April 25, 2008
PHILADELPHIA- Berkley Summerlin scored five goals, including four in the first half, to lead Temple (12-5, 6-1 A-10) to a 14-10 win over Duquesne (8-9) in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 women's lacrosse tournament on Friday. Summerlin's five goals were just one shy of the A-10 Tournament single game scoring record. The Owls took a 9-5 halftime lead and never looked back as they advance to Sunday's final against host UMass at 1 p.m.
First Team A-10 selection Whitney Richards had a monster game with three goals, four groundballs and six caused turnovers. Fellow First Teamer Nicole Caniglia chipped in with two goals and one assist, while Brittany Hoffman netted two tallies. Chelsea Rosiek and Hillary Richards dished two assists a piece. Sophomores Alison Incarnato and Janell Myers each scored one for the Cherry and White.
Temple dominated possession in the first half, scoring nine goals. Summerlin and Whitney Richards netted three in the opening minutes to give TU a 3-0 lead just six minutes into the contest. Duquesne got on the board less than a minute later but Summerlin answered with her second goal of the half to keep the three-goal differential at 22:24. Duke leading scorer Kat McNish found Ashley Wood to make it 4-2 at 18:22 but Hoffman's free position tally at 16:16 put Temple ahead three goals (5-2) yet again. Duquesne was silent for long, however, rattling off two straight goals to make it a one goal game, 5-4, at 13:55. Summerlin went to work over the next 30 seconds, scoring two to make it 8-4 with just under three minutes to play. The Dukes' Sarah Carson ended the TU shot barrage with 2:13 left to play but Incarnato ensured a four goal halftime lead with a tally at 1:36 to end the stanza with a 9-5 result.
Caniglia allowed Temple to pick up right where it left off, taking a feed from Hoffman three and a half minutes into the half to make it 10-5. McNish got Duquesne on the second half board a minute later to get the Dukes within four goals (10-6). Temple went on the attack yet again and though Rosiek's bounce shot went wide, the sophomore collected the rebound and found a cutting Hoffman for an 11-6 score at 22:16. The two teams traded goals over the next 12 minutes but the Owls were able to increase their lead to six goals (14-8) with Summerlin's fifth goal of the game at 8:15. Wood ended Temple's two goal run with a two goal run of her own, making it 14-10 with just over two minutes remaining, but it was too little, too late as the Owls advanced to Sunday's final.
Bridget McMullan had six saves as TU's starting goalie. Duquesne's Caitlin Carducci stopped three shots in 47 minutes, while Liz Walker had one save.
Temple takes its first trip to the A-10 final since 2006 when it fell to Richmond in the title game, 13-11. The 12 wins this season is the most victories since 2003, when the Owls advanced to the NCAA Tournament with a 13-6 record.
