By: Zach Gephart
PHILADELPHIA - A late rally in the fourth quarter by the Owls was short lived after a score by sophomore Zoe Coleman sealed the game for Ohio State.
Temple had developed serious momentum leading into their final home game of the season. Winning four of their previous five contests, they continued their dominance in a swift 13-9 win against Cincinnati. With the win, the Owls officially clinched a spot in the AAC Tournament. The game was headlined by midfielder Belle Mastropietro, who went on to score seven points to earn AAC Midfielder of the Week honors. Senior Katie Shallow, on the other hand, won AAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on behalf of her four forced turnovers. Shallow, a graduate of Cardinal O'Hara High School, had developed a tenacity for the ball, ranking third overall in the country for turnovers caused. The team looked to send off their seniors in style before closing their regular season at Florida. Ohio State, on the other hand, came into the duel off a disappointing second half of their season. After starting their season a red-hot 5-1, they went on to drop seven of their next nine to crawl to a 7-8 record. Led by junior Annie Hargraves and senior Leah Sax, the Buckeyes looked to reach .500 on the season before they entered the B1G Tournament.
Temple vs. Ohio State - PSD Game Highlights by Zach Gephart
The two teams began the match scoring at will, with the squads combining for seven goals in the first period alone. The second quarter saw Ohio State begin to pull away, with three different Buckeyes hitting the net to secure a comfortable 7-4 halftime lead. Yet, the Owls did not go down without a fight. With their senior day on the line, Mastropietro willed two scores in Temple’s favor to cut the Ohio State lead to one as the fourth quarter began.
The final moments of play were a deadlock until Mastropietro grabbed another goal to tie the game with just minutes to go. Unfortunately for the Owls, Coleman quickly hit the game-winner moments later to snatch a 9-8 Buckeye victory.
Despite the loss, the Owls sent off their seven seniors and four graduate students in honorary fashion after the game.
“Being able to play a sport here at Temple with [this] group of girls that I’ve been blessed to play with [is something] that I’ll take [with me] for the rest of my life,” said senior Taylor Moncman. “...I can’t even put into words how grateful I am for these girls.”
Temple’s Julie Schickling drew first blood just seconds into the first quarter, scoring an unassisted goal to quickly put her team up one. Midfielder Maeve Tobin joined the party minutes later, grabbing an assist from Mastropietro to extend the Owl lead. Then, it was the Buckeyes’ turn at the wheel. Senior Jamie Lasda hit nylon first, then Hargraves tacked on an additional score seconds later to knot the game up at two. Junior Amelia Wright responded for the Owls with an unassisted goal of her own before Sax closed out the opening period with a two-score flurry. After one, the Buckeyes held a slim 4-3 lead.
Temple University senior Taylor Moncman #34 reflects on her time as a Temple Owl - PSD Video by Zach Gephart
Hargraves grabbed her next goal of the day to open up a second period that saw Ohio State take control of the contest. Temple junior Erin King then fired back off of an assist from Mastropietro to cut the lead to one. Buckeye freshmen Maeve Simonds and Kate Tyack combined for two late goals as the first half came to a close. After their second goal with under 10 seconds to go of the game, Ohio State went into the locker room with a 7-4 lead.
Junior Brynn Ammerman continued to extend the Ohio State lead as the second half began, scoring off a pass from Sax to bring their lead to four. Then, the Owls began to fight back. Wright and Tobin would cash in two goals just minutes apart to shrink the deficit to two. Then, Mastropietro got her first goal of the day to essentially erase a Buckeye lead that took a whole half to build. As the two entered the final quarter of play, Ohio State held a narrow 8-7 lead.
Hargraves would secure her hat trick just two minutes into the fourth off an assist from Ammerman, bringing the Buckeye lead back to two. After half of the period went scoreless, Temple attacker Mackenzie Roth secured an unassisted goal to bring the team within striking distance. Mastropietro would score just moments later, and suddenly the teams were tied up. However, this would not last long as Coleman would gut the Owls with a game-winner with four minutes to go. Although there were opportunities for Temple to send the game to overtime, they would ultimately fall to a final score of 10-9.
“Obviously the outcome isn’t what we really wanted for today,” said Moncman. “But Ohio State is a great team, and I think that being down four and being able to come back and tie it at one point just speaks to the volumes that this team is.”
The Owls traveled to 10th-ranked Florida on Saturday, and fell to the Gators 18-7. This evening, Temple will play No. 2 James Madison in the AAC Tournament semifinals at 8:15 p.m. The game is available to watch on ESPN+. The winner will advance to play in the AAC championship on Saturday, at Noon, which will be broadcasted on ESPNU.