A Year of Milestones: 2022 Temple Lacrosse Recap

Photo by: Miles Marteal

A Year of Milestones: 2022 Temple Lacrosse Recap

5.16.22 | Women's Lacrosse

PHILADELPHIA- In her 16^th season leading the program, head coach Bonnie Rosen led the 2022 Temple Owls lacrosse team to another successful season. Players, coaches, and the program itself crossed milestones and set new records during a very strong campaign. "It has been another successful year for our program! Once again, we made our mark on the national stage," said Coach Rosen. "We finished the season with a top 25 RPI in country, in second place in The American, and barely missed out on one of the coveted NCAA Tournament at-large spots. I cannot thank our seniors and 5^th years enough for all that they have put into and given Temple Lacrosse! They have played a very important role in all the milestones we have accomplished, and they leave the program even better than when they arrived. I am thrilled with the direction that we are heading! The future is very bright!"

Before the season kicked off, three players were named to the American Athletic Conference Preseason All-Conference Team, as voted on by league coaches. Sophomore defender Katie Shallow, junior attacker Mackenzie Roth, and junior midfielder Belle Mastropietro were all projected to have strong seasons. Mastropietro was also named preseason Midfielder of the Year, one of several awards she would win on the season. The Owls were also ranked No. 22 in the Inside Lacrosse/IWLCA media/coaches poll.
The squad kicked off the 2022 season with a bang, routing an Army team that ended the season with 12 wins by a score of 16-5. Goalkeeper Annie Carroll starred, with 12 saves against 17 shots, good for a save percentage of .718. This is the best save percentage of any Temple keeper since the Owls began tracking the stat in 2010. Carroll was awarded IWLCA National Division I Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts.
Four days later, Temple defeated Big 5 rival Villanova, 12-7. This was coach Rosen's 200^th career victory. She was honored on the field immediately after the game, and at a men's basketball game the same night. Rosen is the 19^th winningest active women's lacrosse coach in Division I. Having passed Penn State's Missy Doherty this season.
The Owls advanced to 3-0 for the first time since 2015 following a win over eventual Atlantic-10 champion Saint Joseph's, 15-11. Quinn Nicolai scored seven goals in the win, becoming the first Temple player to score at least seven goals in a single match since 2018. Following this win, the Cherry and White climbed to No. 18 in the poll.
Next, Temple took a road trip to No. 11 Princeton. The two battled in one of the best games of the season. The two top 20 teams were tied in the fourth quarter before Princeton's all-time leading scorer Kyla Sears scored three out of four goals late in the final frame to give the Owls their first loss of the season.
Temple flew south to Kennesaw State for the program's first-ever game in the state of Georgia. Nine Owls found the back of the net, including four goals, three assists, and a staggering 14 draw controls (the most any player in the American would accumulate all-season) from Mastropietro. Fittingly, this performance also included her 100^th career point in only her 33^rd game.
Only two days later, the Cherry and White arrived in Baltimore to face off against UMBC. In a truly impressive performance, Temple rallied from a 9-3 halftime deficit to outscore the Retrievers 11-2 in the second half and earn the win. Midfielder Quinn Nicolai scored six of the first eight goals of the rally to power Temple's comeback. At this point, the Owls were ranked 20^th with a 5-1 record.
Temple fell to No. 13 Rutgers and Delaware in back-to-back games.
Following nine days off, Temple returned to the field against UC Davis. After the lowest-scoring first quarter of any Temple game all season (one total goal), the Owls outscored the Aggies, 5-0 in the second quarter to take a commanding lead that the Cherry and White never lost. Three Owls set or tied career-highs. Riley McGowan tied her career-high in goals (5), Maddie Barber set a new bar in draw controls (8), and Margot Hotham picked up six ground balls.
Temple continued its winning ways with a 13-10 win over a strong Monmouth team. The Owls were monsters on the ground, picking up 29 ground balls to Monmouth's 11. Shallow and Julie Schickling both set personal bests in ground balls, with seven and six respectively. For Shallow, it was the best game in her career. She set new career-highs in ground balls and draw controls, while also giving her a season-best in caused turnovers (5).
The Owls fell on the road to a powerhouse Syracuse team ranked No. 5 before hosting a Vanderbilt team receiving votes in the poll for the conference opener. Temple absolutely destroyed the Commodores, 20-9 in their best performance of the season. Six Owls scored, including four from Nicolai and a career-high seven from McGowan. Mastropietro flattened Vandy in the draw control circle, with ten controls. It was the first time Temple has scored at least 20 goals in a game since 3/3/2012 against Lehigh. The win launched Temple to the cusp of the poll, where they remained for the remainder of the year.
Next up, Temple defeated Cincinnati, 14-10, for the program's 500^th win in front of a capacity crowd that featured alumnae, former coaches, administrators, and many friends of the program. The milestone was celebrated after the game with a special presentation that debuted a new banner that hangs at Howarth Field. The Owls are only the 6th program ever to reach 500 wins.
The Cherry and White then traveled to East Carolina for their conference road opener. Temple rallied from a 6-0 first-quarter deficit to defeat the Pirates to remain perfect in conference play. The following week, the Owls fell to No. 10 Florida, but clinched the second seed in the conference tournament that same week.
In the final regular-season tilt of the year, Temple blasted Old Dominion 17-7 to end the regular season with an 11-5 record, and 4-1 in the American. Seven different Owls scored in what turned out to be a historic day for the Cherry and White. Nicolai scored her 50^th goal of the season, she was the first Temple player to score at least 50 goals since Tiffany Pulaski in 2004. Mastropietro made some history of her own, the midfielder secured her 87^th draw control in the first quarter to set a new single-season draw control record.
Temple fell to Vanderbilt in the AAC semifinals in a heartbreaking 11-10 loss in the first overtime game in the history of the conference tournament. It was the Owls' first postseason overtime game since 2004. The Owls were announced as one of the first four teams out of the NCAA tournament field on Selection Sunday.
A record-tying eight Owls were named All-Conference. Mastropietro was named AAC Midfielder of the Year, marking the first time a Temple player has won Midfielder of the Year in any conference. Mastropietro and Nicolai were both named unanimous first-team All-AAC selections, with Mackenzie Roth also being tabbed first-team All-AAC. McGowan, Maeve Tobin, Maddie Barber, Shallow, and Carroll were each named Second-Team All-Conference.
Mastropietro was also named to the IWLCA Second-Team All-Region Team for the Mid-Atlantic. She is the sixth Owl in six years to make All-Region.
Ten seniors played their final game in Cherry and White, Carroll, Suzanna Cantwell, Valerie Cradler, Shana Hecht, Kessina Heyn, Margot Hotham, Gabrielle Kirsch, Nicolai, Abaigeal Ryan, and Lauren Zinkl. The class has scored 149 goals, recorded 31 assists, 180 total points, picked up 217 ground balls, caused 68 turnovers, controlled 41 draws, and made 227 saves during their time at Temple.