PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Senior Grace Lydon (Rowley, Mass.) scored a pair of goals in the fourth quarter, as the UMass Lowell women's lacrosse (2-2) fell in a defensive battle against the Temple Owls (5-0), 9-6, on Saturday afternoon.

"We did a great job limiting their attacking opportunities, ironed out some of the clearing and draw issues as the game went on, and managed to generate good scoring opportunities throughout the 60 minutes," said Head Coach Lisa Miller. "As the New England Patriots say, we either win or learn. Today, we learned that shooting with the intent to score matters. Back at it on Monday."

Lydon, who added a draw control to her stat sheet, was one of four River Hawks to record a point in the game. Redshirt freshman Chiara Pompei (Catonsville, Md.) also added two goals, while senior Macy Shultz (Adams, N.Y.) finished with a goal and an assist, and junior Bronwyn Hilbert (Lancaster, Pa.) tallied a goal alongside two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Defensively, sophomore Madison Carter (Baltimore, Md.) finished with three ground balls and two caused turnovers, while junior Alexa Kuhn (Rocky Point, N.Y.) made ten saves in 60 minutes of action.

The game started with a focus on the defensive end for both sides, as neither team was able to find the back of the net for over eight minutes of action. Temple, however, finally broke the scoreless draw, scoring with 6:55 on the clock to take a 1-0 lead. UMass Lowell battled back, and despite neither side scoring again for nearly the remainder of the quarter, Shultz struck with 1:02 to go, marking her first goal of the season and sending the game into the second tied at 1-1.

In the second quarter, the Owls came out firing, scoring twice in the first minute to grab their first two-possession lead of the day, 3-1. Looking to cut into the deficit, Pompei ripped a shot that went just wide before sophomore Georgia Ruscitti (Toronto, Ontario) fired off a shot of her own, but it was ultimately saved to keep the score the same. Moments later, Temple scored to extend the lead to 4-1, and although the River Hawks outshot the hosts 5-3 the remainder of the period, the score remained the same heading into halftime.

The opposition started the third quarter strong, stringing together three goals in just over five minutes to take their largest lead of the day. The visitors, though, refused to back down, as Pompei hit her stride on offense, scoring back-to-back goals in two minutes to make it a four-goal difference. The Owls retaliated, scoring with 1:27 on the clock, but a goal in the final seconds off the stick of Hilbert made it an 8-4 game with 15 minutes to play.

In the final quarter, Lydon got the offense going for the River Hawks, scoring two goals in the first five minutes to cut the deficit to two goals. Temple locked down the remainder of the way, not allowing a goal while adding one more of their own, sealing the 9-6 final score.

The River Hawks are back at home this weekend when they host the Massachusetts Minutewomen on Wednesday, February 25. Opening draw is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Cushing Field.