Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/16/13
From Press Release
The offense came fast and frequently for Temple’s women’s lacrosse team in a season-opening, 18-5 win against Niagara (0-1) on Saturday afternoon. The Owls (1-0) jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back, led by seniors Charlotte Swavola (Cheltenham) and Kellee Pace (Chichester) with three goals apiece. Among the 11 goal-scorers for Temple were four freshmen, getting on the scoreboard in the first game of their careers.
Senior Stephany Parcell (Interboro), sophomore Macie Hauck (North Penn) and freshman Summer Jaros (Bishop Shanahan) scored two goals each, with Parcell also recording an assist. Senior Jackie Mercer tallied a goal and an assist in the win.
“It’s fantastic to start off at 1-0,” said Temple head coach Bonnie Rosen. “I’m impressed with how we came out and took control of the game, and I think it was a great opportunity for us to see how we can start a game…We were hoping we would get to use a lot of our personnel and get to see what’s working and how to get better. I was really pleased with how a lot of people did, and that we got a lot of experience today.”
Pace scored all three of her goals in the first eight minutes of the game, with her third being the last in a 6-0 run for Temple. Jaymie Tabor (Downingtown West) ot the Owls on the board just 33 seconds into the game, and Pace followed in the next minute. Swavola also scored in the run, as did Molly Seefried on a free-position shot. Jackie Mercer assisted on Swavola’s goal, made more impressive by the fact that the Owls were a man down at the time due to a yellow card.
Niagara got on the board in the ninth minute, but it was the only goal in what would become a 10-1 run for Temple. Hauck scored back-to-back goals in the 12th and 13th minutes of the game, and freshman Avery Longstaff scored her first career goal on an assist from fellow freshman Megan Pinkerton (Manheim Township) in the 14th minute to make it a 10-1 lead.
The Purple Eagles out-scored the Owls 3-2 in the final 15 minutes of the first half, including a goal at the horn to make it 12-4 Owls at the break. Freshman Nicole Tiernan (Washington Township) scored one of Temple’s two goals in that stretch, while Swavola scored the other on an assist from freshman Rachel Schwaab.
The second half was nearly all Temple, as the Owls scored six of the seven total goals. Jaros scored twice in the second half, including the final goal of the game on an assist from fellow freshman Megan Tiernan (Washington Township) with 10:53 remaining.
Brittany Delano and Fran Pollastro scored two goals apiece for Niagara, while Danielle Maio recorded two assists.
An impressive 23 players saw time on the field for the Owls, including all 10 freshman (out of 11) who are on the active roster for the season. Temple got 17 draw controls in the game to Niagara’s seven, with five of those being recorded by Swavola.
