida won all three battles.
> The two squads have been conference opponents since 2015 when Florida joined the BIG EAST. In 2019 both programs moved to the American.
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LAST TIME OUT
> Temple defeated East Carolina 15-10 to remain perfect in conference play.
> The Owls trailed early, falling behind 6-0 in the first eight minutes of the contest.
> Quinn Nicolai and Riley McGowan sparked a comeback with two goals each to cut into the deficit.
> Temple took the lead in the fourth quarter and never looked back. The Owls outscored ECU 15-4 after the initial 6-0 run by the Pirates.
> This was the second time this season Temple has rallied from a deficit of at least six goals to take the win. The first was a 9-3 halftime deficit against UMBC.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
> For the third straight week, the Owls received votes in the IWCLA/Inside Lacrosse Coaches/Media poll.         Â
> Belle Mastropietro has been a force in all phases of the game. The Tewaaraton Watchlist addition currently ranks top ten in the American in six different statistical categories, including goals (40), assists (16), points (56), and is the conference leader in draw controls. Her 77 controls place her 3rd on Temple's all-time single-season list.
> Mackenzie Roth is a firm contender for AAC Attacker of Year. Roth was named to the AAC Honor Roll for the second consecutive week after racking up five points against Cincinnati. She now has 32 assists this season, tying her for third all-time on Temple's single-season assists list. She is 13th nationally and 2nd in the conference in both total assists and assists per game (2.29).
> Quinn Nicolai returned to the spotlight this week, winning AAC Midfielder of the Week. The grad transfer tied for the game-high in goals (5) and scored a natural hat trick in the second half against ECU to tie the game. She leads Temple in goals (43) and ranks 5th in the conference in goals per game (3.07).
> Katie Shallow continues to star for the Cherry and White defense. Shallow is tied for second in the American ground balls (32) and first in caused turnovers (27). She forced a critical turnover late in the fourth quarter to help secure the victory against East Carolina.
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SCOUTING FLORIDA
> The Florida Gators have been one of the most successful programs in women's lacrosse since starting up in 2010. They have won seven straight conference titles in the BIG EAST/AAC.
> Last season was one of Florida's best. The Gators won the American with an 18-3 record (10-0, AAC). After blowing out Mercer, 23-5, and Jacksonville, 17-3, Florida advanced to the Elite Eight where they fell to national runner-up Syracuse 17-11. This season the Gators are 10-4, they have routinely defeated unranked opponents by large margins, but are 1-4 against top 25 foes.
> Florida has a talented team, featuring some of the best players in the AAC. Danielle Pavinelli leads the team in goals with 48. She was the 2021 AAC Freshman of the Year and a 2022 Preseason All-Conference selection. Emma Wrightman was named Preseason Defender of the Year, she leads the Gators in both caused turnovers (25) and ground balls (26). The star of the show thus far for Florida though, has been freshman Emma LoPinto. LoPinto leads the Gators in assists (24) and tied for the lead in points (68). She has won eight AAC Weekly Honors.
> Florida is led by Temple lacrosse alumnus Amanda O'Leary. O'Leary was an All-American with the Owls and a member of the 1988 national title team. Excluding her first season, she has had the Gators ranked no lower than 13 in the final poll every year during her tenure. Florida has a record of 196-52 during her time in the Swamp.
SERIES HISTORY vs. FLORIDA
> Florida and Temple are meeting for the 13th time in series history. Temple has never defeated the Gators, with an all-time record of 0-12.
> The teams met three times in 2021 including the AAC title game, Florida won all three battles.
> The two squads have been conference opponents since 2015 when Florida joined the BIG EAST. In 2019 both programs moved to the American.
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Players Mentioned
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