Temple Lacrosse found themselves down 8-4 midway through the third quarter, going nearly 10 minutes without a score. The Owls’ offense had struggled all game, and things looked bleak for the team on their Senior Day.

Attacker Amelia Wright broke the drought with seven minutes left in the period and sparked Temple’s offense with her second goal of the game. Midfielders Belle Mastropietro and Maeve Tobin found the back of the net after Wright and Temple entered the fourth quarter down just one goal and with new life.

The teams traded goals to open the final frame before Mastropietro put home her second goal and tied the game. Ohio State attacker Zoe Coleman answered with four minutes left to take back the lead, and the Buckeyes held on for the remainder of the game. 

Temple (9-5, 4-1 American Athletic Conference) fell to Ohio State (8-8, 1-5 Big Ten) 10-9 Sunday Afternoon at Howarth Field. The Owls have one game left to get back on track before postseason play begins.

“I saw a battle today,” said Temple head coach Bonnie Rosen. “We showed great resilience and desire to dig in during big moments. It was a really competitive, hard-fought game.”

The Owls started the day about as well as they could have imagined. Mastropietro won the opening draw, and attacker Julie Schickling scored just 30 seconds into the action. Tobin found the back of the net less than five minutes later to give Temple an early 2-0 advantage.

Temple’s offense petered out after the hot start, scoring just two goals the rest of the first half. Ohio State began to find its groove, scoring back-to-back goals midway through the first quarter to erase the deficit. 

“We tried a lot of stack plays, and those didn’t work because they had a good man defense walling up the stacks,” Wright said. “We tried to open it up, and we were not careful with the ball and made some risky passes that didn’t pay off.”

The Buckeyes continued to build their lead, shutting down Temple offenses and gradually tacking on goals through the second and third quarters. Midfielder Annie Hargraves scored three of the Buckeyes’ goals, and attacker Leah Sax added two in that timeframe. 

The Owls tied the game with about seven minutes left and had a chance to tie the game again with 33 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Rosen called timeout to set up the offense, but the Owls lost possession and could not get it back in time.

“We were looking to draw attention with a dodge and kick the ball into the middle for a finish or get it down low, ” Rosen said. “We tried to put the ball in Amelia’s stick, but it was just a little too quick. But I am really happy we gave ourselves a chance to put the ball in the net.”

Ohio State fired off 26 shots and put 19 on goal, while Temple only had 24 shots and 18 on goal. The Buckeyes dominated the draw circle, winning 15 times compared to the Owls’ eight wins. Attack-draw Jamie Lasda won eight of the Buckeyes’ draws. 

Both defenses showed up today, as the Owls forced 15 turnovers and Ohio State forced 12. Temple defender Katie Shallow led the game with seven caused turnovers, matching her season-high against Penn on Feb. 28. 

Mastropietro, Shallow and attacker Mackenzie Roth took Howarth Field for the final time on Sunday. The seniors each hold program records at their positions and helped Temple reach the NCAA Tournament and multiple AAC tournaments. 

“From the moment they came together, they learned to really support each other,” Rosen said. “It’s a class that, mentality-wise, represents everything Temple Lacrosse is about. They work their butts off and dig in day in and day out.”

Temple will hit the road for its regular season finale, traveling to Gainesville, Florida, to take on conference-leading No. 19 Florida (14-2, 5-0 AAC) on April 27 at noon.