Temple and East Carolina gained an early headstart in the American Athletic Conference race as the Owls pulled away for a win against Vanderbilt, while the Pirates held off Old Dominion.
SATURDAY, APRIL 2
Temple 20, Vanderbilt 9
East Carolina 14, Old Dominion 11
TEMPLE 20, VANDERBILT 9
PHILADELPHIA – The Temple lacrosse team (8-4) pulled away from American Athletic Conference rival Vanderbilt (7-4) 20-9 Saturday afternoon in the conference opener for both teams. Attacker Riley McGowan set a career-high with seven goals in the win. This marks the largest margin of victory the Cherry and White have ever had against the Commodores.
? "I think that increasing the different looks on offense was important," said Temple head coach Bonnie Rosen. "We had a whole week to prepare, and it really helped. We are pretty good when we have to scout teams and prepare. Every game in the conference is a big one, and I know we are going to be ready for Cincinnati."– Head Coach Bonnie Rosen
Mackenzie Roth scored the first goal of the contest to put Temple up 1-0.
Callie Sundin scored the next two to put Vanderbilt up 2-1. Riley McGowan and Quinn Nicolai countered for Temple to retake the lead.
Vanderbilt scored two straight to give the Commodores a 4-3 lead. Camryn Zavacky found the back of the net with nine seconds left in the first quarter to tie the game at the end of the first frame.
The Owls exploded in the second quarter, scoring three straight in under three minutes. Belle Mastropietro, Charessa Crosse, and McGowan scored for the Cherry and White.
Vanderbilt managed to score once before Nicolai and Crosse added two more to put Temple up 9-5. Vandy notched the final goal of the quarter to put the halftime tally at 9-6.
The Commodores scored first in the third before Temple struck with a 4-0 run. Julie Schickling scored twice, while Roth and Nicolai scored one each to give Temple a 13-7 cushion.
Vanderbilt managed to score just before the end of the third, but McGowan slammed the door shut on any possible comeback at the top of the fourth to put Temple up by seven (15-8).
The Commodores scored what would be their final goal of the game with 7:50 remaining.
The Owls scored the last five goals. Nicolai added her fourth of the contest, but McGowan stole the show, scoring three of the last four.
EAST CAROLINA 14, OLD DOMINION 11
GREENVILLE, N.C – A dominant second quarter allowed the East Carolina lacrosse team to start its conference slate with a 14-11 win over Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Stadium.
The Pirates advance to 8-5 and 1-0 in league play while the Monarchs of Old Dominion fall to 5-8 overall and 0-1 in the AAC.
The start of the game was back and forth with neither team able to build much of a lead. The Pirates got a pair of goals from Megan Tryniski, with goals from Sophie Patton and Erin Gulden to bring the Pirates up 4-2. Old Dominion would fight back to tie the game but Payton Barr gave the Pirates another lead with a goal at the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, Megan Tryniski continued to carry the offensive load for the Pirates. After a Monarch goal and a quick ECU timeout, Tryniski and Gulden combined on a pair of goals with Tryniski scoring the first and Gulden on the second. Frances Kimel and Nicole LeGar each added an unassisted goal to expand the Pirate lead to 9-5. Tryniski made it a 5-0 Pirate run as she scored her fourth goal of the half, with :53 seconds left.
The Pirate run continued in the third quarter, with Sophia LoCicero adding to the scoring column. Old Dominion finally ended the run when Lily Siskind scored a free position goal. Kimel answered a minute later on a free position goal of her own. The Pirates defense took over from there, allowing just one more Monarch goal in the final eight minutes of the third quarter.
Although the game seemed to be in hand after goals from Leah Bestany and Tryniski to make it 14-7, the Monarchs started to grab momentum and get back in the game. Old Dominion went on a 4-0 run and threatened to get closer with under four minutes remaining. The run was halted when Brynn Knight made a save on a shot by Siskind that gave the Pirates possession and from there, the Monarchs did not get another shot off for the remainder of the game.
East Carolina outshot Old Dominion 38-27 and had a 16-12 advantage at the draw circle
Tryniski led the Pirates with five goals and an assist. Kimel had two goals and two assists while Gulden added two goals and a helper. Flynn Reed had seven draw controls to lead ECU while Alexandra Giacolone scooped up six ground balls and caused three Old Dominion turnovers. Knight finished with four saves in the cage for East Carolina.