Women’s lacrosse: Markunas (Ridley) leads undefeated Temple to easy win over Lehigh, 14-5

Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/1/12
From Press Release

Stephanie Markunas (Ridley) notched a hat trick in leading Temple lacrosse to a 14-5 win at Lehigh, improving the Owls’ record to 4-0 this season. The four wins to start the season now match the best start for the team since the 1998 Owls also started 4-0. One more win would give Temple its best start since 1988.

Four of Temple’s goals were scored over a one-minute, 13-second span in the first half that put the Owls up 6-0.

Karly Cohen scored less than five minutes into the game, scoring on an unassisted shot from the left wing. Just 34 seconds later from the same spot, Cohen passed to Kelly Syphard who scored to give the Owls a 2-0 lead.

Just over eight minutes in, Cohen got her second assist and third point of the game when she fed Markunas who ran in from the top of the circle to catch the pass and put it past Lehigh’s second goalkeeper of the game, MaryLeah DiNisco. Markunas then struck again with an unassisted score half a minute later, putting Temple ahead 4-0. The Owls got their third goal in that same minute from Syphard who notched her second of the game at 21:05 off an assist from Charlotte Swavola (Cheltenham). The flurry continued with one more goal, from Stephany Parcell (Interboro) at 20:42.

From there the Owls’ attack finally slowed, and Leigh Ann Torcivia got Lehigh on the board just past the midway point of the half.

It would be just a six-minute drought for Temple, as Missy Schweitzer (Owen J. Roberts) answered the Mountain Hawks’ goal almost immediately. She scored on a free-position attempt at 14:17, and 16 seconds later Jaymie Tabor put the Owls’ eighth goal in the back of the net.

After Lea Britton (Council Rock North) scored the Owls’ ninth goal at 11:18, Tabor notched her second goal of the game on a diving shot with 8:12 left in the first, putting Temple in double digits with a 10-1 lead.

Lehigh’s Kelly Draper scored twice in a six-minute span to put the score at 10-3 with five minutes left in the first half, but it was as close as the Mountain Hawks would get. Swavola converted on a free position shot with 2:48 remaining, and the 11-3 score stood until halftime.

Kelsey Zenuk (St. Mark’s, DE) put Temple’s 12 goal in the cage less than five minutes into the second half on an assist from Markunas, who then got the hat trick two minutes later. Keelin Hood (Great Valley) scored the Owls’ final goal of the game.

Lehigh’s Draper also notched a hat trick, scoring one of her team’s final two goals with 1:30 remaining.

Goalkeeper Tess Bishop played almost 50 minutes for Temple and made five saves in that time while improving her record to 4-0.

The Owls still have four more games in a five-game road swing, and next up is a 1:00 p.m. contest at Lafayette on Saturday, March 3.