After back-to-back wins for the Marist women’s lacrosse team, the Red Foxes looked to continue their win streak as they faced the Temple Owls (5-2) on Wednesday afternoon at Tenney Stadium.
The Red Foxes (2-3) are coming off two impressive wins, one against Merrimack by a score of 16-12 and the other visiting Hofstra by a score of 14-12 in a late game thriller. This was the first time in program history the Red Foxes beat Hofstra. The captain trio of senior attacker Kerri Gutenberger, senior attacker Kelly Trotta, and junior midfielder Delaney Hayes powered through in the victory, each netting four goals each. The Owls, who just came off a 13-10 win against Saint Joseph’s, found momentum early in the sunny yet breezy afternoon in Poughkeepsie which ultimately led to them to secure the victory against the gritty Red Foxes who hung in all the way until the end by a score of 14-10.
Temple found the net first just under two minutes into the game with a goal from senior midfielder Maeve Tobin. However, Marist answered back as senior attacker Kelly Trotta found senior attacker Olivia Arntsen evening things out in the first quarter.
However, after a pair of turnovers, Tobin netted her second of the contest and junior midfielder Camryn Zavacky notched in one of her own after an initial save got tipped off the stick of Marist’s junior goalkeeper Miranda Lopes to end the first quarter with a 3-1 Owls lead.
While the Red Foxes were able to keep it close in the first quarter, it was all Temple to open up the second. The Owls scored four unanswered goals before Hayes was able to tack on her first goal of the game for Marist to make the score 7-2 in favor of the Owls.
“I don’t think we came out with as much grit as Temple did in the first half. I think there were times where we were a little surprised that they had some checks that were legal and were very good and efficient. I think we needed to become ok with giving up the ball and letting it fly under pressure instead of just waiting for the perfect moment,” said Marist head coach Jessica Wilkinson.
That would be about all Marist could produce in the second quarter as Tobin got the hat trick just minutes after the Marist response. Following a Marist timeout trying to find some momentum, senior attacker Macknzie Roth knocked in her eleventh goal of the season for Temple and after a Hayes turnover, the Owls found the goal one more time before the end of the half with a goal from senior attacker Julia Schickling.
Beating the buzzer, Marist was able to find the net one more time as freshman midfielder Caitlin McNaboe found Trotta to make the score 10-3 in favor of the Owls heading into the break.
Marist answered back to open up the second half scoring three unanswered goals. Gutenberger netted her first of the game just over 20 seconds into the third quarter after a Temple turnover. McNaboe scored her first of the contest, and Gutenberger notched her second after a beautiful assist from Trotta to cut the deficit to four with a score of 10-6 in favor of Temple.
“We just told the girls nothing is going to be perfect, you are going to just have to work really hard to get the ball out of your stick and the defense is going to have to work just as hard to receive it. It is just about digging our heels in a little more and giving more effort in a sense. Our possession game was better in the second half therefore we had more opportunity and defense had less constant pressure,” said Wilkinson.
With just over five minutes to play in the third quarter, Temple answered back to make the score 11-6 in favor of the Owls following a goal from sophomore attacker Amelia Wright. Lopes was phenomenal in the cage for the Red Foxes to open up the second half recording five saves in the third quarter alone.
“Her last few games have really proven that she has upped her game and upped her mental game…I think she has done a really good job in net and she had some tremendous saves in the beginning of the game, and of course throughout the game, but she had a great game for herself and she kept us in the game. Losing by only four to Temple is a really good showing for us, although it was a loss we have to keep our heads high. They were a very good and high competitor,” Wilkinson said of Lopes’s performance.
It was a different tale in the fourth quarter though, as the Owls were able to ice the game. Schickling netted her second goal of the game for the first score of the quarter followed by another goal by Tobin.
Gutenberger was able to rip another one of her own to dwindle the score to 13-7, but Temple answered right back with a goal from senior midfielder Belle Mastropietro who ended the day with a hat trick.
Leading the pack for the Owls was Tobin with four goals. Mastropietro followed with her three, and Schickling and Zavacky each added two apiece.
The Red Foxes however, would go on a late scoring run with five minutes remaining. After a Trotta goal, a free position goal from Hayes, and another Gutenberger goal to cut the lead to a score of 14-10, Temple would win the draw control for one more possession to hold onto the lead and the win.
For Marist, Gutenberger led the way again with four goals as Trotta and Hayes added two apiece.
On the defensive front for the Owls, junior defender Maddie Barber led the way with five ground balls and junior defender Katie Shallow followed behind with three. For Marist, Trotta, senior defender Ashley Potter, and sophomore defender Sophia Georgopoulos each tallied two ground balls in the loss. In goal, sophomore goalkeeper for Temple, Taylor Grollman, finished the day with six saves where Lopes finished with 13 for the Red Foxes.
“I think we are improving with our games, wins or losses, and that is my key as a coach. Even if it doesn’t come with a win, I do see growth in my team. Do we hit every box? No, but we are not going to hit every box every game. I don’t want to peak right now, I want to peak when we get to our MAAC games and I think it is really important for the team to understand that. I am holding my head up high and I hope they are too,” said Wilkinson.
Marist will look to rebound from today’s loss on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Tenney Stadium again against Binghamton before they hit the road to the Carolina’s to wrap up their non-conference play over spring break before facing Quinnipiac on March 25.
Edited by Andrew Hard
Photo from Jonathan Kinane