Temple Owls to Visit Dizney Stadium Saturday
Friday, March 9, 2012 | Lacrosse
The No. 5 Florida lacrosse team will take on the Temple University Owls on Saturday in a non-conference matchup at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m.
The Gators headed to our nation's capitol on Wednesday afternoon to take on No. 15 Georgetown. Junior Mikey Meagher made a school record 15 saves, and Gabi Wiegand and Kitty Cullen each scored five points to lead the Gators past the Hoyas, 12-9, earning their first ranked defeat of the season.
Wiegand, who scored her 100th career goal early in the first half, led the team with five goals on five shots. Cullen recorded two goals and a team-high three assists, and Ashley Bruns notched two goals and two assists. Caroline Chesterman put up a pair of goals, Brittany Dashiell scored her 100th career point on two assists, and Nora Barry chipped in one of each.
The Gators opened the game on a 3-0 run in the first five minutes of play, but the Hoyas bounced back with a 4-0 scoring streak over the next 15 to take a 4-3 lead. Florida responded quickly, netting three goals in two minutes to pull back ahead, 6-4.
Cullen and Wiegand teamed up on three straight Florida goals in the second half, leading the Gators to a 12-9 victory.
Mikey Meagher faced 38 shots in the game, but held the Hoyas to single digits, making a school-record 15 saves in the complete game.
The Gators have faced the Owls once before, on March 12, 2011, when then-No. 10 Florida defeated the Owls, 19-4. Florida is 3-0 all-time against teams in the Atlantic 10, with wins over La Salle and St. Bonaventure in 2010.
Florida Head Coach Amanda O'Leary played lacrosse and field hockey for Temple from 1985 to 1988. O'Leary led the Owls' lacrosse team to four straight Final Four appearances, including a 19-0 record and the National Championship in 1988. O'Leary was inducted into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.
The Owls won their first five games in 2012 by a combined score of 73-41, before taking their first loss of the year, falling 19-16 at Jacksonville.
Senior Stephanie Markunas leads the Owls with 22 points on the season, scoring 15 goals and a team-high seven assists. Junior Stephany Parcell leads the team with 16 goals, and Kelly Syphard and Jaymie Tabor each have 10.
Allison McWilliams is tops on the team with 11 ground balls, and Charlotte Swavola has a team-high 13 draw controls.
Temple has played three goalies so far this season, with Tess Bishop playing the majority of the minutes, making 45 saves and allowing 54 goals.
Entering this week, the Owls ranked 12th in the nation in points (99), 15th in both scoring offense (14.6) and scoring margin (6.4), 16th in scoring defense (8.2), and 20th in draw controls (14.4).
Live audio and video will be streamed on GatorVision, with Cory Stephens and Kailey Mizelle on the call. LiveStats will be presented by GameTracker. And as always, follow @GatorZoneLAX on twitter for in-game updates from the press box.
