PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – A late second-half rally fell short as the #12/#11 Towson women's lacrosse team lost to Temple, 12-8, at Howarth Field on Wednesday.
 
Nikki Sliwak, Blair Pearre and Kerri Thornton each scored two goals for Towson, but the Tigers dropped its second straight game after opening the 2021 season with four consecutive victories.
 
Towson led 1-0 a little over two minutes into the game on a goal by Thornton. Temple then went on a 5-0 run before Sliwak scored back-to-back goals to cut the deficit to 5-3 with 3:01 remaining in the half. The Owls countered with two goals in the final 1:07 to take a four-goal advantage into the break.
 
Less than three minutes into the second half, Pearre scored to make it 7-4 and appeared to make it 7-5 at the 20:31 mark, but her goal was waved off by the officials because of a dangerous play. Six seconds later, Temple scored man up to make it 8-4.
 
"That was a big play in the game but we had a lot of them in the game," said Towson head coach Sonia LaMonica. "It was a frustrating game and that moment was a tough one to bounce back from, but the team kept fighting. It was just too little too late."
 
The Owls scored four more times and it was 12-4 with 9:41 to play.
 
Towson went on a 4-0 run over a 4:44 stretch as Pearre, Thornton, Madison Hobbes and Nicole Liucci scored to cut the deficit in half with 1:37 to go.
 
Temple controlled the ensuing draw and ran out the clock.
 
Meghan Hoffman had eight points (5g, 3a) for the Owls, while goalie Shana Hecht made a career-high 10 saves, including seven in the first half.
 
Records: 

• Towson – 4-2
• Temple – 3-1

 
Head coach Sonia LaMonica Postgame Quotes: 

• "I thought Temple played really tough today. Unfortunately, we did not have our best game. We did not execute up to our standard and that combination is going to put you in a difficult position. It left us trying to dig out of a hole. We have to be better, but I was impressed with Temple, in particular Meghan Hoffman. We have to regroup and do a better job of executing and finishing opportunities."

 
How it Happened: 

• Towson took its only lead of the game when Thornton scored left-handed after a split dodge. It was 1-0 Tigers two minutes and 16 seconds into the game.
• Temple then scored four times in less than five and a half minutes to go up 4-1. During that run, Hecht made three saves.
• It was 5-1, when Sliwak scored back-to-back crease roll goals to narrow the deficit to 5-3.
• Towson had a chance to make it a one-goal game, but Hecht made another stop. Temple added goals with 1:07 and nine seconds remaining to take a 7-3 advantage into halftime.
• Towson came out in the second half and made two defensive stands. On the second, Chenoweth caused a turnover and got the ball to Pearre, who went coast-to-coast to make it 7-4 with 26:48 remaining.
• Pearre beat Hecht at the 20:31 mark, but was given a yellow card for a dangerous play.
• Six seconds into the man up advantage, Hoffman found Abaigeal Ryan. Instead of 7-5, it was 8-4.
• Temple then scored four more times over an 8-minute period to lead 12-4 with less than 10 minutes remaining.
• Pearre and Thornton scored their second goals of the game within a 19-second span to make it 12-6 with 6:02 left.
• Two and a half minutes later, Kerri Liucci found a cutting Hobbes. It was 12-7 with 3:26 remaining.
• Nicole Liucci scored a free-position goal with 1:37 to play, but Temple won the ensuing draw control and ran out the clock.

 
Key Stats:

• Pearre has now scored at least two goals in 11 of 12 games at the collegiate level. The sophomore scored a career-best four goals in the victory over UMBC last month. The former Under Armour All-American had four hat tricks in six games as a freshman. She leads Towson in goals (15), is second in points (17), draw controls (18) and tied for second in groundballs (10).
• Rayna Deltuva scooped up a career-best five groundballs and now leads the team in that category (11).

 
Inside the Numbers: 

• Towson All-American defender Sami Chenoweth caused three turnovers to increase her school record total to 165. She has 14 in six games this season.
• Sliwak now has a team-high 18 points (11g, 7a). In 24 games at Maryland, she scored 10 points.

 
Next Game: 
Towson will be in Washington D.C. on Saturday take on Georgetown. First draw is 3 p.m.